Journalism Pitch: A Plate Full of Garnish

by Stephanie Sorosiak
How did a fibrous leafy green go from being a decorative piece on a salad bar to the one of the highest grossing produce items in the United States? In ways it was an overnight success. As a strategic endeavor to get Americans to eat more vegetables, prominent figures like Oberon Sinclair coined kale as the superfood of the 2010s and in a short time transformed it from a dismissed garnish to Bon Appetite’s dish of the year in 2012. The push for popularity was achieved entirely out of the hands of influential people. For decades it existed in plain sight with the same nutritional value as many other green vegetables but was often picked around and ignored. Kale’s success is a classic example of the right people marketing the right thing at the right time. It’s not circumstantial that the green became so sought after and talked about. But much like the Chilean Seabass craze, the surge of its demand outweighed the supply as kale farmers scratched their heads at its boom. What we’re left with a decade later are the effects of big names influencing big change. Kale grew its commercialized wings and is still flying.
I envision this story existing in TASTE because it continues to support the culture of food trends. It helps explain the impact of external influences from celebrities and chefs, but also brings light to society’s ability to adhere to new foods. It’s not necessarily a bad thing that Americans grew to enjoy kale, but it’s also important to note how popular trends effect nearly everything it touches. Prompting the culture of eating more greens shocked its agricultural supply curves; the increase in demand resulted in higher seed prices and thus, a higher price tag at the store. What consumers face is an elitist mentality — that only the prestigious eat kale. By instilling conversation around the topic, kale became a buzzword, and transformed into becoming a headlining ingredient for elevated palettes. Additionally, I have some personal insight to this topic given my employment history. I worked for True Food Kitchen in the 2010s. It’s one of the leading health-conscious restaurant brands in the US, especially after Oprah’s investment towards it, and continues to pitch their kale salad as one of the most popular dishes on the menu. This Tuscan kale salad, which suspiciously mimics chef Joshua McFadden’s version from 2007, incorporates garlic, lemon, and Pecorino Romano into a deliciously hearty, savory, and tangy bite. Kale’s ability to exist in soups, sautéed in pasta, snacked on as a chip, or nibbled down in salad proves itself to be a diverse addition to your vegetable drawer. Its humble beginnings as the forgotten leaf allowed for its transformation to feel all the more exciting.