Derrick of An Obsession With Food wrote earlier this week that his blog was popular with the teen-n-tween crowd, according to Microsoft’s demographic analysis tool. “I’m skeptical that the next generation has so much passion for wine, homemade charcuterie, and fine dining,” he writes, doubting the accuracy of the tool (which predicts viewers’ demographics based on their search queries and Web page views).
While I’m inclined to agree that Derrick knows his readers better than an automated program could, it does seem like a lot of really young people are into food these days. Every time I blink there’s a new cookbook for kids on my desk, and grub-o-philic TV shows and books catering to college students (many of whom blog about food) seem to keep popping up. And just today, Slashfood reported that family-style restaurant chain Applebee’s has hired Food Network heartthrob Tyler Florence to develop some new menu items in a bid to increase the chain’s appeal among young folk.
Maybe Derrick is right that youthful ‘hounds are into different types of chow than their more seasoned counterparts (i.e. maybe the youngsters place less emphasis on traditional “fine dining”). But then there’s apparently a growing number of sommeliers who started developing their oenophilia when they were well underage. Is there really a lurking under-18 crowd in OWF’s readership?
What about here—any teenage CHOW fans out there?
College student, and I dig chow. We’re cooler than we may seem
i can’t speak about the actual demographics for owf, but as a restaurant professional, i can attest to the explosion of enthusiasm and knowledge about food from kids in high school and younger. i know a girl aged 8, determined to be a pastry chef, and many pre-teen boys who savor foie gras, and long ago learned the difference between a quiche and a quenelle. when i was that age, lo-mein was exotic!
i can only hope they hold this passion as they grow. even if they never don an apron, i pray they help stave off the malling of american cuisine.
Depends on what they’re exposed to. By the time she was 5, my older daughter thought artichokes were fun food and oysters were a favorite. As a teenager, she passed on desserts for the cheese tray.
Trips to the food court as part of her social life didn’t ruin her.
I think it’s great that children and teens enjoy finer dining. I strongly agree that early exposure to a variety of foods definitely makes feeding your children an easier job. Plus, it allows the parents more freedom in dining choices when eating out! I wish the restaurants would offer healthier choices in addition to the usual chicken fingers, pizza, cheeseburger, and hot dogs with side orders of fries.
I for one would be happy to know that there are lots of teens reading about duck confit and the like at OWF.
But Christy’s brief description of the Microsoft tool–”which predicts viewers’ demographics based on their search queries and Web page views”–triggered a thought about a potential explanation for the very odd results. (Not too detract from the fascinating look at young gourmets).
A lot of people come to my site after searching for “food obsession.” I assume they quickly realize that my site isn’t for them, but I wonder if the demographics tool is showing a much sadder trend in the teenage set. Anyway, I hope it’s an upswell in young interest in good food, and not teenagers trying to find their way out of a downward spiral.
I have no faith at all in that tool. When it was first discovered a lot of food bloggers tested it out and it seemed to be giving bizarre results for everyone.
But if youngsters are in to food, then that’s a great thing. I wish I had recognised my own food obsession at a much earlier age.
One might look at the disclaimer at the bottom of the demographics tool, which states that it is just a demo designed to demonstrate the concept for the future. It shoots out example results without doing an analysis, not actual ones. Easy to tell given how fast it provides results – the server for my blog can’t give me a list of who’s accessed my blog that fast.
I had my first bite of sushi at age 7 (22 years ago) and would cook “gourmet” meals (curry crusted salmon with mango chutney and mint yogurt sauce) for friends on a regular basis in college. In this day and age where FoodNetwork brings different types of food into most households, it would be hard not to let it sink in a little.
i do not find this true at all.
Food is a passion in my life, and i am barely 17.
I hope my blog will prove anyone who begs to differ wrong
(http://www.teenageglutster.blogspot.com