Professionals from all walks of life have their own slang that can go viral as new trends gain popularity. And that’s completely normal. But someone who has a silver tongue (or corporate backing) can spin the truth and hype up something that is entirely ordinary.
For some, a deconstructed meal is the pinnacle of the fine dining experience. For others, they've heard the word so often that it’s a sign that things have become entirely too corporatized, that the chef might be lazy and pretentious, or that their ‘foodie’ friend wants to show off. Redditor u/zzzzzzzzzra started a discussion on r/Cooking, asking folks to share popular foodie terms that they find particularly annoying. Scroll down to read their opinions, and remember to upvote the ones you agree are overused.
We wanted to learn more about the evolution of food trends and terms, so we got in touch with pie artist Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin, @thepieous. She is a published author, the founder of the Pies Are Awesome project, and you'll find Bored Panda's full interview with her as you read on.
#1
Describing healthy food as “Clean”
Image credits: kjr51922
Pie artist Jessica, @thepieous, shed some light on food terms that get overused. "Language evolves. Trendy terms and neologisms (like 'Foodie') are subject to an even faster evolution… It seems invariably with any trend connected to new language use, we go through the same stages."
According to her, everything starts with relative obscurity where "only a few niche initiates are familiar with the new meaning of the term." Then, we move on to the so-called mainstream breakthrough, "usually connected to a trendy journalist breaking the story and introducing the term to a wide audience." Inevitably, this is followed by the 'corporate co-opting' of the term and, then, by "public rejection of the term by a population sickened by the new corporate connotation."
Jessica told Bored Panda that "it’s the path from 'refreshing authenticity' to 'cringe-inducing inauthenticity' that all trends must walk… and trendy food terms do not get a pass." Since people crave novelty, "when a famous chef, food journalist, or other notable personality in the space serves us up a new term that paints a new picture, a new way of looking at or thinking of the same old same old, well, we’re all over that!"
#2
Can’t stand “artisanal” anymore, I think it’s been used now to describe subway’s “artisanal bread”…yeah right
Image credits: n8gardener
#3
Foodie
Image credits: RobMcD222
The term goes viral and "suddenly everything is about 'artisanal small batches' or 'deconstructed mouthfeel' for a few months. But sooner or later, the people tasked with creating new content/products for us to purchase take note of the trend and jump on board—oftentimes changing the original meaning of the term in the process," Jessica said, giving an example of how even McDonald's tried to present its coffee as artisanal.
"Sometimes the concepts behind the trendy terms have legs that outlive the co-option of the term itself. Look at the word 'artisanal'—even though this term is sooo played right now, we still actually do really like the idea of small batch, locally sourced, hand-crafted food products. So as the word artisanal becomes meaningless, savvy markers simply find another, similar term to replace it with."
#4
Rustic, for just about everything.
Image credits: rope-springs-eternal
#5
I hate recipes that refer to the food as “crack” or “crack-like”.
Image credits: Plus-Ambassador-5034
#6
'Nom' and 'yummy' are both VERY high on my list of words that make my body retract into itself. I have no defense for this, but it absolutely is nails on the chalkboard for me.
Image credits: Film_At_Eleven
Pie artist Jessica told Bored that she's starting to see the term 'bespoke' replace 'artisanal' in some contexts, including "bespoke waffle bar experience" and "bespoke nachos," referring to "customized, small batch products delivered with a hands-on human touch." Another 'foodie' term gaining popularity is 'upscaled' which refers to "high-end versions of comfort foods, and the practice of making simpler/cheaper ingredients into something fancier."
"This trend is still growing in light of the food price inflation the world is still reeling from after the pandemic, but I have a feeling that the term 'upscale' in the culinary context may be due for a refresh shortly," she shared her thoughts about the future with us.
"As food insecurity continues to be a global concern and we start to see more of a shift towards sustainable sources of nutrition that are easy to grow like fungi, seaweeds, and insect proteins, keep your eyes peeled for a new foodie term to take the place of the less palatable and less sexy 'sustainable' moniker. 'Superfoods' is already taken... I'm curious to see what term will ultimately emerge to blanket this new food trend!"
#7
The word porn in food. Hey guys don't want to turn on TV and have some idiot keep shouting porn in front of my kids.
Image credits: Life_Percentage_2218
#8
'Umami bomb'. So many TV chefs and YouTube personalities use this term. You know, like 'I’m gonna drop an umami bomb and add some miso to this...'
Image credits: zzzzzzzzzra
#9
Gastropub. Just stop it.
