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The Tastemakers: Why We're Crazy for Cupcakes but Fed Up with Fondue
Tastemaker, n. Anyone with the power to make you eat quinoa. Kale. Spicy sriracha sauce. Honeycrisp apples. Cupcakes. These days, it seems we are constantly discovering a new food that will make us healthier, happier, or even somehow cooler. Chia seeds, after a brief life as a novelty houseplant and I Love the '80s punchline, are suddenly a superfood. Not long ago, that same distinction was held by pomegranate seeds, aç berries, and the fermented drink known as kombucha. So what happened? Did these foods suddenly cease to be healthy a few years ago? And by the way, what exactly is a "superfood" again? In this eye-opening, witty work of reportage, David Sax uncovers the world of food Where they come from, how they grow, and where they end up. Traveling from the South Carolina rice plot of America's premier grain guru to Chicago's gluttonous Baconfest, Sax reveals a world of influence, money, and activism that helps decide what goes on your plate. On his journey, he meets entrepreneurs, chefs, and even data analysts who have made food trends a mission and a business. The Tastemakers is full of entertaining stories and surprising truths about what we eat, how we eat it, and why.
338 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 20, 2014
36 people are currently reading
2887 people want to read
About the author
David Sax
8 books117 followersDavid Sax is a journalist, writer, and keynote speaker specializing in business and culture.
David's latest book, The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter looks at the resurgence of analog goods and ideas, during a time when we assumed digital would conquer all. It's available in various formats, but especially in paper, and was a Washington Post Bestseller. David's first book, Save the Deli: In Search of Perfect Pastrami, Crusty Rye, and the Heart of Jewish Delicatessen and won a James Beard Award for writing and literature, as well as other awards and the praise of deli lovers everywhere. His second book is The Tastemakers: Why We're Crazy for Cronuts but Fed Up with Fondue, which is chronicles how food trends emerge, grow, and ultimately make a difference in our world.
In April 2020, he will publish The Soul of An Entrepreneur: Work and Life Beyond the Startup Myth, which examines the meaning of entrepreneurship and working for yourself.
He lives in Toronto, Canada.
David's latest book, The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter looks at the resurgence of analog goods and ideas, during a time when we assumed digital would conquer all. It's available in various formats, but especially in paper, and was a Washington Post Bestseller. David's first book, Save the Deli: In Search of Perfect Pastrami, Crusty Rye, and the Heart of Jewish Delicatessen and won a James Beard Award for writing and literature, as well as other awards and the praise of deli lovers everywhere. His second book is The Tastemakers: Why We're Crazy for Cronuts but Fed Up with Fondue, which is chronicles how food trends emerge, grow, and ultimately make a difference in our world.
In April 2020, he will publish The Soul of An Entrepreneur: Work and Life Beyond the Startup Myth, which examines the meaning of entrepreneurship and working for yourself.
He lives in Toronto, Canada.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 179 reviews
June 1, 2015
I found this an interesting book—in the same ways that Michael Pollan’s food books are endlessly fascinating to me. Sax is also trying to figure out how the world of food works, but he is looking at it from more of the marketing point of view. He still talks to a LOT of influential folks and attends a LOT of events.
Significantly (to me at least), he debunks the whole notion of a “superfood,” a notion which has always bugged me. Who decided that pomegranates are a superfood? Why a pomegranate producer, of course! Sponsor a rather anemic study and then get out there and proselytize, baby! It makes me grumpy despite the fact that I love the fruit and have never been known to turn down a pomegranate martini. Eat your veggies and fruits, people! They all have valuable nutrients and anyone who is trying to tell you that you should skew your consumption towards one plant is trying to make money from you.
On the encouraging side of the equation, it seems to be a very hit-or-miss proposition as to whether a carefully planned campaign will actually achieve full blown trend status. As much as Indian cuisine has been attempting to become trendy for decades now, it keeps misfiring (at least in the US). I found that mystifying, as when I go out with friends we more often than not choose an Indian restaurant and curry is one of my absolute favourite things. Seriously, I have 2 friends who hate it and I have a hard time cooking for them when they come to my house—I use a lot of curry!
Another positive revelation: although the food establishment may try to declare a trend over, the people of the world do not necessarily listen to them! Hence the enduring appeal of cupcakes and bacon! The chapter on Baconomics contains amazing stories of the strength of the love of cured pork bellies.
Basically, food suppliers are attempting to imitate the fashion industry, with “what’s in and what’s out” each year. Perhaps this works in the world of clothing, but consumers feel very strongly about the food that they take into their bodies and they are not going to stop loving cupcakes just because a few food bloggers are tired of them!
Just for the record: I love bacon and pomegranates, I tolerate quinoa, and I absolutely loathe kale (and can hardly wait until it’s in the “what’s out” category). I am agnostic on the matter of cupcakes.
Significantly (to me at least), he debunks the whole notion of a “superfood,” a notion which has always bugged me. Who decided that pomegranates are a superfood? Why a pomegranate producer, of course! Sponsor a rather anemic study and then get out there and proselytize, baby! It makes me grumpy despite the fact that I love the fruit and have never been known to turn down a pomegranate martini. Eat your veggies and fruits, people! They all have valuable nutrients and anyone who is trying to tell you that you should skew your consumption towards one plant is trying to make money from you.
On the encouraging side of the equation, it seems to be a very hit-or-miss proposition as to whether a carefully planned campaign will actually achieve full blown trend status. As much as Indian cuisine has been attempting to become trendy for decades now, it keeps misfiring (at least in the US). I found that mystifying, as when I go out with friends we more often than not choose an Indian restaurant and curry is one of my absolute favourite things. Seriously, I have 2 friends who hate it and I have a hard time cooking for them when they come to my house—I use a lot of curry!
Another positive revelation: although the food establishment may try to declare a trend over, the people of the world do not necessarily listen to them! Hence the enduring appeal of cupcakes and bacon! The chapter on Baconomics contains amazing stories of the strength of the love of cured pork bellies.
Basically, food suppliers are attempting to imitate the fashion industry, with “what’s in and what’s out” each year. Perhaps this works in the world of clothing, but consumers feel very strongly about the food that they take into their bodies and they are not going to stop loving cupcakes just because a few food bloggers are tired of them!
Just for the record: I love bacon and pomegranates, I tolerate quinoa, and I absolutely loathe kale (and can hardly wait until it’s in the “what’s out” category). I am agnostic on the matter of cupcakes.
July 22, 2014
My father, the family cook throughout my childhood, is the king of food fads, so I thought this would be fun. It’s an entertaining-ish look at food trends, but lacks the coherent narrative and travelogue verve of, say, Daniella Martin’s Edible.
Sax takes readers on a tour through the cupcake empire (as popularized by Sex and the City – but already fading by the time of publication), DC food trucks, the Latin American food movement (ceviche and quinoa; Peruvian and Argentinian restaurants), the ongoing taste for down-home foods (shrimp and grits in Charleston), Asian fusion specialties (black rice and miso), and perennial favorites like Indian food and bacon – even attending Baconfest, Chicago.
The best chapters, though, consider health superfoods (such as chia seeds, pomegranate juice and açai berries) and food marketing. Kiwis and prunes have enjoyed revivals thanks to advertising campaigns, while Red Prince apples grown by a Dutch couple in Ontario get a boost from their name – as does the Chilean sea bass, previously known as a toothfish. My favorite section was probably about menu strategies at the Melting Pot, that last bastion of fondue trendiness.
I’m not sure Sax fulfilled his stated aim of explaining how food fads start and why they fizzle out, though his case studies are amusing enough. In fact, by the time he came to write the epilogue, a new (short-lived) dessert craze had already caught on: the cronut (a croissant-donut hybrid).
[As an aside, my NetGalley ARC had a very strange fault in it: every “fi” and “fl” letter combination was missing. I got used to this quickly enough that it didn’t hamper my skimming, but it did lead to some rather peculiar phrases, like “sh tacos,” eating “more ber,” and coming down with “the u.”]
