Around the World for Food-Cast: How Food Goes Viral

By Megan Williams, UConn Journalism
Decem­ber 14, 2019

Crois­sants with col­or­ful fill­ings, like these from Trades­man Boston, are a hit on Insta­gram. Pho­tos by Olivia Hutchins. Graph­ic by Megan Williams.

Wel­come to the Around the World for Food-Cast. Each episode of this pod­cast dives deep­er into one of the food sto­ries from my blog. This week you’ll learn more about viral foods and exact­ly how some shot to Inter­net fame.

You’ll also hear from New York City food­ie and viral food hunter, Dan Ben­nett, 21, on the lengths peo­ple go to get their hands on one of these famous creations.

Have you ever won­dered how the Cronut blew up or how Christi­na Tosi’s Milk Bar cre­ations shot to fame? The answer is a com­bi­na­tion of luck, media cov­er­age and Insta­gram influ­encers. Why does some pop­u­lar­i­ty last and oth­ers fade like the rain­bow bagel? Dan and I dis­cuss this and more in “How Food Goes Viral” avail­able now.

 

Restaurants and Food Featured in the ‘Why Food Goes Viral’
The pas­ta bagel. Pho­to by the Today Show 
The giant for­tune cook­ie cake. Pho­to by Tao 
Smor­gas­burg fes­ti­val in NYC. Pho­to by Smorgasburg 
John’s Juice at Smor­gas­burg. Pho­to by Bran­don Hardin 
DÖ Cook­ie Dough. Pho­to by Busi­ness Insider 
#HITME cake from Catch. Pho­to by Catch Restaurant 
The Cronut at Dominique Ansel Bak­ery. Pho­to by Dominique Ansel Bakery 
Milk Bar’s sig­na­ture cre­ations. Pho­to by Milk Bar Store 

TOP IMAGE: Graph­ic by Megan Williams