The Decade in Food: 18 Trends That Defined the 2010s in Egypt

New decade, who dis? But seriously though, how did the 2010s slip by this fast? I can still remember crying to Adele's Someone Like You back in 2011 like it was yesterday. We're not here, however, to talk about the deep love I carry for Adele, we're here to talk about the shit I stuffed my face with whilst listening to Adele...over the past decade. 

Without further ado, I give you the most memorable food trends from the 2010s. Some were healthy, most of them certainly weren't, and 92.5% of them were yum. Sorry, not sorry, about dem 7.5%. You know who you are.

Someone decided to open a cupcake shop, everyone loved the concept, and the cupcake reign began. 

Someone brought sushi to Egypt and everyone had to just learn how to use chopsticks. Mostly because of the all-you-can-eat offers. 

Someone also brought Chinese food to Egypt, and it spread far and wide overnight that "sweet and sour chicken" is on its way to becoming a national dish. 

Someone discovered the word "gourmet" and decided to slap it on anything that gets in their way: gourmet burgers, gourmet chips, GOURMET EVERYTHING. 

Someone revolutionised dessert by convincing us to eat cookie dough and raw atayef. 

Someone got donuts and fused them with croissants and introduced cronuts. Art, yalahwi. 

Someone (probably an influencer) posted a picture of avocados on their Instagram and life stopped being the same since then. 

Someone (definitely a Syrian person) opened a shawerma shop, and we never looked back. 

Someone introduced online food delivery (sup, Otlob and Glovo?) and millennials and Gen-Zers fist bumped the air in unison.

Someone dethroned rice and made quinoa the King of the Grain Throne. 

Someone decided that having mama's food from everyone but mama was a thing, and we all blindly followed. Sorry, mama.

Someone put mangoes on kunafa, which led to a series of non-ending things like Cola, karkade and kharoub to be added on it. 

Someone introduced meal kits, or subscription food services, and everyone pretended to go along with them. SPOILER ALERT: no one actually did.

Someone wasn't happy with the regular kebda carts and took them to the next level with sushi ones. 

Someone decided to add Lotus to everything. That's it. That's the tweet. 

Someone canceled gluten, everyone agreed and made sure that we all must live our best gluten-free life at all times. 

Someone decided to put cheese on everything. Thus came the existence of things like cheese fountains, cheesy pastas, cheesy fries, cheesy kol 7aga. 

Someone wanted to supersize every dish there is for no reason whatsoever, which is why we ended up with things like the biggest koshary and macaroni bechamel, among other things, in the world.