Sax takes readers on a tour through the cupcake empire (as popularized by Sex and the City – but already fading by the time of publication), DC food trucks, the Latin American food movement (ceviche and quinoa; Peruvian and Argentinian restaurants), the ongoing taste for down-home foods (shrimp and grits in Charleston), Asian fusion specialties (black rice and miso), and perennial favorites like Indian food and bacon – even attending Baconfest, Chicago.
The best chapters, though, consider health superfoods (such as chia seeds, pomegranate juice and açai berries) and food marketing. Kiwis and prunes have enjoyed revivals thanks to advertising campaigns, while Red Prince apples grown by a Dutch couple in Ontario get a boost from their name – as does the Chilean sea bass, previously known as a toothfish. My favorite section was probably about menu strategies at the Melting Pot, that last bastion of fondue trendiness.
I’m not sure Sax fulfilled his stated aim of explaining how food fads start and why they fizzle out, though his case studies are amusing enough. In fact, by the time he came to write the epilogue, a new (short-lived) dessert craze had already caught on: the cronut (a croissant-donut hybrid).
[As an aside, my NetGalley ARC had a very strange fault in it: every “fi” and “fl” letter combination was missing. I got used to this quickly enough that it didn’t hamper my skimming, but it did lead to some rather peculiar phrases, like “sh tacos,” eating “more ber,” and coming down with “the u.”]
March 4, 2023
Wow, no. So, part of my dislike of this book is simply that the writer's style didn't work for me; didn't catch and hold my attention, and felt disorganized and a little sloppy. That's a me problem.
The other part of my dislike, though, is that the author appears to be wholly unaware of large chunks of US history specifically as they pertain to food, and that's very much a bigger problem.
From the subtitle of this book -- "Plus Baconomics, Superfoods, and Other Secrets From the World Of Food Trends" -- which appears on only certain covers(?), you might be able to guess that the organization of the book is all over the place. Celebrity chefs! Historical grains! Bacon! Money! Cupcakes! Ethnic food! I could not find rhyme nor reason for how the author chose what to focus on, or in what order.
But what you might not be able to guess is that the author focuses almost exclusively on food trends in the internet era, which he loosely defines as 1997-2014, the latter being the date of publication for this book. And that could work if you own it right at the beginning (or really, anywhere in the book).
But that doesn't happen.
Instead what happens is that the author is prone to making vast sweeping statements about the history of food in the United States that either ignore everything before the 1980s, or are flat-out wrong, and he only talks to people with similarly narrow viewpoints.
So you have statements like this:
*The rise of industrialization in the 19th century looks up sharply*
Or this: "No tastemakers are more reliant on the media's voice than chefs."
Or this: "The Italians basically established the specialty food market in America", a statement that is never explained, referenced, sourced or referred to again anywhere in the book.
But wait, it gets worse. And I think you know where it's going to get worse. That's right: the ethnic foods chapter.
In order to write any kind of study of food trends and food availability in the United States that purports to have a historical viewpoint, you need to address racism and slavery. And the author kind of barely tries to dip a toe in those waters with:
This posits a default mainstream (white) culture which -- giving points to be fair here -- needs to address its racism. Great. I am with you there.
(Although there's no analysis of the racism in those statements, nor is it anywhere addressed who the "you" is that's doing the wondering about "those countries").
But at no point in any of this history of food trends in America does the author address things like:
--the craze for fried chicken that went along with minstrel-themed restaurants in the early 19th century (source)
--or how biscuits became a trend in the South as a deliberate strategy to move people away from cornbread because white women associated it with Black people (source)
--how white bread became popular due to deliberate anti-immigrant tactics among an economic trust of industrial bakeries (source)
--or how anti-Mexican legislation put a stop to the hot tamale trend in Texas until white people learned how to make them and began selling them instead of Mexican women (source).
--or the rise in popularity of soul food restaurants in the 1970s, along with a concomitant "health scare" backlash (source).
These are all important parts, to me, of examining food trends in the United States.
Travel... and immigration... since the 1980s.
Bonus xenophobia: "In the eleventh century obese William the Conqueror took to bed and consumed nothing but alcohol to shed pounds, a practice many of his countrymen seem to continue to this day."
So overall the book reads like this is an author who has just done a little research into the things that interest him and ignores the whole rest of U.S. history, which frankly, I call shenanigans on.
(Also could someone else parse this sentence for me and tell me what in tarnation is going on here: "One of the big reasons why food trends matter is that they have the power to pick up one culture's cuisine and push it above the fray of cheap, marginalized ethnic foods to the point at which it becomes part of our everyday diet.")
Look, I'm not super well read in this field, BUT I ALSO HAVEN'T WRITTEN A BOOK CLAIMING TO EXPLAIN A PARTICULAR ASPECT OF AMERICAN HISTORY TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
*deep breath*
Look, I'm sure this is a readable book if you're not me, and you just want to snark along with the author at those wacky gals who love cupcakes and how fondue was associated with 1970s wife-swapping. Just don't expect a more functional analysis than that, which was my fatal mistake.
The other part of my dislike, though, is that the author appears to be wholly unaware of large chunks of US history specifically as they pertain to food, and that's very much a bigger problem.
From the subtitle of this book -- "Plus Baconomics, Superfoods, and Other Secrets From the World Of Food Trends" -- which appears on only certain covers(?), you might be able to guess that the organization of the book is all over the place. Celebrity chefs! Historical grains! Bacon! Money! Cupcakes! Ethnic food! I could not find rhyme nor reason for how the author chose what to focus on, or in what order.
But what you might not be able to guess is that the author focuses almost exclusively on food trends in the internet era, which he loosely defines as 1997-2014, the latter being the date of publication for this book. And that could work if you own it right at the beginning (or really, anywhere in the book).
But that doesn't happen.
Instead what happens is that the author is prone to making vast sweeping statements about the history of food in the United States that either ignore everything before the 1980s, or are flat-out wrong, and he only talks to people with similarly narrow viewpoints.
So you have statements like this:
By the early years of the 1980s, however, things got tough for bacon. The low-fat diet trend took off, and when it was combined with a health scare over the nitrates frequently used to preserve meats, the corresponding demand for bacon rapidly dropped. "That was really the first food scare," recalled the aptly named Joe Leathers, now a retired VP of the National Pork Producers Council.
*The rise of industrialization in the 19th century looks up sharply*
Or this: "No tastemakers are more reliant on the media's voice than chefs."
Or this: "The Italians basically established the specialty food market in America", a statement that is never explained, referenced, sourced or referred to again anywhere in the book.
But wait, it gets worse. And I think you know where it's going to get worse. That's right: the ethnic foods chapter.
In order to write any kind of study of food trends and food availability in the United States that purports to have a historical viewpoint, you need to address racism and slavery. And the author kind of barely tries to dip a toe in those waters with:
With each visit to a Vietnamese, Thai, or Cambodian restaurant, you try new dishes, new flavors, and new foods. You begin to wonder what those countries are actually like. Are they nice? Are they safe?
This posits a default mainstream (white) culture which -- giving points to be fair here -- needs to address its racism. Great. I am with you there.
(Although there's no analysis of the racism in those statements, nor is it anywhere addressed who the "you" is that's doing the wondering about "those countries").
But at no point in any of this history of food trends in America does the author address things like:
--the craze for fried chicken that went along with minstrel-themed restaurants in the early 19th century (source)
--or how biscuits became a trend in the South as a deliberate strategy to move people away from cornbread because white women associated it with Black people (source)
--how white bread became popular due to deliberate anti-immigrant tactics among an economic trust of industrial bakeries (source)
--or how anti-Mexican legislation put a stop to the hot tamale trend in Texas until white people learned how to make them and began selling them instead of Mexican women (source).
--or the rise in popularity of soul food restaurants in the 1970s, along with a concomitant "health scare" backlash (source).
These are all important parts, to me, of examining food trends in the United States.
[Ever since the 1980s], thanks to increased travel and immigration, culinary influences and flavors from beyond continental Europe began occupying an increasingly prominent place on the North American dinner plate.
Travel... and immigration... since the 1980s.
Bonus xenophobia: "In the eleventh century obese William the Conqueror took to bed and consumed nothing but alcohol to shed pounds, a practice many of his countrymen seem to continue to this day."