Image credits: adifferentvision
Many of the terms featured in this list would be perfectly fine if they weren’t overused to the point of absolute absurdity. If everything’s rustic, clean, and artisanal, then nothing is. Similarly, if every chef uses umami bombs and aioli, those words lose any and all meaning.
Naturally, the terms that foodies use will change over time. New trends are going to pop up, old ones are going to wither (until, inevitably, some of them return with a vengeance). The world of food isn’t all that different from the fashion world in this regard.
Terms rise and fall as new techniques and ingredients rise and fall in popularity. All that the internet asks is that people use them where they’re genuinely applicable, not just to say, well, anything at all.
#10
Aioli. Stop calling anything with a glop of mayo in it aioli.
Image credits: puertomexitaliano
#11
That trend where people called stock "bone broth" for a while.
Image credits: Saint_Jiub_
#12
"Sinful". Any recipe trying to make you feel evil for eating a slice of cake is stupid as hell
Image credits: rileyrulesu
The redditor’s thread got 6.2k upvotes and really showed the extent to which some folks are tired of some chefs’ pretentious comments. It’d be fair to say that people want to deal with grounded chefs cooking tasty food with quality ingredients, without making everything seem fancier (and more expensive) than it really is. Yes, image matters. But customers want a genuinely good experience, not just the illusion of one.
One of the worst sins any chef can commit is to focus on the presentation and deconstruction of the dishes at the expense of taste. Which reminds us—if you haven’t yet seen director Mark Mylod’s movie ‘The Menu,’ it’s a very fine, well, deconstruction (pardon the pun) of fine dining culture in the modern age.
Sometimes, a tasty cheeseburger is all that’s needed to leave a customer satisfied. It does not need to be rustic. The cheese doesn’t have to be artisanal. And the meat doesn’t have to be described as coming from grass-fed cows. The dish can speak for itself.
#13
“Hack” when it’s just a fast food order.
Image credits: Trees4Gs
#14
I had guests visiting and I ordered us all Indian takeaway (since our local place was honestly one of the best I've ever tasted). While eating, they discussed the food and shared their favorites, and it pleased me to see them enjoying it! Until they looked at me with zero irony and said "'...Oh, sorry. We're foodies! We like to find new tastes and discuss them just for fun.' What did they think I'd done the multiple times I'd eaten from there before?! Just ram it into my mouth hole while sniffing detergent to block out the taste? Yeah, self-identifying as a 'foodie' makes me cringe at the soul level.
Image credits: SnifterOfNonsense
#15
Unctuous. It doesn't mean what people think it means. It used to be pejorative.1. (of a person) excessively or ingratiatingly flattering; oily.
2. (chiefly of minerals) having a greasy or soapy feel.
Image credits: pdxscout
#16
'Better-Than-Sex'. I saw a story somewhere about a woman who sold Better-Than-Sex Banana Bread at her local farmer's market. One day, it was changed to Almost-Better-Than-Sex Banana Bread. Girl must've had QUITE the experience...#17
"Crack". Every recipe on Pinterest: 'Tuna Casserole Crack!! My kids can't get enough!!!!'"
Image credits: Majestic_Definition3
#18
'Clean' is a big one for me. I follow a few weight-loss motivation groups, including a couple of fitness-focused ones. I freaking hate when someone describes their diet as 'clean-eating.' It literally tells me nothing about what they're eating..." In bodybuilding/CrossFit groups, 'clean eating' seems to be ingrained into their lexicon. I can't stand it.#19
I've been making stock since I was a teenager. My daughter (who saw me make it often) tried to introduce me to 'bone broth' like it was some new and magical invention.#20
Grass fed… like ok I know that in America a lot of cattle are grain fed so it actually means something, but it’s become pervasive in Europe too where almost all cattle are fed outside on grass, like, it means nothing.Hen’s egg. So many menus with a hen’s egg. Like, if it’s a f*****g duck egg, or a quail egg, just say that, but if you just say egg I think we’ll get which damned bird it’s coming from.
GGGGRRWWAAARAARRRRRGGGGHHHH
Image credits: castlerigger
#21
An ex back in the day couldn't stop raving about their Grandma's 'Dump Soup,' and could hardly wait for the day that I'd finally try it. Just the name alone turned me off to ever wanting to experience it
Image credits: Truthamania
#22
I'm a sous chef at a local restaurant that has various 'aiolis' on the menu. What we've found is that you can put chipotle mayo on a menu and it'll do OK...call it aioli, though, and suddenly it's 'high class' and people want it on everything.#23
'Deconstructed'. Next thing you know, you'll have a restaurant charging $40 for a Deconstructed Caesar salad that's just a bowl of lettuce next to a bowl of croutons next to a block of whole Parmesan.#24
Stop deconstructing my food. Just tell me you were too lazy to present me a completed dish.
