Setting Cakes Aflame, And Other Predictions For 2025
Yelp sets out its forecast based on search terms
Welcome to the Thanksgiving Week edition of the CulinaryWoman Newsletter! If my social media and email are any indication, the pre-game ceremonies for the 2024 Olympics of Food are underway here in the States. If you are traveling, I wish you safe journeys and if you are staying home like me, I hope you’ll have a good celebration.
How You’ll Be Dining And Drinking In 2025
It’s already that time of year when publications make predictions. I’m working on a couple such stories for Food & Wine. In my research, I came across a study from Yelp, the dining and lifestyle information site, that I thought I’d share with you.
Some predictions are simply shoot from the hip or observational. But Yelp bases its study on searches of its site from late 2023 to late 2024. Here is what has popped onto its radar.
Hawaiian flavors. Over the past decade, poke bowls have become ubiquitous on the mainland. Now, Yelp is seeing an interest in other types of cuisine. Dishes like kalua pig and Hawaiian macaroni salad popping up on menus across the US. Hawaiian BBQ chains are seeing rapid growth, as Yelp searches for Hawaiian barbecue (up 88%) and Hawaiian mac salad (up 523%) increased compared to last year. I searched in Ann Arbor and found that we have an outlet of Aloha Hawaiian BBQ, so I may need to try it out.
Mushroom Coffee. A few years ago, I started to get pitches from brands marketing mushroom-based beverages. It seems that trend is taking off. Searches on Yelp for mushroom drinks are up 501% compared to last year, as are searches for mushroom coffee (up 87%) and mushroom tea (up 10%). Yelp says Seattle’s Wunderground Coffee infuses adaptogenic mushrooms into its local blends, and Phoenix’s Press Coffee offers mushroom-boosted shakes as an alternative to traditional coffee drinks.
Flaming cakes. They’re actually called “burnaway cakes” and they could be seen across social media this year. These custom cakes are topped with wafer paper that, when lit, reveal an image or message underneath. Searches for local bakeries offering these viral cakes are up 12,276% compared to last year. Burnaway cakes are popping up at bakeries across the country, including New York’s Angelina Bakery, Cape Coral’s LadyCakes Bakery, and San Antonio’s Infinity Cakes and More.
Food and drink flights. For years, you’ve been able to go to craft breweries and get flights of their varieties (meaning small glasses of multiple flavors). Many wineries have offered them, too. Now, flights are spreading their wings. Yelp users are searching for martini flights, gelato flights, cookie flights, and pasta flights. “We expect to see more creative variations appear on menus next year,” says Yelp. I have to laugh reading about cookie flights. When Danny Meyer’s Union Square Cafe was in its original location, we used to order the cookie basket for dessert. Who knew that Danny was so far ahead of the trend?
Dips and spreads. This one is something that I’ve noticed popping up in many places. You’ve always been able to go to Middle Eastern restaurants and get appetizers such as hummus, baba ganoush and muhammara. And, southern places abound with pimiento cheese. Now, spreads are invading menus. Spiedo, here in Ann Arbor, always has a couple on its menu, such as whipped farmer’s cheese, and tirshi, above, made from squash, pomegranate and cocoa nibs. Dips are a smoother start to a meal and they are ideal for sharing. I expect to see them continue to grow in popularity.
Korean bakeries. Here in Ann Arbor, Yoon’s Bakery always had the corner on the Korean pastry market. But in the past year or so, the competition has expanded. We now have Tous Le Jours and Mochinut franchises. An enormous Paris Croissant has opened in Dearborn, in a spot that used to be the Chicago Roadhouse. I’m expecting 2025 to be the year when Korean pastries become as trendy across the U.S. as gourmet doughnuts were a decade ago,
You can read more from the Yelp report here. I’d love to know if you are spotting any fresh dining trends where you live.
Furry Friends Benefit From BGSU’s Food Waste Project
I’m always keeping an eye out for ways to combat food waste. So, I was delighted to see this report from WTOL in Toledo about a program at Bowling Green State University.
“Waste Less, Wag More” takes food scraps from BGSU’s dining halls and turns them into dog treats. The program debuted at The Oaks dining hall, which produces an estimated 125 pounds of food waste daily.
First, food is sorted in the dining hall. Then the culinary staff and environmental interns go through several steps to make them into the treats. They are made with guidance from veterinarians to ensure safety and flavor for dogs.
Students got the first batch to take home to feed family pets over the Thanksgiving holiday. Treats also will be donated to a local animal shelter.
In Chicago, A Carmy Look Alike Contest
Celebrity look alike contest are a current craze. In late October, 2,200 people showed up at a park in Manhattan for a Timothee Chalamet contest — including Timothee Chalamet.
In Chicago, it seemed only natural to hold a look alike contest for Jeremy Allen White, the actor who plays Carmy on the hit TV show The Bear.
According to Eater Chicago, contestants in blue aprons, t-shirts, long hair and bandanas flocked to the event in Humboldt Park. Many carried signs saying “Yes, Chef” and there was even a toddler dressed like Carmy.
The winner was Ben Shabad, who received a pack of cigarettes, a trophy and a crown. He’s a little bit of a ringer. His stepbrother; Josh Kulp, is the co-chef and co-owner of Honey Butter Fried Chicken.
“Josh was very influential in this process. He was the first person to tell me about the competition and then let me have a blue apron to wear,” Shabad told Eater Chicago in a text. “So without him and his great team at Honey Butter, this would have just been a normal weekend for me.”
The illustration above is by London artist Matt Blease who shared it on Threads.
Murakami Launches A YouTube Cooking Channel
I’m a fan of the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. His colorful, cheerful artwork has adored everything from painting to films to anime comics to bags from Louis Vuitton. He’s long been a hoot to follow on social media. He works from a massive production studio called Hiropon Factory (shades of Andy Warhol) where multiple projects take place at once.
Last week, he launched a new venture: a cooking show on YouTube. Being Murakami, it’s a little rambling and it’s nothing like any other cooking show. For one thing, his kitchen is simply a corner of his studio, which he shows off in the video.
But given his level of imagination in everything else he does, he’s bound to be entertaining in explaining his approach to food.
Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman
Last week, the Lions, Towers & Shields podcast reviewed The Band Wagon. It’s a lushly filmed 1953 movie starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, in her first movie role.
You may know it from the gorgeous Dancing In The Dark musical number, which was parodied by Steve Martin and Gilda Radner on Saturday Night Live. The original is still breathtaking, and the movie itself has plenty of familiar songs.
In December, I’m planning to publish two special editions of the CW Newsletter: The Best Things I Ate and Drank In 2024, and The Best Things I Read And Watched In 2024.
I’m betting you’re being bombarded with emails enticing you to spend money this holiday. I won’t add to the clutter, but I’d love it if you’d consider buying my book Satisfaction Guaranteed as a gift. This link takes you to Bookshop.org, which distributes sales among independent bookstores.
I’m happy to send a signed bookplate for your gift recipient. Simply get in touch at culinarywoman (at) gmail dot com with a dedication request.
Tomorrow, I will be back for our paid subscribers at Red Beans & Advice with my review of the final of the Great Canadian Baking Show, and the semi-finals of the Great British Bake Off.
Have a terrific week, and safe travels.