A food trend is a change in direction of the types of foods consumed. Although certain food trends may be more of a fad, some become long lasting and at times a permanent fixture in the culture of food. In an article by Bon Appetite the difference between a food trend versus a fad is discussed. David Saks, author of Tastemakers: Why were crazy for cupcakes but fed up with Fondue states ,"Think about extra virgin olive oil—with the gourmands it hit big in the late '70s, early '80s, and it trickled down to everyone else in the '90s. It became the "thing." Now it's not a trend, nobody really talks about it. But it's the default oil. It becomes a part of your eating culture. Trends do that. Fads don't."
Authorities from Bon Appetit and Food & Wine magazines to the top chefs of the world have driven and reported on these trends. For instance, Bon Appetit recently released their top 25 food trends for 2013 in their article The BA 25: What to eat, drink, and cook in 2013, Food & Wine host annual events attended by thousands, Vegas Uncork’d promises to be the Spring 2013 event of the season, and Veritage Miami will host Daniel Boulud, one of America’s A-list chefs.
Pinterest and Twitter give links to sites listing what to serve this season. Pinterest is designed to display trends and food is one of their biggest categories.
Smaller, blog-style sites have also appeared; examples include Violas Pantry, Mouth from the South, The Daily Meal, and Spiced that recruit smaller numbers of readers and provide entertaining, colloquial content to more targeted audiences.