The Ongoing Curse of the Rainbow Food

At first, rainbow food was great. Then it got repetitive. And finally, it just got completely out of hand. And now there’s no coming back from this completely chaotic colourful adventure.

This year should be called the year of the rainbow simply because if there’s something edible, it becomes a rainbow. We’ve had bagels, coffee, burgers, grilled cheese and sushi turned into rainbow food so far, using food dye to change the way it looks. Let’s not forget rainbow cake, but unlike these trends, it didn’t explode onto the scene and it didn’t force it’s way into your life. All the rainbow cake did was appear in bakeries, sit there looking pretty and tempted the few customers that walked in. It’s a trend and like most trends, this might just fade away too. But till it does, we have to wake up every morning to another one of our favourite food items being turned into a rainbow disaster.

I’m a fan of unicorns and rainbows, but there’s a limit, right?

What Are Food Trends?

Food trends, as a concept, are nothing new. For years, there have been things that have come and gone and taken over the world. India, for example, has gone through various food trends over time. We’ve seen the excitement surrounding burger chains and pizza chains. The trend was that everyone went to the same place to eat the same food and talk about it the same way. There is nothing wrong with trends and no matter how much we complain about it, it’s not going to go away. Food trends are here to stay and they are going to change every time something new pops up.

Every year, Google releases a document that reports on all the trending food topics and while the rainbow food made the list a few months ago, it’s been replaced by other food trends. Strangely enough, most of these trends aren’t even known by people, but they still make a difference to Google. Obviously for Google, it’s depending on what Is being searched for the most. Like the Raindrop Cake or the Freakshakes, which are both beautiful pieces of work and probably delicious too. (Not to say that Rainbow Food isn’t delicious, but we’re totally over it now.)

Instagram + Food Trends

We can all agree that the reason why food trends become so widespread and popular is because of Instagram. Or just social media in general. All it takes is for one person to take a gorgeous photograph of a gorgeous meal and bam, food trend. Using the right hashtags and making it popular is another way. This is great business for restaurants and cafes, because all you need to do is take a picture and spread the word. Restaurants are also getting smarter and creating hashtags to draw in their customers.

Personally, I have nothing against the relationship between Instagram and food trends. It’s the only way I know about all the new things happening around the world, about the food and desserts that are taking over the worlds of other food lovers. But the other side of Instagram food trends is that one person posts something and then the rest of the world catches on and before you know it, everyone is doing the same thing. It’s great when just one person is talking about the food, but when the whole world is doing the same thing, it stops being so awesome.

All we all want is for food to look good without everybody doing it too. Right?