Fancy Pants

Apr 26, 2016

It’s the craze that has swept nations, proliferated social media channels and crowned new kings and queens on reality TV. It’s the delicious and probably questionably nutritious – desserts.

It doesn’t take much for some of us to cave in to dessert, but if restaurateurs were interested in making the choice an easy one, the recent foray of the hospitality industry into extravagant desserts would get us there.

Gone are the days of plain banana-sundaes or chocolate brownies,  instead we’re being tempted by creations and degustation that are a treat for our sweet tooth (but perhaps not so much our diet). Surely, we’d all admit to having a weakness for chocolate or lollies, but the upswing in decadence and dessert bars has grown exponentially.

So, what sparked this sweet trend?

One reason: creative bloggers.

Food blogging is lifeblood of its own, with oodles of creative culinary fiends creating webpages for us to peruse and be inspired from. Thanks to these clever thinking chocolate lovers; desserts of all kinds have made themselves known across the World Wide Web. Even better, is the interesting make up of desserts – with health bloggers taking the growth in stride, things like sweet potato brownies or chocolate avocado mousse, desserts haven’t just been banished to the sugar aisle.

Our appetites have grown, allowing pastry chefs to experiment with a hungry audience in mind.

Another reason: social media (i.e. food porn).

Sometimes Instagram is a saint, sometimes it’s a sin. It’s a saint because it keeps us connected visually, indulging in images, captions and moments. It’s a sin because it conveys food porn just so well. Have you ever had your 3pm social-scroll thwarted by a pang for gelato or a milkshake (of epic proportions)? No doubt staring at a well-cooked steak & potatoes is delicious, but a fruit salad dressed in compote and drizzled in homemade mousse takes top prize for cravings.

Another reason: creativity took the cake.

There was once a donut and once a croissant. And humbly they lived apart. Until chef Dominique Ansel put the two together to create a whole new world of pastry. From there, a lot changed. Cronuts became cruffins (croissant & muffin) which became duffins (donut & muffin), which all got put on top of sickly sweet milkshakes and drizzled in new types of sauces. The amalgamations and new dessert destinations have come to play an exciting part in the growth of fancy pants desserts.

But lets be honest:

The food industry has grown in many different ways over the past decade. Diners are back, coffee bars are the uber cool, cafes aren’t just for food, they’re for community and restaurants aren’t just for dinner, they’re for an experience. It’s no surprise then that the most anticipated course of a meal has become the cause for establishments of its own.

Notable Australian sweet treat pioneers like Kirsten Tibballs, Adriana Zumbo, Anna Polyviou and recent Masterchef contestant and restaurateur, Reynold Poernemo have put desserts into centre stage. Now it’s not about saving space for dessert, it’s about making space.

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