2010s Food: Top Dishes, Restaurants And Eating Trends
Bake Off, brunch, and the decade everybody photographed their dinner.
Below: the dishes people actually ate in the 2010s, what was new at the time, what the kitchen had in it, and honest notes on cooking any of it now.
Useful for a themed party menu, a reminiscence session or working out what to cook for someone's milestone birthday.
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Shop prints and posters Look back to 2010 Look back to 2011 Look back to 2012
Cards and prints, drawn and printed by us
Funny cards, kitchen and milestone art prints and pin badges, printed in the UK. Order on a working day and it usually goes out the same day.
Happy Valentines Day, Bab (Valentines Day Card)
£3.87
"Woof Woof" Sausage Dog Valentines Day Card
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Happy Valentines Day Card From The Cats
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Happy Valentines Day, My Love (Valentines Day Card)
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You're Purr-fect To Me (Cat Valentines Day Card)
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Happy Birthday Papa (Happy Birthday Card) (Multiple designs)
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Years covered in the 2010s
- 2010 - A hung parliament, a volcano that stopped the planes and the first iPad. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2010
- 2011 - The royal wedding, the riots and Adele's 21. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2011
- 2012 - The Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics in one extraordinary summer. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2012
- 2013 - A royal baby, Andy Murray at Wimbledon and the horsemeat scandal. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2013
- 2014 - The Scottish referendum, the ice bucket challenge and streaming joining the chart. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2014
- 2015 - The Queen's record reign, Leicester's title run beginning and Adele's return. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2015
- 2016 - Leicester won the league, Britain voted to leave and a lot of people died. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2016
- 2017 - Grenfell, the Manchester Arena attack and a snap election that went wrong. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2017
- 2018 - A royal wedding, a heatwave and England reaching a World Cup semi-final. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2018
- 2019 - A cricket World Cup final nobody could believe and a December election. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2019
- That is every 2010s year we have written up so far: 2010 to 2019.
Classic 2010s dishes
- Pulled pork, brisket and anything cooked for twelve hours.
- Avocado on toast, poached eggs and the brunch menu.
- Sourdough, showstopper cakes and everything Bake Off caused.
- Poke bowls, burritos and the fast-casual lunch.
- Salted caramel on absolutely everything.
- Katsu curry and ramen going mainstream.
Food trends of the 2010s
- The Great British Bake Off from 2010 turns baking into a national hobby.
- Veganuary from 2014 and plant-based ranges in every supermarket.
- Street-food markets, gin bars and craft beer.
- Meal-kit boxes and recipe cards through the door.
What the kitchen looked like (2010-2019)
- Slow cookers again, then air fryers and Instant Pots at the end of the decade.
- KitchenAid mixers on the worktop as decoration and equipment.
- Deliveroo and Just Eat change what people cook at all.
- Instagram deciding what dinner is supposed to look like.
Eating out in the 2010s: restaurants, cafes and takeaways
- Street food traders and residencies turn into permanent restaurants.
- The burger and barbecue boom: Honest Burgers, Meatliquor, Pitt Cue.
- Deliveroo (2013) and Uber Eats bring restaurant food to the sofa.
- Small plates and no-booking policies, with a queue round the corner.
- Brunch becomes a meal people plan their weekend around.
- Casual dining chains overexpand and start closing by the end of the decade.
Cooking these now: honest notes
- Sourdough needs a starter you actually feed - a week of preparation, not an afternoon.
- Pulled pork is easier in a slow cooker than an oven and tastes the same once it is sauced.
- Salt your avocado. It is the whole difference.
How to use this
- Themed party: pick three dishes, not ten - one thing to pick at, one main, one pudding everyone remembers.
- Put the 2010s playlist on while you cook and the theme does half the work.
- Reminiscence session: food smells prompt more conversation than photographs do.
- Milestone birthday: cook what they ate at eighteen, not what was around when they were born.
Found your words? Now find the card
Shop prints and posters Look back to 2010 Look back to 2011 Look back to 2012
How to write it so it lands
- Write the menu on a card and put it on the table - it makes a themed meal feel deliberate.
- Cook one dish nobody has had for thirty years; that is the one people talk about.
- Check for allergies before you build a menu around pastry, nuts or shellfish.
Where to shop next
- Look back to 2010
- Look back to 2011
- Look back to 2012
- Look back to 2013
- Look back to 2014
- Look back to 2015
- Look back to 2016
- Look back to 2017
- Look back to 2018
- Look back to 2019
- 2010s calendar: year by year
- 2010s trivia: fun facts
- 2010s music: albums, artists and songs
- 2010s fashion: clothes, hair and accessories
- 2010s books, films and TV
- 2010s party playlist
- The 2010s: the whole decade
- Phone party games
- How to run a quiz night
- Decade music round questions
- Guess the year quiz
- Decade history: key events, politics and culture by era
- Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
- Decade recipes: dishes and food trends by era
- Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
- Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
- Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
- Decade calendar: every year from 1920
- Decade trivia: fun facts by era
- Nostalgia gift shop
- Retro party supplies
- Milestone birthday cards
- Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
- How to make a balloon arch
- Photo booth prop ideas
- Wedding cards
- Wedding cards guide
- Pin badges
- All guides
Frequently asked questions
What food was popular in the 2010s?
Pulled pork, brisket and anything cooked for twelve hours. The full list above covers the dishes that turned up week in, week out, not just the special-occasion ones.
What were the big food trends of the 2010s?
The Great British Bake Off from 2010 turns baking into a national hobby. The rest are listed above, including what was arriving in the shops for the first time.
Where did people eat out in the 2010s?
Street food traders and residencies turn into permanent restaurants. The eating out section above lists the restaurants, cafes and takeaways of the decade.
Can I cook 2010s recipes today?
Yes, with small adjustments. Old recipes assume more time and different kit, so the honest notes section above tells you what to change - mostly seasoning, cooking times and which ingredients are hard to buy now.
Do you sell food or recipe books?
No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This page is free to read, print and copy for a party or a care-home session.