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The Millennial generation, those born between 1980 and the year 2000, is often characterized by a novel social awareness reflected in their lifestyle choices, none the least, dining.
As part of this age group, I find all too well how easily we succumb to the categorization fastened to our eating habits: a greater hankering for authentic diversity and ethnic fusion, our weariness of mass-production and demand for specifically tailored foods to suit our cravings, our consciousness of health and yet our fits of decadent eating.
These new patterns in eating have given rise to a novel way of understanding dining and food. We favour several snacks throughout the day over the Western tradition of a three-course-meal which defined the baby-boomers, our predecessors.
All this, coupled with the exponential advancement of technology, have radically changed the way we eat. We are constantly looking to simplify our lives through our portable devices, including our diets.
Here are some examples of how the latest technology fad, the app, has revolutionized our conception of food and dining.
'Self-Help Attitude'
Mixologist
Mixologist is possibly the hottest app out there for the wannabe bartender. It boasts a database of more than 8,000 drink and cocktail recipes with over 1,000 ingredients. Moreover, its 'Liquor Cabinet' feature allows you to enter the ingredients you have on hand and it will generate all drink results scanning through its database. Its bar and liquor locator helps you find the closest watering hole or liquor store to you through a GPS system, but the app has many other features targeted towards developing your bartending and mixology skills and terminology.
Yummly
Yummly simplifies life in the kitchen with recipes and cooking tips. Partenered with Instacart, an internet-based grocery delivery store, its built in shopping list feature allows you to shop online down to the most minute detail and delivers the produce directly to your home within the hour. Although this feature is currently only available in some of the major cities of the United States, Yummly also looks to curb food waste by recommending specific recipes to you using the left-over ingredients you have on hand.
Food and Travel
Open table
Open table allows you to discover, explore and reserve restaurants near you, to book them on-the-go, anywhere in the world. You will be able to see menus, reviews and pictures of places and dishes, prodividng the largest database of dining-choices anywhere, tailored to your needs and cravings for the night. Furthermore, using the app wins you reward points which you can use to save on your next meal.
Eatwith
As the number of international travellers increases with facilitated and faster transportation, there has also been a rise in the number of lonely diners around the world. This app looks to combat solitary dining and to promote the tradition of conviviality and food. EatWith hosts will invite you into their home and cook you a complete meal, allowing you to meet new people, try new tastes of the world and experience new cultures: a friendly and delicious experience.
Shopping
Fooducate
Fooducate is one of the most popular nutrition apps on the market. The app enables you to personalize your profile to suit your BMI and track the intake and the quality of the calories you are eating. A built-in feature which scans over 250,000 products assigning each a nutrtional grade (A-D) will make shopping a more enjoyable experience, receiving suggestions on the foods you scan. You can upload your own recipes, tips and successes to motivate the community, as others have motivated you.
Vivino
Vivino also makes use of the scanning model and the input of the community for you to learn everything about a wine label in a matter of seconds: pricing, ratings, reviews, food pairings and recommendations. Whether you are shopping for wine, dining out or invited to a dinner party, Vivino will guide you by the hand through the wonderful world of oenology, helping you make cosncious and delicious choices, and making you a fine sommelier.