So overall the book reads like this is an author who has just done a little research into the things that interest him and ignores the whole rest of U.S. history, which frankly, I call shenanigans on.
(Also could someone else parse this sentence for me and tell me what in tarnation is going on here: "One of the big reasons why food trends matter is that they have the power to pick up one culture's cuisine and push it above the fray of cheap, marginalized ethnic foods to the point at which it becomes part of our everyday diet.")
Look, I'm not super well read in this field, BUT I ALSO HAVEN'T WRITTEN A BOOK CLAIMING TO EXPLAIN A PARTICULAR ASPECT OF AMERICAN HISTORY TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
*deep breath*
Look, I'm sure this is a readable book if you're not me, and you just want to snark along with the author at those wacky gals who love cupcakes and how fondue was associated with 1970s wife-swapping. Just don't expect a more functional analysis than that, which was my fatal mistake.
April 7, 2014
In ‘Tastemakers’, Sax examines food trends from all angles. He visits farmer’s markets, the research facility of Dole, and a man who is bringing back the older breeds of rice (while I knew there were a lot of strains of rice that we never see here in the US, I had no idea there were so very many!); talks with celebrity chefs, people who have made chia seeds a health food rather than a Christmas joke present, and people who own food trucks. He tells us that the current cupcake megatrend was started by a very short scene in ‘Sex in the City’- 20 seconds where a character eats a cupcake. Some food trends are created on purpose, as Dole is attempting; some are accidental like the cupcake one. The bacon trend started as a way for pork producers to use up something and for chain restaurants to have something cheap that they could charge a premium for when they put it on a burger, and morphed into a huge movement that affected all strata of food producers from home cooks to cheap chains to celebrity chefs. (Sax questions whether it’s a good idea to infuse bacon into everything; I have to say that, yes, yes it is.)
I’m a bit of a foodie, so I found the book fascinating. This is no cookbook; this is a sociological and historical book written in a brisk style.
I’m a bit of a foodie, so I found the book fascinating. This is no cookbook; this is a sociological and historical book written in a brisk style.
August 11, 2014
I caught the tail end of a KQED show with the author on it, and it sounded plausibly interesting. It's a good book to practice speed reading too. You can avoid digesting much of the fluff, and seek out some interesting details, or insights. I don't usually like to abandon books, but this has become too laborious for my taste (I don't prefer to wait in lines in order to Instagram photos of food, and tell my friends just how much the wait in the long line was justified so maybe it wasn't meant for me). I am somewhere in Part II, and around a 1/3 of the way through the book, and I am not going to continue reading it.
I think there is too much scene setting, and description of where the author is experiencing his research (for instance, I am not interested in the meal you are having when someone is hawking rice, or the what the room looks like where a bunch of vendors are hawking gourmet caramel), and not well balanced with the insights, lessons, models of what was being researched.
I think there is too much scene setting, and description of where the author is experiencing his research (for instance, I am not interested in the meal you are having when someone is hawking rice, or the what the room looks like where a bunch of vendors are hawking gourmet caramel), and not well balanced with the insights, lessons, models of what was being researched.
March 19, 2014
The Tastemakers by David Saxon was an interesting and humorous read. This insightful book delved into food crazes and their origins, how the agriculture and marketing parts fit in and how they weave together.
Cupcakes dominate the beginning chapter. I never thought of the reason they seemed so popular these days. In some cases, they are a popular choice for weddings instead of a traditional wedding cake. How does that happen? Well, David Saxon will tell you. It’s a craze that started before Sex in the City (a misconception I had about the cupcake popularity).
His research is well done and not a dry recounting of facts. He’s quite humorous actually. As you read about the accidental popularity of the cupcake and it’s rise to fame you’ll find you want one more than ever.
Marketing and business sections explain the economics of bacon. Yes, the meat that has become a star ingredient in its own right in everything from breakfast to dinner to desserts. An explanation of marketing and pork belly futures isn’t boring. Well, not the way Saxon presents it. Usually I hear the word bacon and someone (me included at times) will quote Homer Simpson; “Mmmmmm……..bacon….” in a dreamy tone.
I liked this part in the book where he talks about people embracing a particular food or diet because another culture, who eats XYZ, is healthy and long lived.
“We also buy into a narrative…that simplifies a complicated lifestyle down to a single ingredient. The seductive power of many of these super foods lies in their place in remote, somewhat mystical cultures. Whether it’s the longevity of Greek goat herders, Okinawan fisherman, Amazonian tribesmen, or Mexican tribal joggers, the tremendous difference between their health and ours has a hell of a lot more to do with the fact that we drive cars, sit at computers, and have access to super-sized sodas than the fact that they eat yogurt, salmon, acai, or chia…”
Right?! I am not a goat herder. I drive to work and sit in front of a computer a good portion of my day. While I limit my intake of fast foods and convenience foods, my American lifestyle is vastly different from an Okinawan fisherman. Back when the Mediterranean diet was all the rage there were always the folks who thought adding olive oil and drinking red wine would transform their health and waistline.
This non-fiction appraisal of food trends is an easy read. It also had me go to one of the popular local cupcake shops. Smallcakes in Tallahassee Florida has it going on!
They have some amazing cupcakes and different specials every day. After reading The Tastemakers I was aware of 3 different specialty cupcake shops in my area. Didn’t even think about it before reading this book.
Coincidentally, Tallahassee Florida is mentioned in the last chapter where Saxon talks about fondue. The Melting Pot restaurant has been in business here for as long I remember living here. It started in the underground section under a popular seafood/oyster joint called Barnacle Bill’s. Now it’s located in a big stand-alone restaurant on Monroe Street in Tallahassee.
What Saxon write about the fondue restaurant is absolutely true. It seems a by gone fad but it is the place I think of for celebrations and very special events. As our 30th wedding anniversary is approaching (this June) we may just enjoy a long evening at The Melting Pot.
Kudos to David Saxon for producing an informative and enjoyable book about the food fashions and trends. Will have to check out his other books now.
Cupcakes dominate the beginning chapter. I never thought of the reason they seemed so popular these days. In some cases, they are a popular choice for weddings instead of a traditional wedding cake. How does that happen? Well, David Saxon will tell you. It’s a craze that started before Sex in the City (a misconception I had about the cupcake popularity).
His research is well done and not a dry recounting of facts. He’s quite humorous actually. As you read about the accidental popularity of the cupcake and it’s rise to fame you’ll find you want one more than ever.
Marketing and business sections explain the economics of bacon. Yes, the meat that has become a star ingredient in its own right in everything from breakfast to dinner to desserts. An explanation of marketing and pork belly futures isn’t boring. Well, not the way Saxon presents it. Usually I hear the word bacon and someone (me included at times) will quote Homer Simpson; “Mmmmmm……..bacon….” in a dreamy tone.
I liked this part in the book where he talks about people embracing a particular food or diet because another culture, who eats XYZ, is healthy and long lived.
“We also buy into a narrative…that simplifies a complicated lifestyle down to a single ingredient. The seductive power of many of these super foods lies in their place in remote, somewhat mystical cultures. Whether it’s the longevity of Greek goat herders, Okinawan fisherman, Amazonian tribesmen, or Mexican tribal joggers, the tremendous difference between their health and ours has a hell of a lot more to do with the fact that we drive cars, sit at computers, and have access to super-sized sodas than the fact that they eat yogurt, salmon, acai, or chia…”
Right?! I am not a goat herder. I drive to work and sit in front of a computer a good portion of my day. While I limit my intake of fast foods and convenience foods, my American lifestyle is vastly different from an Okinawan fisherman. Back when the Mediterranean diet was all the rage there were always the folks who thought adding olive oil and drinking red wine would transform their health and waistline.
This non-fiction appraisal of food trends is an easy read. It also had me go to one of the popular local cupcake shops. Smallcakes in Tallahassee Florida has it going on!
They have some amazing cupcakes and different specials every day. After reading The Tastemakers I was aware of 3 different specialty cupcake shops in my area. Didn’t even think about it before reading this book.
