Weekly, I read the Huffington Post and there was an article in October called "2011 Food and Restaurant Trends: Do You Agree With These Trends?" (Huffingtonpost.com). One of the trends that was predicted to spark in 2011 was "High End Junk Food." Now, at first glance I thought "No way! We are moving in a healthier direction. People are more conscious of what they are eating? After all, Whole Foods was the only Supermarket in the United States to gain a double digit profit percentage in 2010?" Was I surprised after an evening out on Friday!
Friday night for dinner, a friend and I had dinner at one of Providence's well-known, high-end restaurants. We strolled in around 7:30 p.m. thinking "we'll have a drink at the bar, and hopefully (fingers crossed) will have dinner before 10:00 p.m." However, we were able to sit immediately! Now, I know the economy has had a huge impact on consumer behavior, but this was just abnormal. We had a lovely dinner as always, but it was really bothering me as to why the restaurant was slow. What was it? The particular restaurant that I speak of is also a client of mine, so the answer was much more important to me. The one thing I could not get out of my mind, and as awkward as this may be to some people, but it was fascinating to me. There were "house-made" kettle chips on the bar! Hmmmmm.
We left the restaurant and decided to check out this new restaurant/bar that just opened on the other side of Providence. Sort of ambiguously placed, no great marketing scheme, no sign, no write-ups, no grand openings sign, and certainly not the type of place we had just had dinner, but the restaurant was packed! What the heck was going on? People were jammed in, sitting at picnic tables, eating sliced bread sandwiches, watching ping pong, and playing pinball! What!? The clientele was dressed up, wearing what looked like their work attire, kind of like me. Lawyers, bankers, the Downtown Providence "suits" were inhabiting this place! These were the same people that normally would be at the restaurant I just left. What was it? I decided to look at the menu that was hanging over the bar and I could not believe what I was reading! Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches 10 different ways, and a pickle shooter?! Then it all hit me! Junk food!!
There was no mistaken it, the chips at the first restaurant, and the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at the second restaurant... junk food is in! What is interesting to note, is that this was all by word of mouth! No tremendous amount of money spent on advertising, no Groupon, no restaurant.com! Just a simple restaurant that served high end junk food!
This particular trend brings me back a few years ago when Molecular Gastronomy became the "thing" that all Chefs wanted to incorporate in their restaurants. Molecular Gastronomy started with Chef Wylie Dufresne becoming interested in how Frito Lay flavored their Cool Ranch Doritios. Chef Dufresne became so fascinated with the use of molecular gastronomy - a discipline practiced by both scientists and food professionals that studies the physical and chemical processes that occur while cooking. (Wikipedia). The concept of the Cool Ranch Doritos took food and technique to a different level. Chefs were being inspired by Frito Lay's concept and began using it in array of applications.
The Chefs of today are taking inspiration from classics like doughnuts and peanut butter and jelly, and turning them into something completely different. The definition of trendspotting is finding a pattern in history and using it to create future trends, and this is definitely the case here.
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