2020 was rather dramatic and messy for the start (or end, if that’s how you’re moving) of a decade. We collectively witnessed the first global pandemic of our lives, which has changed history as we know it. The food industry suffered gut punch after gut punch, from business shutdowns to the death of renowned icons - African food advocate and restaurant owner, Jonathan Adewumi and celebrity chef, Floyd Cardoz.

On the lighter but irritating end of things here, brunch was canceled, we stopped posting reviews, and our food festival didn’t hold for the first time ever. What a year! If only things got better in January 2021.

Well, smack dab into the new year, we’re dealing with a new virus strain and record-high infection rates worldwide. Looks like the COVID-19 reign just won’t let up after all.

For comfort and healing last year, people turned to their kitchens to recreate food trends like banana bread, pancake cereal, and so on. Now that the coronavirus won’t let its foot off the world’s neck, the food trends this year are chaotic and random, compared to the ones from last year.

The Fufu Challenge

No one could’ve predicted the world would be starting the year with some ‘okele’. The #fufuchallenge already amassed 224.1 million views on TikTok. It’s the trend that has white people and the black diaspora trying out Nigerian food.

Unlike other viral trends, there’s no cooking involved, thank God. The “challenge” is to try out ‘fufu’ with egusi or okra soup for the first time. Fufu here describes your average ‘light-skinned’ swallow meal i.e pounded yam, fufu, and semo.

The reactions to this trend have been mixed; some absolutely love it, others find the food revolting. Either way, it goes to show the internet remains unstoppable. With a few posts, people are discovering and trying new food. The upside to this trend is that Nigerian food is gaining the recognition it deserves, and African restaurants abroad are seeing more visitors.

Potato Cake

This is probably the most chaotic trend you’ll see on the internet. Created by Tiktok user, @Zhthot, the potato cake is indicative of the times we’re in, messy, disappointing, and audacious - as in the audacity of this pandemic to keep stressing the whole world one year later. Well, if you’re expecting a savoury cake with this trend, think again.

First, you stack some baked potatoes for your base and layer with mashed potatoes. For the frosting and piping, use mashed potatoes and decorate with tater tots and potato wedges. Freeze and enjoy a slice, if you can bear it.

How does it taste? “When I tasted it, oh fricking lord, it tasted like potatoes”, @zhthot says. Basically, if you were expecting 2021 to be sexy and better, welp! It gets as disappointing as this cake. Some believe the cake can be better with flavours like sour cream and bacon. So there’s hope, I guess.

Tortilla Hack

The tortilla trend gained almost 3 billion Tiktok views in just a few weeks. This ‘viral hack’ shows an alternative way to wrap your homemade quesadilla efficiently without spill (this is a universal problem). The hack involves making pizza-size slits on a tortilla wrap, filing each quadrant with different ingredients, and then toasting in a panini press. Congratulations, the world just discovered alternative quesadillas.

Now, you’ll find customized versions of this trend - like a sushi ‘tortilla’ wrap using nori or a breakfast wrap made from tortilla wrap, eggs, bacon, and so on. This trend is not as comforting as the ones from last year, but it’s innovative, and we’ll take that from this year.