Coincidentally, Tallahassee Florida is mentioned in the last chapter where Saxon talks about fondue. The Melting Pot restaurant has been in business here for as long I remember living here. It started in the underground section under a popular seafood/oyster joint called Barnacle Bill’s. Now it’s located in a big stand-alone restaurant on Monroe Street in Tallahassee.
What Saxon write about the fondue restaurant is absolutely true. It seems a by gone fad but it is the place I think of for celebrations and very special events. As our 30th wedding anniversary is approaching (this June) we may just enjoy a long evening at The Melting Pot.
Kudos to David Saxon for producing an informative and enjoyable book about the food fashions and trends. Will have to check out his other books now.
May 13, 2015
This book really caught my eye with the bacon cupcake on the cover. I didn't know exactly what to expect from it. I brought it home laughingly because my husband has recently expressed a desire to do fondue again, having pleasant memories of the process from back in the 70s (minus the swinging cited in Chapter 11!). Maybe a trip to Florida will be in the works soon (see Ch. 11 for explanation). For sure he would never eat a gourmet cupcake.
At any rate, each section and chapter explored a different facet of food trends, from the start to the waning of each one. I smiled in the chapter about "Superfoods", an expression I'm as sick of as the word "extreme". As the author says, everyone is too busy looking for the one-food-cures-all to bother cooking basic nutritious food. We all know about the flavour-of-the-year phenomenon, whether it is pomegranate, acai, pumpkin, kale, chia seeds, etc.
The chapter on sales was really interesting. It would be amazing to attend one of these huge expositions where everyone is trying to get a piece of the market. The chapter on marketing and promotion was fascinating.
I loved Section III: Why Food Trends Matter. It is a puzzle why South Asian food is still anathema to mainstream North America, even while so many immigrants come from there. The chapter on food trucks really hit home, as the debate that went on in Washington DC and San Francisco is almost verbatim to that which is currently happening here in my home town (restaurants griping, ridiculously priced licenses for the truck, complaints about parking, etc.)
The chapter on bacon was hideously fascinating. When the author wrote about the frenzy at Chicago's Baconfest, it was utterly repellant but at the same time weirdly seductive. When he talked about the air being saturated with bacon grease, I could almost feel it on my skin. Just this week, I saw a promotion for a pizza chain offering a bacon-wrapped deep-dish pizza. My arteries hardened just watching it.
I liked that the author was fair to all sides in this book. He understood the whole food trend concept, and clearly had opinions on some aspects of it, but he was open-minded throughout. I really enjoyed this foray into non-fiction, a genre I don't explore often enough.
Footnote: I was going through back issues of one of my favourite food magazines, and in the past year they've had separate issues devoted to bacon and cupcakes. Right on trend!
At any rate, each section and chapter explored a different facet of food trends, from the start to the waning of each one. I smiled in the chapter about "Superfoods", an expression I'm as sick of as the word "extreme". As the author says, everyone is too busy looking for the one-food-cures-all to bother cooking basic nutritious food. We all know about the flavour-of-the-year phenomenon, whether it is pomegranate, acai, pumpkin, kale, chia seeds, etc.
The chapter on sales was really interesting. It would be amazing to attend one of these huge expositions where everyone is trying to get a piece of the market. The chapter on marketing and promotion was fascinating.
I loved Section III: Why Food Trends Matter. It is a puzzle why South Asian food is still anathema to mainstream North America, even while so many immigrants come from there. The chapter on food trucks really hit home, as the debate that went on in Washington DC and San Francisco is almost verbatim to that which is currently happening here in my home town (restaurants griping, ridiculously priced licenses for the truck, complaints about parking, etc.)
The chapter on bacon was hideously fascinating. When the author wrote about the frenzy at Chicago's Baconfest, it was utterly repellant but at the same time weirdly seductive. When he talked about the air being saturated with bacon grease, I could almost feel it on my skin. Just this week, I saw a promotion for a pizza chain offering a bacon-wrapped deep-dish pizza. My arteries hardened just watching it.
I liked that the author was fair to all sides in this book. He understood the whole food trend concept, and clearly had opinions on some aspects of it, but he was open-minded throughout. I really enjoyed this foray into non-fiction, a genre I don't explore often enough.
Footnote: I was going through back issues of one of my favourite food magazines, and in the past year they've had separate issues devoted to bacon and cupcakes. Right on trend!
November 3, 2014
Misleading promises.
I got this book because of what I read in the introduction - the author wanted to figure out why some foods become trendy, how that happens, who are the people that make it happen, what is the impact, and what happens to industries when the food is no longer trendy. As someone who works in the food and nutrition industry (on the health side), I was really curious to see his journalistic investigation into these questions. However, instead of a comprehensive narrative, the story is divided by foods. He tells very long and drawn out stories of how specific items became popular, biographies of the people that made them so, but he does not draw any comparisons between the stories, nor does he draw any conclusions from their similarities and differences.
I read the whole book waiting for those conclusions, but instead all I got was the biography of a lot of restaurant makers. The questions are still unanswered.
I got this book because of what I read in the introduction - the author wanted to figure out why some foods become trendy, how that happens, who are the people that make it happen, what is the impact, and what happens to industries when the food is no longer trendy. As someone who works in the food and nutrition industry (on the health side), I was really curious to see his journalistic investigation into these questions. However, instead of a comprehensive narrative, the story is divided by foods. He tells very long and drawn out stories of how specific items became popular, biographies of the people that made them so, but he does not draw any comparisons between the stories, nor does he draw any conclusions from their similarities and differences.
I read the whole book waiting for those conclusions, but instead all I got was the biography of a lot of restaurant makers. The questions are still unanswered.
August 31, 2016
**I received a review copy of this book from Goodreads giveaways**
Sax asks a lot of good questions in this book, trying to identify the forces and personalities that drive food trends. And in exploring those questions, he gives us a fun romp from the fields of Anson Mills to the convention halls of Chicago's Baconfest. Though some of Sax's forays take on the vicissitudes of nature and the information gleaned by industry number-crunchers, my big takeaway from the book is the overwhelming influence of media on food culture. "Old" media, from TV shows like Sex and the City, to the Food Network, to personalities like Oprah and her protégé, Dr. Oz, and "New" media, including food bloggers, Instagrammers, and Twitter, both have huge influence over the growth and development of food trends. The book is chock full of stories and anecdotes featuring these media entities...but I kept wanting Sax to do something with the information. Sax never seems to draw any conclusions from his stories, which makes the book seem unresolved, even possibly rushed to press (there are basic grammar/vocabulary errors that contributed to this impression for me--for example, on page 263, he states that diet fads in the 70's "cast dispersions on fat, sugar, oil, and cheese," rather than "cast aspersions on").
Sax asks a lot of good questions in this book, trying to identify the forces and personalities that drive food trends. And in exploring those questions, he gives us a fun romp from the fields of Anson Mills to the convention halls of Chicago's Baconfest. Though some of Sax's forays take on the vicissitudes of nature and the information gleaned by industry number-crunchers, my big takeaway from the book is the overwhelming influence of media on food culture. "Old" media, from TV shows like Sex and the City, to the Food Network, to personalities like Oprah and her protégé, Dr. Oz, and "New" media, including food bloggers, Instagrammers, and Twitter, both have huge influence over the growth and development of food trends. The book is chock full of stories and anecdotes featuring these media entities...but I kept wanting Sax to do something with the information. Sax never seems to draw any conclusions from his stories, which makes the book seem unresolved, even possibly rushed to press (there are basic grammar/vocabulary errors that contributed to this impression for me--for example, on page 263, he states that diet fads in the 70's "cast dispersions on fat, sugar, oil, and cheese," rather than "cast aspersions on").
October 24, 2015
This is a very interesting, fun book about food trends. It's well written and researched. I enjoyed it.
September 16, 2014
The Tastemakers (2014) by David Sax is an entertaining look at the wonders of modern food in the United States and Canada.
Food in the West has improved vastly over the past 40 years. Globalisation has given the developed world a plethora of new ingredients and introduced many new cuisines.
Sax starts off by looking at how the cupcakes have been revived and become a global fad. Driven by some New York bakeries making something new the trend was then given a huge boost via Sex and the City and took off.
