A little pricey, but you get what you pay for

BEEF sukiyaki

In truth, no one really remembers, or cares, that the weird music geek who sits in a corner of the office had been raving about that band since, like, two years ago, long before they had a hit single thats now everyones ringtone. This is the point at which the music geek really goes off the deep end and only listens to indie bands that refuse to sign to a label and only distribute their music via USB stick.

That imaginary music geek would find solace, if he should seek it, in my company, because really, since when has food become so cool, so hip and so mainstream?

I recently saw a list of the 10 Hottest Women in Food, and I knew that we the fusty old guard were done for. Highly attractive young women waxing lyrical about chocolate and ice cream? Even I would ditch the history of fermentation in the Middle Ages to hear them talk about their craft or advocacies.

These gorgeous people can do more to change the landscape of food in this country and raise awareness for food ethics and sustainability than legions of scholars banging away at their keyboards.

Food suddenly being cool doesnt just mean an explosion in newly opened restaurants and the elevation of the restaurateur from its service-class stigma to hip lifestyle tag (its what interior decorator was 10 years ago). Its an entire ecosystem of cool kids and old hacks as well as wannabes photographing, writing, blogging, and listicling about food.

And annoying as it may be to the geeks who got into it before it became popular, its impossible to deny that its a good thing and has raised the bar all around.

Pack donkey

In the old days, I would have to travel and send home boxes full of absurdly expensive books from specialist booksellers, and then fill my suitcase with exotic honeys, spices, herbs and teas, like the pack donkey of a Silk Road trader. These days, not only do I not have to, but I dont want to: Id rather explore the Pangasinan sea salts, or the chocolates from Davao, or honey from Palawan, or any of the local produce that has now become (a little) more accessible.

(I remember in earlier days trying to take unpasteurized Palawan honey home; it exploded like Nickelodeon green goo all over the airplane.)

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A little pricey, but you get what you pay for