These culinary buzzwords should not make a comeback in 2021
People person, customer journey, cheek-to-cheek mentality, bridge-builder, all-round specialist: office jargon is bursting with irritating buzzwords. But so is culinary jargon (and yes: the word ‘culinary jargon’ counts too). We’ve listed the most irritating ones for you.
Category: press releases
Every day, we receive dozens of press releases: new products, restaurants, cafés and ‘concepts’. And 9 times out of 10, everything comes with a vocabulary that makes me think: but what are you actually saying?
‘Culinary indulgence’ – the absolute winner, because this comes up so often. And sure, I know what it’s meant to convey, but it’s so uninspired and meaningless.
‘Culinary experience’ – No, let’s call it the experience, or — even worse — experience. Preferably with ‘a little bit of’ added in front, and you’re done.
‘Your snack moment’ – If something isn’t an experience, then it’s a ‘moment’. Does that definitely go hand in hand with ‘self-care’ and ‘me-time’?
‘Create a tasty moment of relaxation’ – Well, do I really need to say anything else about this?
‘Double the indulgence’ – To quote editor-in-chief Sharon: ‘Ugly. Yes, if you were talking about a threesome…’
‘Especially for MEN’ – If this doesn’t speak for itself, I’d be happy to refer you to my ‘Roast of the men’s section‘. The ‘ladysteak‘ also falls into this category, by the way.
‘A little bit of experience’ – I mentioned it earlier: a little bit? The only little bit I want is a slice of cake.
‘A quirky menu’ – A menu is a piece of paper with printing on it; there’s nothing quirky about that. The only one who’s quirky is the chef.
‘Made with high-quality ingredients’ – At first glance, there’s obviously nothing wrong with this. But it’s such an open door. I have genuinely never seen a press release that said, ‘We work with mediocre products, but hey: the price reflects that too!’ I would find that refreshing, though.
Category: greetings
And we haven’t even mentioned the sign-offs in all those emails and press releases. Apparently, a simple greeting isn’t enough — no, no, it has to go through the culinary-jargon machine. The result:
- ‘Culinary regards’
- ‘Enjoy reading’
- ‘Veggie greetings!’
- ‘Culinary hugs’
- ‘Spicy regards’
- ‘With vinous regards’
Category: you have an opinion too
Fortunately, we’re not alone in these (admittedly entertaining) annoyances; you sometimes raise your eyebrows too.
“Gezocht: Horeca-tijgers!!”
Doe normaal.
We zijn toch ook niet op zoek naar een cassière-nijlpaard of een ICT-stokstaartje?
— Tim Schaap (@timmieschaap) October 28, 2019
Unnecessary use of English, in particular, appears to be a source of frustration. Admittedly, we’re guilty of that sometimes too. But hey: you can’t have it all! 😉
https://twitter.com/Verpils/status/1203987717509566464
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