Rainbow bagels (Photo: Getty Images / coldsnowstorm)
Cover Rainbow bagels (Photo: coldsnowstorm / Getty Images)

Angelo Comsti picks apart chaos cooking, the TikTok-friendly food trend that dictates more is more

“Don’t yuck my yum.”

Remember this battle cry? It was born and made popular during the not-so-distant past when items like biryani wraps, rainbow bagels, and sushi burritos were frowned upon for misrepresenting a culture. Well, in a head-scratching twist of events, what once was appropriated is now being appreciated, with chaos cooking or what people coined “con-fusion” a few years back giving the haters a stiff middle finger.

Frankensteinish food like masala cheesesteak and pastrami tacos, multi-cultural cuisine that doesn’t just aim to marry but manages to be trolly and tasty, are in fashion these days. They are breaking the mould of boredom—liberating themselves from the shackles of standards—and enjoying the free pass awarded to them by the more open-minded and accepting generation, all because these cross-pollinated dishes actually have style and substance.

To what do we owe the gustatory pleasure? I can only guess.

See also: Why Do Chefs Hate the Word “Fusion”?

Perhaps, it’s the TikTok influencers who painted the Italian alfredo pasta purple and made mashed potatoes out of Pringles and hot water. As the most downloaded app of 2021, this short-form video-sharing platform made people feel they were not alone during the pandemic isolation that’s why many—more than 656 million new users last year—latched on to it.

Apart from sharing recipes and daily meals with their virtual audience, users got to play with food (in a good and delicious way) and make their kitchen experiments viral, even if they’re not within the picture pretty confines of rival app Instagram. On TikTok, the weird, absurd and imperfect are celebrated—and even sold. Last year, the company announced plans to open delivery-only “restaurants” across the U.S., offering viral dishes from the app.

See also: What's Trending?: Experts Share Their Predictions for the F&B Trends That will Dominate in 2022

Perhaps, it’s the Zoomers, which, thanks to the digital age, has become more familiar and attuned to global food cuisines because of the small, well-connected world they thrive in. Whereas the millennials had to travel, dine around, and get used to it, Generation Z simply had to be on their gadgets to expand their vocabulary and knowledge about food from different countries.

And it greatly helps that they are naturally curious, explorative and creative. They acknowledge and react to visual stimuli by allowing their minds to wander in places previous generations might not have explored. Their attention span might be short, but in that brief time, they are able to mentally web out some of the craziest ideas, including hybrid food like cheeseburger ravioli, which they use as a form of self-expression.

See also: Controversial Delicacies From Around The World

Tatler Asia
Photo: Caitlyn Wilson / Unsplash
Above Photo: Caitlyn Wilson / Unsplash

Or perhaps, it’s the chef immigrants and members of the multi-ethnic communities who are stirring the melting pot and peppering in a few more spices to the usual mix, consequently enriching the national stew. The issue of authenticity versus just wanting to eat something good may be one that will never ever see a definite resolution, but that hasn’t stopped people from plating their kooky creations and adapting the food they grew up with to their environment.

Whatever the reason may be, we are all just fortunate to live in a sandbox that’s gifted with an assortment of flavours to play with. It’s time we end the tyranny of taste, step out of the box (pun intended), and create something to excite our palates without having to be sorry about it. Weird can taste good too.

This is chaos cooking, best eaten with reckless abandon.

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