2016 International Year of Pulses
We'd had the International Year of the Potato. Then the United Nations declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses. As… Read More
The world
2011 World population hits seven billion
It took 123 years for the world population to go from one billion to two billion but only 12 to… Read More
2011 Denmark introduces ‘fat tax’
The Danish government introduced a 'fat tax' surcharge on foods containing more than 2.3% saturated fats. This initiative to combat heart… Read More
2008 International Year of the Potato
The United Nations declared 2008 the International Year of the Potato, to focus world attention on the role the potato… Read More
2004 Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me
The American documentary film Super Size Me by director Morgan Spurlock aimed to expose the evils of fast food. The film… Read More
2003 Australian Ark of Taste established
The Ark of Taste (or Arca del Gusto) is an initiative by Slow Food International to identify and preserve heritage… Read More
2002 El Bulli named world’s best
The el Bulli restaurant in Roses, Catalonia, under chef Ferran Adrià, was named best restaurant in the world by Restaurant… Read More
2001 Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation
Eric Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation:The Dark Side of the All-American Meal explores the global influence of the American fast… Read More
1998 Nigella Lawson publishes How to Eat
If Jamie Oliver was all about energy, Nigella Lawson was all about sensuality. Her first book, How to Eat, had… Read More
1997 The Jamie phenomenon
Jamie Oliver became The Naked Chef. The impossibly jaunty young chef received his big break from appearing on television as… Read More
1989 Slow Food International is founded
The predecessor of Slow Food, Arcigola, began in Bra, Italy, the hometown of founder Carlo Petrini, who was horrified at… Read More
1970s Counterculture revolt
In the late ‘60s and early ’70s, the counterculture revolt railed against everything that symbolised the industrial state. It included a… Read More
1968 Subway emerges in Connecticut
A recent high school graduate, 17 year old Fred DeLuca, and family friend Dr. Peter Buck teamed up to open… Read More
1962 Hawaiian Pizza created in Canada
History does not record when the first Hawaiian Pizza arrived in Australia. But the man credited with its invention was… Read More
1957 Global warming first mentioned
The first use of the term global warming was in The Hammond Times in Indiana USA. The article, on 6… Read More
1952 Kentucky Fried Chicken brand launched in USA
Harland Sanders opened his first restaurant in 1930 in the front room of a gas station in Corbin, Kentucky, naming… Read More
1933 The term ‘supermarket’ is first used
Albers Super Market in Cincinatti,USA,was the first to use the term ‘supermarket ’. William Albers, former president of Kroger Grocery… Read More
1930 World’s first supermarket
King Kullen, the Price Wrecker, opened in 1930 in Long Island, New York. King Kullen is recognized by the Smithsonian… Read More
1916 World’s first self-service grocery store
The world’s first self-service grocery store, Piggly Wiggly, opened in Memphis Tennessee. Clarence Saunders, the founder of Piggly Wiggly, claimed to… Read More
1900 Muesli invented in Switzerland
Swiss doctor Maximilian Bircher-Benner invented muesli at his health clinic . He called it the “apple diet dish” or Apfeldiätspeise . The… Read More
1886 Dishwasher patented by Josephine Cochran
The first patent for a dish-washing machine was issued in 1850 in the USA, but the machine was never put… Read More