The Tastemakers: Why We're Crazy for Cupcakes But Fed Up with Fondue

Canadian author and James Beard Writing and Literature Award winner Sax (Save the Deli; contributor, New York Times, New York, Saveur, and GQ magazines) focuses on food trends in this book: why they appear and disappear and their benefit to the U.S. economy. He begins with cupcakes' popularity because of a 20-second appearance on Sex and the City. Long essays on the superfood, chia, China black rice, and bacon's ubiquity are entertaining. Sax traces trends and how they develop and succeed but often encounter obstacles along the way. There are also chapters on the effects chefs have on fads; the development, failure, and triumph of a new variety of apple, the Red Prince; and politics involved with food trucks. He describes "lexicon branding" and how Patagonian toothfish became popular under it's new name Chilean sea bass. An epilog stresses the importance of education in encouraging young children to eat healthy food.