Food Trends for 2013: We've Been The Cool Kids All Along

Back in the late 1980s, I was wearing flannel before anyone even heard of Pearl Jam, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I’m at the forefront of food fashion as well, at least according to the Food Channel list of what food trends will be hot in 2013. In fact, I’m betting most Wild Chef readers are ahead of the trend that says smoking will be the next big thing in the restaurant scene. Firing up the smoker is just one of the many techniques we regularly rely on.
 
Over at Epicurious, it’s more of the same with their claim that the white-hot focus on all things below of the Mason-Dixon line will push even further south to Brazil, where churrascaria reigns. I will admit I was getting tired of food media hitting me with yet another recipe for the world’s best fried chicken and waffles, so reading about meat-centric Brazilian barbecue is definitely something to look forward to.

 
Still, I can’t help but think of that old adage, “Everything old is new again” when looking at these trends (along with the food world’s ongoing obsession with butchering and charcuterie). Combine the smoked-food trend with the fact that Brazilian barbecue is, to oversimplify, grilling large chunks of meat over an open fire, and you could say we provincial wild-game cooks have been ahead of the hipster-foodie curve since, I don’t know, the dawn of time?
 
I understand the world loves lists, especially now at the turn of the year when everywhere you look it’s the best (or worst) of 2012 or what’s new for 2013, and what to expect now that the world hasn’t come to an end. While these lists sometimes prove entertaining, and every once in awhile enlightening, we’ll just keep doing the things we enjoy, knowing that we’ve been the cool kids all along.