Top food stories of 2012 - Commentary

This entry is dedicated to the memory of Velda Franklin (1935-2012).

We're already more than halfway through the first month of 2013, what better time to look back at the year that was 2012.

• Rising costs: It's not just you, the cost of filling your grocery cartt went up this past year. The summer drought devastated farmers and drove up food prices around the globe. As prices don't look like they will fall anytime soon, now is as good a time as any to start clipping coupons.
• Pink slime: Whether it was called lean finely textured beef, boneless lean beef trimmings, or finely textured meat, when people discovered this filler product was being used in their ground beef and beef-based processed meats, they did not like it. Though pink slime has been approved for human consumption since 2001, and is no more unappetizing than other things that are routinely part of hamburger, concerns about package mislabeling, and the use of ammonium hydroxide in the production of pink slime has caused some grocery retailers to stop selling products that contain it, and some food manufactures to stop using it in their products.
• Soda size: Soft drink sizes made the news after the mayor of New York City moved to regulate portion sizes of soft drink serves. An editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal has supported this move saying “...(b)ecause sugary drinks are the leading source of dietary calories in North America, New York City’s latest measure is a rational strategy to combat obesity on a population level”. This brought on cries of too much government interference in people's lives from the easily excitable, who also were demanding more from the nation's food inspectors during the last beef recall. Go figure.
• The Twinkie Panic: Hostess Brands went out of business in 2012, and snack cake fans lost their minds at the thought of the sponge cake stuffed with creamy filling disappearing from stores forever. While I would regret never tasting the deep-fried version, the loss of the Twinkie wouldn't bother me, but fans of the treat can take solace in a similar pastry now on the market, or wait until the brand is sold to a competitor.
• Hot restaurants that opened in Ottawa: Union 613; 327 Wine Bar; Hintonburg Public House; and Town
• Kale is out, beets are in, and foie grie is as illegal to sell as crack in California.
• Food trucks and pop up restaurants were extremely popular in 2012. Not surprisingly, Ottawa was late to follow the food truck trend, but the announcement of 45 new food truck licenses will add to a tasty collective that already includes vendors such as Trailer Pork Boys, Stone Soup Foodworks,  Bite This, Relish and the Flatbread Pizza Co. Many foodies hope more chefs follow Matthew Carmichael's lead and start up a pop restaurant in one of Ottawa's other distinctive establishments. Picture a sudden supper club suddenly appear in the Laff one weekend? It could happen in 2013...
• Celebrity chefs behaving badly include Paula Deen, for revealing her struggles with diabetes after lining up a drug endorsement deal; Guy Fieri, for earning the worst possible review for his new Times Square restaurant; and Gordon Ramsey, for picking fights with Mario Batali, and Jamie Oliver just because he can.
• Hot cookbook for cooking nerds: "The Science of Good Cooking".