The impact of Celebrity Chefs and the appearance of new ingredients like Chia Seeds and other 'super foods' is then examined. When looking at chefs Sax laughably asserts that Sang Yoon, an LA based chef invented the gastropub. Wikipedia calmly puts the creation of the gastropub as being in the early 1990s in Britain. The book should have been better fact checked on this. But the rise of gourmet burgers and Korean BBQ tacos is something that has been driven by celebrity chefs. Sax does nicely include quotes from nutritionists about how super foods are over rated.
Sax then looks at people who study food trends and advise food companies. Here some of the marketeers self-promotion is evident but still these people clearly have some impact. Sax visits a food show in DC and describes how a new Apple variety, The Red Prince is being brought to consumers. It's very interesting reading.
The book then looks at why food trends matter and ethnic food and how Indian food is growing in popularity in the US and how food trucks are rising and their battles with city regulators. Then the rise of bacon is given a chapter. Sax then writes about how fondue rose in popularity in the US but then faded. In an epilogue the phenomenon of cronuts is described. The way the internet and food bloggers helped the spread of this new pastry is wonderfully written up.
The book misses something in that it's overly focussed on North America and misses how food has improved around the world which is unfortunate. The rapid improvement in British and Australian food would have improved the book.
Tastemakers is a fine look at how food trends rise and fall and it shows just how much food has improved in Anglo-Saxon countries. It's curious that food, a subject that so many people spend so much time thinking and writing about, isn't written about more in the manner that Sax does. The book is readable, entertaining and thought provoking. It's very much worth checking out.
Food in the West has improved vastly over the past 40 years. Globalisation has given the developed world a plethora of new ingredients and introduced many new cuisines.
Sax starts off by looking at how the cupcakes have been revived and become a global fad. Driven by some New York bakeries making something new the trend was then given a huge boost via Sex and the City and took off.
The impact of Celebrity Chefs and the appearance of new ingredients like Chia Seeds and other 'super foods' is then examined. When looking at chefs Sax laughably asserts that Sang Yoon, an LA based chef invented the gastropub. Wikipedia calmly puts the creation of the gastropub as being in the early 1990s in Britain. The book should have been better fact checked on this. But the rise of gourmet burgers and Korean BBQ tacos is something that has been driven by celebrity chefs. Sax does nicely include quotes from nutritionists about how super foods are over rated.
Sax then looks at people who study food trends and advise food companies. Here some of the marketeers self-promotion is evident but still these people clearly have some impact. Sax visits a food show in DC and describes how a new Apple variety, The Red Prince is being brought to consumers. It's very interesting reading.
The book then looks at why food trends matter and ethnic food and how Indian food is growing in popularity in the US and how food trucks are rising and their battles with city regulators. Then the rise of bacon is given a chapter. Sax then writes about how fondue rose in popularity in the US but then faded. In an epilogue the phenomenon of cronuts is described. The way the internet and food bloggers helped the spread of this new pastry is wonderfully written up.
The book misses something in that it's overly focussed on North America and misses how food has improved around the world which is unfortunate. The rapid improvement in British and Australian food would have improved the book.
Tastemakers is a fine look at how food trends rise and fall and it shows just how much food has improved in Anglo-Saxon countries. It's curious that food, a subject that so many people spend so much time thinking and writing about, isn't written about more in the manner that Sax does. The book is readable, entertaining and thought provoking. It's very much worth checking out.
March 9, 2015
This book piqued my interest for two reasons:
#1 when I was a retail gift shop manager and had to order items months in advance I always found it interesting that catalogs and vendors were aware of trends before they happened. I put a lot of faith and money into their predictions. Case in point: I had a lot of moustache and bacon products long before I was hearing any buzz about them from my teen daughter or foodie friends. So how do these vendors know what is going to trend before it is even trending?
#2 I am a freelance writer which means I have to pitch articles months in advance. About a year ago, I was researching upcoming food trends to pitch. After finding some fabulous foodie conferences and culinary sites I cultivated a list and began pitching. As the year progressed I saw all of the trends come to fruition. Again, I thought how do they know?
I suppose the same question can be said about fashion. How do magazines pick the trends before they even become trends? Or is it because the magazine says that it is a trend (whatever "it" is) that it becomes a trend?
David Sax's "The Tastemakers" really delves into how these trends come around in the food world. This book is a must for any foodies or anyone simply interested in the origins of trends.
** I received this book in exchange for an honest review**
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.c...
January 14, 2014
http://iwishilivedinalibrary.blogspot...
The cover of this book was what really grabbed me initially and then I was intrigued my the concept. Sax did not disappoint. This was a detailed look at everything food trend related. He covered cupcakes, artisan cheeses, gourmet burgers, health and diet trends, the people who make the trends happen both on the production and marking level, the effects of social media and what happens when a trend fades. I was especially pleased in the food truck chapter when he very clearly explained both sides of the controversy surround them in a way that I sympathized with both sides. This book was a fascinating look at food from almost an academic level. There aren't recipes and Sax is a writer not a chef. This is definitely a perspective I haven't read before and introduced me to an industry that I wasn't aware even existed. It was a great read though I did learn that it's a terrible idea to go into a specialty market while reading this book. My trip to pick up a few dollars worth of bulk spices ended up with me walking out with chia drinks, fancy apples and cheeses, gummy bears and a bacon jam.
The cover of this book was what really grabbed me initially and then I was intrigued my the concept. Sax did not disappoint. This was a detailed look at everything food trend related. He covered cupcakes, artisan cheeses, gourmet burgers, health and diet trends, the people who make the trends happen both on the production and marking level, the effects of social media and what happens when a trend fades. I was especially pleased in the food truck chapter when he very clearly explained both sides of the controversy surround them in a way that I sympathized with both sides. This book was a fascinating look at food from almost an academic level. There aren't recipes and Sax is a writer not a chef. This is definitely a perspective I haven't read before and introduced me to an industry that I wasn't aware even existed. It was a great read though I did learn that it's a terrible idea to go into a specialty market while reading this book. My trip to pick up a few dollars worth of bulk spices ended up with me walking out with chia drinks, fancy apples and cheeses, gummy bears and a bacon jam.
May 8, 2015
I just loved this book!
It was very interesting and informative. I like to eat, but I am not the most attentive to trends and where they come from or go. But this book made me think about some trends I had witnessed myself, and participated in, and told me about many more I had never heard of.
This book focuses on North America, so of course not all trends have made it to Germany, others look at a consumer clientele I am not part of. Nevertheless it was fascinating to hear about them.
Something I really appreciated was the critical look he put on the health and diet trends that have evolved in the past and how he pointed out their workings and the influence of marketing on them.
It also made me think about the effect food trends have on the economy and society.
I con only recommend this to anyone who is interested in food trends or food in general. Because while listening to the book I wanted to eat everything that was talked about.
I would further recommend the audiobook as it brought the stories and facts to live. David Sax narrates the book himself and he does a wonderful job with that.
It was very interesting and informative. I like to eat, but I am not the most attentive to trends and where they come from or go. But this book made me think about some trends I had witnessed myself, and participated in, and told me about many more I had never heard of.
This book focuses on North America, so of course not all trends have made it to Germany, others look at a consumer clientele I am not part of. Nevertheless it was fascinating to hear about them.
Something I really appreciated was the critical look he put on the health and diet trends that have evolved in the past and how he pointed out their workings and the influence of marketing on them.
It also made me think about the effect food trends have on the economy and society.
I con only recommend this to anyone who is interested in food trends or food in general. Because while listening to the book I wanted to eat everything that was talked about.
I would further recommend the audiobook as it brought the stories and facts to live. David Sax narrates the book himself and he does a wonderful job with that.
October 22, 2016
I'm not going to finish this one. I almost gave up when the author mentioned the paleo diet like it had some basis in the reality of what paleolithic humans ate, but the subject matter was really interesting so I kept readin. (I long to understand the cult of kale.) The other times the book touched on history where all poorly research and inaccurate, but what made me finally give up was was when the author mourned the lost of food way called the Carolina Rice Kitchen which didn't survive the US civil war in part because "emancipation disrupted the labor model." I couldn't help thinking that maybe this was good thing, but the author doesn't bother to acknowledge the horrors of slavery. It was just too much for me.
