Bread, sausages and ice cream have to be artisan. Anything you can lay your hands on can be made into a cocktail - radish and thistle nectarini, anyone? And everything is either detoxing or a posh version of junk food, served in a mason jar and massively overpriced. Here are a few irritating food trends currently doing the rounds.
Craft beer
There's nothing wrong with craft beer per se, on the contrary, independent breweries lovingly making their own beer is something to be applauded. The issue is that everyone along with his or her pet hamster is now creating their own beer and selling it to Heineken. Not to mention the multinationals launching diffusion "craft beers" under witty names to make consumers believe they're made by a charming hops nerd in a Sussex brewery.
Babyccinos
A babyccino is merely a cup of hot milk. Or a cup of decaf with hot milk, which brings us to a whole other topic - why feed a child decaf coffee in the first place? Do they love the taste of coffee so much that they can't do without their morning pick-me-up, but have been told to avoid caffeine?
The paleo diet
According to some experts the paleo diet is the healthiest way to eat. That's the diet followed by cavemen who lived till the grand old age of 30. Cutting down on dairy, processed food and alcohol is common sense, but it's also a smart money-making move for eager restaurateurs to open eateries offering paleo meals.
Cronuts, cragels, duffins, townies...
Who would have thought that crossing two words would lead to endless queues like at the Dominique Ansel bakery in New York, where they invented the cronut? The capital's cafes are constantly imitating those across the pond. We've got the croissant-bagel, the doughnut-muffin, and the townie - not the derogatory term, but the tart merged with a brownie.
Menu descriptions
Either the overly complicated ones like "sea vegetable agnolotti with finger lime and Oscietra bisque", or the descriptions that are too simple, i.e. "chicken, spinach, carrot, porridge". Is sea vegetable seaweed? What is agnolotti? Is the chicken roasted, fried, or in a wrap? It would be good to know what each dish is without spending half an hour quizzing the staff.
What do you think? Which food trends irk you? Leave us a comment on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.
