5 Food Trends Started By Movies
In reality, you probably wouldn’t want to model your diet after those of your favorite directors (largely coffee and cocaine), actors (chicken, broccoli and rice ad infinitum) and actresses (nothing). Still, a movie scene that prominently features a certain type of food can send ripples through the culinary seas for years to come. Like when…
‘The Avengers’ Brought Shawarma to the Masses
The post-credits scene featuring our newest favorite superheroes going to town on some shawarma after the events of The Avengers boosted sales of shawarma as much as 80 percent across the country, raising the question: Who hadn’t tried shawarma in the year of our Beyonce 2012? It’s delicious. We refuse to believe Tony Stark is so provincial.
‘Rick and Morty’ Brought Back Szechuan Sauce
After a 2017 episode in which Rick dreams about getting one last taste of the szechuan sauce McDonald’s sold to promote Mulan in 1998, McDonald’s announced they’d be offering the sauce for one day that year, leading to predictable pandemonium and a nationwide fanboy meltdown. This ensured that such fanboys would never get nice things ever ag— Just kidding, McDonald’s promised a wider rollout, and then another one. This is why people are like that, if you were wondering.
‘Sideways’ Elevated Pinot Noir (And Tanked Merlot)
Scientifically speaking, no one knows the difference between a good and bad wine, so after Paul Giamatti extolled the virtues of pinot noir and disparaged merlot in the 2004 Oscar winner, production of the former shot up 170 percent while sales of the latter slumped. Merlot sales have mostly recovered, but pinot noir is still such a heavy hitter in the wine industry that it’s known as the result of “the Sideways effect,” which is coincidentally what happens to us when we drink it.
‘Wallace & Gromit’ Saved Wensleydale Cheese
You’ve probably never heard of Wensleydale cheese, and while it’s bigger in England, it was on the verge of bankruptcy before Wallace declared his love for the cheese in several Wallace & Gromit films. Suddenly, Brits wanted Wensleydale more than Hugh Grant. “Wallace & Gromit have probably boosted company sales by £63 million in the last 15 years,” the cheesemaker’s managing director said in 2011. That’s, like, at least two million real dollars.
Popeye Made Kids Love Spinach
When E.C. Seegar created his Popeye the Sailor character in 1919, he portrayed him eating spinach for a boost of strength because it was believed at the time to be a rich source of iron. After Popeye became a cartoon in the early ‘30s, spinach sales jumped 30 percent thanks to kids who wanted to be strong like Popeye. Bro managed to sell leafy greens to children during the Depression. It turned out spinach isn’t all that iron-y and we only thought it was due to a clerical error, but it’s still hella good for you, so maybe superheroes should be eating more vegetables than pita wraps. Can we get Spider-Man some kale here?
