The Trends, They Come and Go

Last weekend, I celebrated the eighth anniversary of M&G.

Its funny to look back over those eight years  now; in 2005, the food world was on the brink of becoming so hot. People have always been into food but these last few years have been crazy. Of course, when I started blogging, I had no idea that I was out in front of a trend.

For most of the past few years, the food world has been all about authenticity. The more authentic, local, small batch, artisanal, etc., the better. The hottest food trends involve diving deep into lesser-known cultures via some specific "authentic" food or activity: Asian hot sauces transport us to faraway places and canning everything sends us down the rabbit hole of our own history.

Now I think authenticity has its place. I love both history and learning about other cultures. But even way back in 2007, the intense focus on "authentic" exhausted me.

For every trend, especially the most long-standing ones, there has to be a backlash. In the October Food & Wine, the "Trendspotting" section includes a mention of Expatriate, a Portland (Oregon) restaurant that combines decor from all over the place with dishes that mix and match cuisines. "Were channeling inauthenticity," says owner Kyle Linden Webster.

And that makes sense. It's the best way to get noticed.