April 27, 2021
Fascinating and fun to read
December 31, 2014
Another pretty book cover. The siren song of the library new book shelves called once more...
Do you have a 'foodie' (that cloying label, it burns) friend who posts endless 'food porn' photos? Do you want to launch them off a balcony after the 34th picture of their salad in one facebook feed? Me too! This firmly establishes me in the 'likes good food but doesn't want to talk about it' category. And even I enjoyed this book.
Food fads like the cupcake, the infernal 'cronut' (both trends incidentally started in NYC. FANCY!) and that annoying resurgence of bacon (hipsters running around with I heart Bacon t-shirts, bragging about the bacon infused cocktails they just slammed, taking photos, etc etc) all have a point. Yes! There's a method to the madness, a reason for this inescapable 'cute' in food fads.
What I liked most about this book was this: Sax trekked around and garnered first hand information (his journalism background helped here and made his little investigations thorough) about different aspects of food trends. His writing style and humor kept the book from being a dry and turning into a ridiculous orgy of foodie anecdotes.
The book started out with the cupcake explosion. The humble baked treat became a status symbol Upper East Side bulimic lemmings (and hapless assistants and interns) stood on line for waiting hours.. for a fucking cupcake. How did we get to this terrible place in society? How? Well, a bakery made a few cupcakes and it took off (short version, read the book for the glorious snarky warring cupcakeries and their bitchy lawsuits against each other). Also? A little show called Sex and The City propelled Magnolia bakery (and cupcakes) into the stratosphere as 'sexy, fun, successful!' food. The horrid tour bus operator promising sloppy tourists 'CUP-CAKES'!' over the loudspeaker was comic gold. If I ever get to that point, taking a SATC tour? You have license to shoot me.
My all time favorite part of the book was the focus on mavericks like Glenn Roberts. A former self proclaimed jack of all trades, he saw a sunset over field of Carolina Gold (a variety of rice) and was so moved by the beauty of it he spontaneously decided that his calling was bringing this grain back into widespread use. His company Anson Mills sells 'ancient' grains (online, available to all but mostly used by chefs and vendors). Sax really shows the colorful personality of each person he profiles. He describes them (except his too-in-depth description of the young couple/goat cheese makers later in the book, I though dude wanted a three way it was too. much. dude.)and their passion for food and what they do so much even a non foodie like me got jazzed. I wanted to visit the places he wrote about. And people like Glenn Roberts who work hard to create a buzz around certain grains, entice top chefs to use them and thus start the chain reaction of recognition/making money; it's about so much more. Roberts worked with historians, chefs, and farmers to recreate the Carolina Rice Kitchen. In the Carolinas so many grains were lost during the Civil War (Sherman's armies did irreparable damage) and recipes were lost as well. These grains not only have cultural and historical significance but they're healthy as well. Roberts is a man on a mission and Sax captured this sort of behind the scenes trend maker so perfectly.
Chefs are the new rockstars; they have blogs, twitter followers and tv shows and book deals. The young and cocky ones get lots of media attention. Trends can start quickly now that social media is here; instant reviews on yelp, twitter and other outlets mean chefs, restaurants and even certain foods no longer have to wait for a food reviewer to stumble in and write up a piece on the NY Times. Some of the old guard chefs rue this new development; the young turks want to shock and awe (and get a tv show) not master the kitchen classics.
Another interesting section was the bit on food trucks vs. restaurants. Food trucks allow quick, cheaper access to more varieties of ethnic foods for the masses. Of course restaurants feel threatened as they have to pay more taxes, a huge overhead and now seem stuff to young people flocking to the hipster quirky 'food truck' trend. This is a new wrinkle in things making things more democratic in a way' it's cheaper and more viable to get started in the food business running a food truck then getting a loan and a bunch of staff and licenses for a restaurant. Food truck vendors are now organized and have legal backing in their pushback to surly restauranteurs. Translation? Food trucks aren't going anywhere for a while. Hipsters, rejoice!
Also the difference between 'foreign' and 'ethnic' food? Apparently foreign food supposedly is stuff like Chinese, Japanese and Mexican. Ethnic is stuff like Thai, Indian, etc. Interestingly food that is deemed 'ethnic' is simply harder to charge more for no matter how well appointed the restaurant and how good the chefs are. Indian food has struggled to take off apparently. I was surprised since a lot of my friends like it and I was lucky enough to live in cities that had access to lots of different cuisines; it seems popular enough. But for a food trend to take off, be a 'thing' it has to be big in smaller cities too. And Indian food has an image problem. It was sad but one vendor said people liked her samples and food until she said it was Indian food and many walked away and or spit it out. This was not just a one off. It bothered me actually and made me realize just how xenophobic many consumers still are. More samosas for me, then, bitches! But a few Indian families have relentlessly worked against the tide of public opinion; some have offered traditional Indian fare in unconventional ways; basically they changed the presentation to make it less 'scary' for the Jim Bobs and Bubbas. Brilliant. And I admired reading about the tenacity of these families; in the end they not only wanted financial success and security but they also wanted others to share their enthusiasm for good food. They have pride in their heritage and that's awesome.
The marketing section of the book was an eye opener; I loved reading about how they brainstorm for product names, advertising campaigns and finding their target audience. Fun fact: that 'pork the other white meat' ubiquitous ad campaign in the 80s was a desperate bid for the industry to bounce back from the low fat diet trend. And apparently it worked well. And Beechnut corporation consulted someone to get Americans to eat bigger heartier breakfasts than the standard coffee, juice and toast routine. So a 'study' was done (*wink wink*) paid for conveniently by.. Beechnut! It showed people who ate hearty breakfasts were more productive and healthy, etc. So bacon and eggs became the standard American breakfast not long after. Funny and a bit sobering how easily we are swayed as consumers. Shades of big pharm here (not as dangerous but just as sketchy) in this practice of public manipulation.
Finally, I loved how Sax got a potshot in at the annoying, weird Dr. OZ. Oprah's chosen one (where's Dr. Phil at these days?) who always mumbles about some new dietary aid or 'superfood'. Which brings us to this: according to dieticians there ARE NONE. Eating a balanced diet still is the only way, kids. Dr. Oz is pumping his fists on his yacht with every sucker who buys chia seeds/Noni/whateverthehell else is the new health /anti aging elixir. This book is a nice peek behind the curtain (see what I did there? LIKE IN OZ) and so informative.
If you eat food and like it, check it out. If you're a foodie? You'll absolutely get a kick out of this book. Just remember food trucks don't have bathrooms or sinks. Enjoy those ecoli tapas you got there!
Do you have a 'foodie' (that cloying label, it burns) friend who posts endless 'food porn' photos? Do you want to launch them off a balcony after the 34th picture of their salad in one facebook feed? Me too! This firmly establishes me in the 'likes good food but doesn't want to talk about it' category. And even I enjoyed this book.
Food fads like the cupcake, the infernal 'cronut' (both trends incidentally started in NYC. FANCY!) and that annoying resurgence of bacon (hipsters running around with I heart Bacon t-shirts, bragging about the bacon infused cocktails they just slammed, taking photos, etc etc) all have a point. Yes! There's a method to the madness, a reason for this inescapable 'cute' in food fads.
What I liked most about this book was this: Sax trekked around and garnered first hand information (his journalism background helped here and made his little investigations thorough) about different aspects of food trends. His writing style and humor kept the book from being a dry and turning into a ridiculous orgy of foodie anecdotes.
The book started out with the cupcake explosion. The humble baked treat became a status symbol Upper East Side bulimic lemmings (and hapless assistants and interns) stood on line for waiting hours.. for a fucking cupcake. How did we get to this terrible place in society? How? Well, a bakery made a few cupcakes and it took off (short version, read the book for the glorious snarky warring cupcakeries and their bitchy lawsuits against each other). Also? A little show called Sex and The City propelled Magnolia bakery (and cupcakes) into the stratosphere as 'sexy, fun, successful!' food. The horrid tour bus operator promising sloppy tourists 'CUP-CAKES'!' over the loudspeaker was comic gold. If I ever get to that point, taking a SATC tour? You have license to shoot me.
