The rise of cute food

Cute food is nothing new – bloggers have been making adorable cake pops, cookies, and other sweet items for years. Kim-Joy’s cute animal-themed bakes led her to the finals on GBBO. But until recently, cuteness was limited to desserts, sweets, and possibly snacks. However, creating cute savory foods is taking off, explains Elyse Inamine, writing for Taste.

One reason cuteness first appeared on the sweet side of the kitchen is because dessert is not taken as seriously as the main course and something adorable is likely to be seen as frivolous or silly, allowing dessert to be an appropriate canvas for something playful. That perception is slowly changing due to younger chefs feeling less inhibited and constrained by tradition. Chefs who embrace the aesthetic say they enjoy the joyfulness that cute food can bring to a meal. Keith Siu, a member of the Toronto-based culinary collective SeeYouSoon, says: “I think it makes people really comfortable. Without anybody saying anything to them, it sets the tone of how they should feel when it comes to our dinners.”

Inamine agrees, opining that cute food “gives permission: to make “serious” food that doesn’t take itself so seriously, to push against kitchen culture that upholds a myopic (often masculine) point of view, to challenge the formality and function of cooking and play more in the kitchen.” Although this may be a short-lived trend, it does make for more Instagram-ready food -perhaps another reason it is catching on so quickly.