Image credits: daughter_of_tides
#25
I have two: the entirety of “Thug Kitchen” (my sister got me the cookbook as a gift, very thoughtful but the whole book is cringe) and “better than sex”. Ma’am if that chocolate cake is better than sex I am concerned your needs are not being met.*Edit* I am fully aware asexual people exist, I apologize if this joke came off as insensitive.
Image credits: dani_oakley_69
#26
'Better-than-takeout'. Of course the burger you spent $30 and four hours on is better than the Big Mac they slap together for $4.#27
STOP SAYING MOUTHFEEL. It's literally called texture.#28
Apparently, Rachel Ray saying that comes from her getting hate mail for saying 'yum, oh my god' on her first Food Network show. She started saying 'yum, oh...' remembering halfway through to censor herself and it kind of just stuck.#29
I love the idea of a gastropub. A place that serves high-quality pub grub with great service and a nice atmosphere is super appealing to me! Too bad most 'gastropubs' serve the same junk you can get anywhere...just on a square plate with truffle oil on the top.#30
God I hate the whole idea of food porn. Nothing makes me more uncomfortable than someone eating food and making pleasure noises like there's someone feeling them up under the table. Just say it's nice! Don't be weirdly sexual!!#31
'Fusion'. What they're really trying to say is: 'We took out the spices and added mayo.'#32
I can't stand 'hack' when it's literally just an alternative recipe to a popular dish...like 'ramen hack'#33
Ordering off of the 'secret menu' isn't a hack — you're just customizing a hamburger.#34
'Handhelds'. They're talking about sandwiches like they're a Game Boy. It's so weird.#35
Farm to table. If you grew up on a farm this will set your hair on fire!#36
*Guilt free* anything, I absolutely hate that. Why associate food with guilt? Just don't eat too much of an unhealthy food#37
the comment sections of literally any food post on Instagram all of those “yummy must make ?” and “?????”’s drive me crazy#38
I'm Indian and we have so many dishes which have no animal products. Suddenly some of my favourite dishes are vegan and people start telling me the benifits of the dishes I have been eating decades.#39
Ooey-gooey. Every time I hear that phrase I want to vomit#40
When Bon appetit was a thing they loved to throw the word "situation" around. I still hear it elsewhere and it really bothers me for some reason. Eg "so the sauce for this pasta is a creamy, buttery garlicy situation."#41
Oven Roasted: Roasting something in the oven is the defaultEdit: I understand what fire roasting and pan roasting is. I’m just saying, If someone told you they roasted a chicken, you don’t need to clarify that it came out of an oven. No one is going to ask a followup question about where it was roasted.
#42
I’ll add _protein(s)_ _crisp up_, _mouthfeel_, _food porn_ and anything to do with orgasms or sexual pleasure_.#43
“Authentic” and “not authentic”. I’m sick and tired of the authenticity police when someone doesn’t use a speciality ingredient found in the Amazon or they don’t have a 1000 year old wok in their kitchen.#44
Just the exhagerated "omg soooo good" faces people make on their cooking channels after they take the first bite.#45
Carnitas. I see it on menus at trendy spots all the time and it's usually roast/braised pork shoulder not proper fried Carnitas. Its OK to just call them pork tacos!#46
i cant stand the excessive cost trend...like the $1000 burger or whatever. adding gold leaf and caviar and diamond dust or whatever for no other reason than the "bling" factor is so dumb. gold leaf on pastry i kind of get, but its absolutely pointless in savoury dishes...it has no flavor or nutritional value.#47
Restaurants that refer to themselves as an “eatery” annoys me for no reason#48
A little annoyed by how "golden brown" can mean any possible shade of brown, from light ritz cracker tan to deep dark steak crust.#49
Any abbreviation of sandwich, i.e. "Sando" or "Sammie"Just stop
#50
Every time someone on a cooking show says some iteration of "elevate the flavors" my husband and I look at each other and yell "elevate!" People say it all the time. What does that even mean? You made it taste better?#51
The hipster convention of naming a restaurant two random, unrelated nouns, (e.g. Wrench & Rodent Seabastropub.)#52
"On a bed of"Like it's laying there, Rose from Titanic style. It's served with rice, bugger off with your anthropomorphic sexualisation of food.
Probably got peashoots plonked on top, too.