My all time favorite part of the book was the focus on mavericks like Glenn Roberts. A former self proclaimed jack of all trades, he saw a sunset over field of Carolina Gold (a variety of rice) and was so moved by the beauty of it he spontaneously decided that his calling was bringing this grain back into widespread use. His company Anson Mills sells 'ancient' grains (online, available to all but mostly used by chefs and vendors). Sax really shows the colorful personality of each person he profiles. He describes them (except his too-in-depth description of the young couple/goat cheese makers later in the book, I though dude wanted a three way it was too. much. dude.)and their passion for food and what they do so much even a non foodie like me got jazzed. I wanted to visit the places he wrote about. And people like Glenn Roberts who work hard to create a buzz around certain grains, entice top chefs to use them and thus start the chain reaction of recognition/making money; it's about so much more. Roberts worked with historians, chefs, and farmers to recreate the Carolina Rice Kitchen. In the Carolinas so many grains were lost during the Civil War (Sherman's armies did irreparable damage) and recipes were lost as well. These grains not only have cultural and historical significance but they're healthy as well. Roberts is a man on a mission and Sax captured this sort of behind the scenes trend maker so perfectly.
Chefs are the new rockstars; they have blogs, twitter followers and tv shows and book deals. The young and cocky ones get lots of media attention. Trends can start quickly now that social media is here; instant reviews on yelp, twitter and other outlets mean chefs, restaurants and even certain foods no longer have to wait for a food reviewer to stumble in and write up a piece on the NY Times. Some of the old guard chefs rue this new development; the young turks want to shock and awe (and get a tv show) not master the kitchen classics.
Another interesting section was the bit on food trucks vs. restaurants. Food trucks allow quick, cheaper access to more varieties of ethnic foods for the masses. Of course restaurants feel threatened as they have to pay more taxes, a huge overhead and now seem stuff to young people flocking to the hipster quirky 'food truck' trend. This is a new wrinkle in things making things more democratic in a way' it's cheaper and more viable to get started in the food business running a food truck then getting a loan and a bunch of staff and licenses for a restaurant. Food truck vendors are now organized and have legal backing in their pushback to surly restauranteurs. Translation? Food trucks aren't going anywhere for a while. Hipsters, rejoice!
Also the difference between 'foreign' and 'ethnic' food? Apparently foreign food supposedly is stuff like Chinese, Japanese and Mexican. Ethnic is stuff like Thai, Indian, etc. Interestingly food that is deemed 'ethnic' is simply harder to charge more for no matter how well appointed the restaurant and how good the chefs are. Indian food has struggled to take off apparently. I was surprised since a lot of my friends like it and I was lucky enough to live in cities that had access to lots of different cuisines; it seems popular enough. But for a food trend to take off, be a 'thing' it has to be big in smaller cities too. And Indian food has an image problem. It was sad but one vendor said people liked her samples and food until she said it was Indian food and many walked away and or spit it out. This was not just a one off. It bothered me actually and made me realize just how xenophobic many consumers still are. More samosas for me, then, bitches! But a few Indian families have relentlessly worked against the tide of public opinion; some have offered traditional Indian fare in unconventional ways; basically they changed the presentation to make it less 'scary' for the Jim Bobs and Bubbas. Brilliant. And I admired reading about the tenacity of these families; in the end they not only wanted financial success and security but they also wanted others to share their enthusiasm for good food. They have pride in their heritage and that's awesome.
The marketing section of the book was an eye opener; I loved reading about how they brainstorm for product names, advertising campaigns and finding their target audience. Fun fact: that 'pork the other white meat' ubiquitous ad campaign in the 80s was a desperate bid for the industry to bounce back from the low fat diet trend. And apparently it worked well. And Beechnut corporation consulted someone to get Americans to eat bigger heartier breakfasts than the standard coffee, juice and toast routine. So a 'study' was done (*wink wink*) paid for conveniently by.. Beechnut! It showed people who ate hearty breakfasts were more productive and healthy, etc. So bacon and eggs became the standard American breakfast not long after. Funny and a bit sobering how easily we are swayed as consumers. Shades of big pharm here (not as dangerous but just as sketchy) in this practice of public manipulation.
Finally, I loved how Sax got a potshot in at the annoying, weird Dr. OZ. Oprah's chosen one (where's Dr. Phil at these days?) who always mumbles about some new dietary aid or 'superfood'. Which brings us to this: according to dieticians there ARE NONE. Eating a balanced diet still is the only way, kids. Dr. Oz is pumping his fists on his yacht with every sucker who buys chia seeds/Noni/whateverthehell else is the new health /anti aging elixir. This book is a nice peek behind the curtain (see what I did there? LIKE IN OZ) and so informative.
If you eat food and like it, check it out. If you're a foodie? You'll absolutely get a kick out of this book. Just remember food trucks don't have bathrooms or sinks. Enjoy those ecoli tapas you got there!
June 1, 2020
A fun read.
March 16, 2014
If you buy one "Foodie" book this year, make it this one.
Superbly researched and written "Tastemakers: Why We're Crazy for Cupcakes But Fed Up With Fondue" by David Sax is one hell of a tasty read. Sax explains in painstaking detail why cupcakes are all the rage, how bacon became trendy, and why chia seeds are up and comers in the food fad marketplace.
This humble blogger is just one very small piece of a huge market powerhouse with fluctuating economics, grand failures, glowing successes, and taste and spinmakers. Just one look around Pinterest, and you'll know that the cupcake fad (which gained ground from one brief appearance on Sex and the City) hasn't lost any steam. The cupcake pins are relentless. For example, in my Pinterest feed I see:
*Greek Yogurt Cupcakes with Blackberry frosting
*Neapolitan Cupcakes (that really taste like the ice cream in cupcake form)
*Apple Pie Cupcakes
*Cake Batter Ice Cream Cupcakes (a concoction of yellow cake, cake batter ice cream, and whipped cream)
*Cherry Limeade Cupcakes
*Godiva Hazelnut Crunch Cupcakes (that look like an ice cream sundae)
There are cupcake boards from Betty Crocker, Foodista, and every blogger out there - except me, I do not have a cupcake board. Yet - I'd rather have bar cookies.
There are so many fascinating quotes in "Tastemakers" that it's truly a challenge for me to pull one out to share. Here's just one that addresses the phenomenon of the superfood (think pomegranates, chia seeds, acai, agave nectar, Greek yogurt, etc.):
"We also buy into a narrative...that simplifies a complicated lifestyle down to a single ingredient. The seductive power of many of these superfoods lies in their place in remote, somewhat mystical cultures. Whether it's the longevity of Greek goat herders, Okinawan fisherman, Amazonian tribesmen, or Mexican tribal joggers, the tremendous difference between their health and ours has a hell of a lot more to do with the fact that we drive cars, sit at computers, and have access to super-sized sodas than the fact that they eat yogurt, salmon, acai, or chia...Superfoods exist simply to sell more pomegranates, chia seeds, or other foods that are good for us, even if they are not the fountain of youth. And the inevitability with any of these labels is that they are abused."
If you're a food blogger, get yourself a copy of this book today. If you love food, or are just purely curious about what drives food trends -and why we eat the food that we do- go get yourself a copy. The more educated you are about where your food comes from and how it is marketed to you, the more you start to crave what's grown in your own back yard. Or at least grown by a nearby farmer.
(I won this in a Library Thing giveaway, and the review was originally published on my blog.)
Superbly researched and written "Tastemakers: Why We're Crazy for Cupcakes But Fed Up With Fondue" by David Sax is one hell of a tasty read. Sax explains in painstaking detail why cupcakes are all the rage, how bacon became trendy, and why chia seeds are up and comers in the food fad marketplace.
