Though the global pandemic has restricted us in many ways, those who enjoy spending time in the kitchen have seen their imaginations left free to run riot, with social media ever ready to show the world just what they have been cooking up.
Lockdown has seen many of our favourite treats become a distant memory, but thanks to the imaginations of many on social media, the likes of Instagram and TikTok have become a feast for the eyes during 2020. We have picked just three of the numerous trends which have kept us entertain during this testing year.
Cloud Bread
The original cloud bread recipe first gained popularity in the 1970s as part of the Atkins diet. It was made with whipped egg whites, egg yolks, cream cheese and baking powder; usually flavoured with cheese and herbs. It resurfaced a couple of years ago on platforms such as Pinterest following the rise in the keto diet.
Roll on to the present and the cloud bread recipe has evolved, as has the social media platform. This new cloud bread recipe, now flooding Tik Tok and Instagram feeds, has done away with the egg yolks and cream cheese and replaced them with store cupboard essentials, sugar and food colouring. In fact, this use of store cupboard ingredients, along with the recipe's simplicity and adaptability, has been key to its success. As well as the fact that it provided a fun and frivolous antidote to the stress of COVID19.
Nacho Table
We have had frog bread and pancake cereal but the most recent lockdown craze to hit social media is the nacho table. The concept is pretty simple, essentially you transform your kitchen table into a giant sharing nacho plate. The initial video that kicked off this edible table sensation was posted by @stefherder on TikTok and has had over 3.5 million views and 640,000 likes. Since then new videos and Instagram posts have been popping up every day.
Hyper-realistic Cakes
It's a bit of a topsy turvy year... the unexpected happens at every turn... up is down, down is up. Frankly, many people just don't know what to believe anymore. And just when we thought things couldn't get weirder, a viral internet sensation plunged us into an almost unbelievable existential crisis. We found ourselves asking... ARE WE ALL MADE OF CAKE? Ok, so we might be exaggerating just a tad... but in fact, the internet really has been abuzz with 'Am I Cake?' memes. It arguably all kicked off when BuzzFeed posted a video of a Turkish Bakery Red Rose Café's unbelievable, hyper-realistic cakes. This got the twitter-sphere more than a little excited, and piqued interest in super realistic cakes – with everyone from home chefs to leading pastry chefs jumping on board.
For more on thefoodpeople, to find out about 'shifting the future of food & drink' or to join the TFP community visit www.thefoodpeople.co.uk