This humble blogger is just one very small piece of a huge market powerhouse with fluctuating economics, grand failures, glowing successes, and taste and spinmakers. Just one look around Pinterest, and you'll know that the cupcake fad (which gained ground from one brief appearance on Sex and the City) hasn't lost any steam. The cupcake pins are relentless. For example, in my Pinterest feed I see:
*Greek Yogurt Cupcakes with Blackberry frosting
*Neapolitan Cupcakes (that really taste like the ice cream in cupcake form)
*Apple Pie Cupcakes
*Cake Batter Ice Cream Cupcakes (a concoction of yellow cake, cake batter ice cream, and whipped cream)
*Cherry Limeade Cupcakes
*Godiva Hazelnut Crunch Cupcakes (that look like an ice cream sundae)
There are cupcake boards from Betty Crocker, Foodista, and every blogger out there - except me, I do not have a cupcake board. Yet - I'd rather have bar cookies.
There are so many fascinating quotes in "Tastemakers" that it's truly a challenge for me to pull one out to share. Here's just one that addresses the phenomenon of the superfood (think pomegranates, chia seeds, acai, agave nectar, Greek yogurt, etc.):
"We also buy into a narrative...that simplifies a complicated lifestyle down to a single ingredient. The seductive power of many of these superfoods lies in their place in remote, somewhat mystical cultures. Whether it's the longevity of Greek goat herders, Okinawan fisherman, Amazonian tribesmen, or Mexican tribal joggers, the tremendous difference between their health and ours has a hell of a lot more to do with the fact that we drive cars, sit at computers, and have access to super-sized sodas than the fact that they eat yogurt, salmon, acai, or chia...Superfoods exist simply to sell more pomegranates, chia seeds, or other foods that are good for us, even if they are not the fountain of youth. And the inevitability with any of these labels is that they are abused."
If you're a food blogger, get yourself a copy of this book today. If you love food, or are just purely curious about what drives food trends -and why we eat the food that we do- go get yourself a copy. The more educated you are about where your food comes from and how it is marketed to you, the more you start to crave what's grown in your own back yard. Or at least grown by a nearby farmer.
(I won this in a Library Thing giveaway, and the review was originally published on my blog.)
August 31, 2015
Fun book tracing the multifarious paths by which previously obscure foods ascend to everydayness (represented by the shelves of grocery stores and menus of restaurants at every level of the culinary food chain). I now understand a lot more about how tastes I'd naively thought were matters of personal preference have been guided to me via a variety of paths: the decisions of chefs, inventive growers, immigrant communities, and, mostly, clever marketers. Learned a ton about the subcultures of specialty foods, food trucks, ethnic restaurants, cupcakeries, you name it. Guaranteed fun for foodies.
September 29, 2015
Pretty interesting nonfiction book about food trends and crazes. He starts with cupcakes and ends with fondue (a 1970's madness that has since sort of come back in a limited fashion, with The Melting Pot restaurant chain). He attends a bacon convention, presents details about the recent gourmet food truck phenomenon, and laughs at the ridiculous viral nature of the recent "cronut" craze and how fast it erupted. Lots of interesting stuff here and an entertaining read.
I cannot forgive him though for trying to sound erudite by quoting Hemingway but misspelling it "Hemmingway". Lame. Use Google, man. You sounded like an idiot.
I cannot forgive him though for trying to sound erudite by quoting Hemingway but misspelling it "Hemmingway". Lame. Use Google, man. You sounded like an idiot.
November 4, 2015
Witty and incisive, with solid research and data points, this is one of the most fun books I've read in a very long time. Sax explores major waves in the world of food, not just accessibly, but also in an entertaining fashion. If you've ever wondered about the obsession with cupcakes or bacon that has swept the world, or been curious about where the hell Chia seeds came from, pick this up. You won't regret it.
October 10, 2017
I can't do this author. I like everything about him, I like his subject matter, I like his exuberant tone. But I can't read more than 10 pages without wanting to check my blood sugar. Too much lightness and not enough depth to make me want to care, I guess. Don't listen to me - I just might not be the right audience?
June 5, 2014
Long on anecdotes, short on data, and massively overstates the importance of New York in the food world (surprising for a Canadian writer). And that was just the first chapter. This would have been a stretch for even a longform article.
May 21, 2014
Some chapters were pretty interesting, like the one on Indian food and the one about trend watchers, but overall it suffered from too many details. Definitely putdownable.
April 14, 2015
Meh. The first chapter was ok, but not well enough written that I felt like going on.
December 17, 2020
This took me longer to finish than I anticipated at the start. It was a good book to browse a few pages, enjoy, and set down, and go read something else. Part of that had to be the pandemic-distracted brain, I think. And part of if was an error on my part, of reading the book years after some of the fads detailed within had come and gone. The first couple of chapters were set up as an introduction to food trends, as journalism showing what they were. I didn't enjoy those chapters nearly as much as I enjoyed later chapters, where instead of just straight reporting, Sax dug deeper into analysis, asking why food trends had evolved, and working to make connections with history and social science towards an explanation, or a larger cultural context. In particular, the chapter on Baconomics was an interesting revelation.
I'm not sure why the book didn't mention kale at all, though the chapters on chia seeds and apple breeds sort of let me think about kale through a similar lens.
Not sure I'm going to reread this, though I'm going to keep it as a reference to some of the other food historians and cultural history books that could be even more interesting to read.
I'm not sure why the book didn't mention kale at all, though the chapters on chia seeds and apple breeds sort of let me think about kale through a similar lens.
Not sure I'm going to reread this, though I'm going to keep it as a reference to some of the other food historians and cultural history books that could be even more interesting to read.
February 6, 2021
The concept of the book intrigued me, but the execution didn’t quite get there for me. Certain chapters worked better for me than others — the cupcake chapter dragged, for example, but the ones about apples and chia seeds were really interesting and informative.
The chapter about Indian food was really really interesting, since, as an Indian-American, I have a strong connection to the subject. I didn’t care for the way the author described Indian food sometimes (like calling it curry — no Indian I’ve ever met actually uses that word — focusing on how it’s “spicy” or not visually appealing, both of which aren’t really true...) but I’m obviously not the “typical American” who is apparently scared of “ethnic” cuisine. I learned a lot from the chapter, actually.
Perhaps part of the reason I wasn’t entirely sold on this book was that it was written a while ago and since it’s about trends, it sometimes came off as antiquated.
Overall, some sections were more engaging than others but it was an interesting read.
The chapter about Indian food was really really interesting, since, as an Indian-American, I have a strong connection to the subject. I didn’t care for the way the author described Indian food sometimes (like calling it curry — no Indian I’ve ever met actually uses that word — focusing on how it’s “spicy” or not visually appealing, both of which aren’t really true...) but I’m obviously not the “typical American” who is apparently scared of “ethnic” cuisine. I learned a lot from the chapter, actually.
Perhaps part of the reason I wasn’t entirely sold on this book was that it was written a while ago and since it’s about trends, it sometimes came off as antiquated.
Overall, some sections were more engaging than others but it was an interesting read.
September 6, 2017
Interesting premise, but after reading the entire book I don't feel much wiser about the inner workings of the world of food trends. The chapters and examples are very anecdotal, with lots of (unnecessary) background descriptions and biographies of trend makers. It was fun to read about cupcakes and chia seeds, but I missed a more structural and critical analysis of what (food) trends are and why they are necessary for food companies to develop or reinvent their business models. In addition, I thought the book - despite the more interesting chapter on 'ethnic' cuisine - focused too much on food trends coming from big cities in the US, without elaborating on the broader geopolitical context.
June 2, 2020
"Why does good have to be trendy? Why can't it just taste good on its own merits? ...it is inevitable that food trends will shape what we eat on a day-to-day basis." Sax defines a "tastemaker" as "anyone with the economic or cultural power to create and influence food trends" (pg xv). He explains how food trends come and go, and other stories and ruminations about why we eat what we eat.
I found this book to be interesting, but it left me craving more--sort of like having a meal you had hoped would be amazing, but it left you just wishing there was something more to it to give it that final delicious push. I loved Sax's other book "Save the Deli", and while this book was enjoyable, it wasn't quite what I'd hoped.
I found this book to be interesting, but it left me craving more--sort of like having a meal you had hoped would be amazing, but it left you just wishing there was something more to it to give it that final delicious push. I loved Sax's other book "Save the Deli", and while this book was enjoyable, it wasn't quite what I'd hoped.
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