Whether it's something you'd actually put in your mouth our not, our taste for vulgar food has only grown. Food porn has become such a popular topic over the years that there are now several types, each with their own cult following. Our general fascination with the absurd has only snowballed and as a foodie phenomenon, our insatiable thirst to explore the limits of excess has led us to the echelons of vulgarity.
Images from The Vulgar Chef
Now with so many exaggerated eats at our fingertips, vulgar food has become its own food porn category. Over-the-top, culinary creations are far from a new trend, with our love of gluttony dating back to the dawn of humanity, to the Roman's whose elite famously loved to eat laying down.
Enormous portions, unusual combinations, processed or heavy foods, and redefining what counts as “garnish”, are all tell-tale characteristics of vulgar food. Every culture has their own version of diet-busting, tastebud-bursting, gut-exploding dishes and they all come together on Instagram, Tik-Tok, and YouTube, feeding our collective foodie fetishes.
YouTubers gorging themselves on camera, instagrammers showing off their foodie feats, and bizarre cooking videos are only the tip of the iceberg. Burgers like the Octuple Bypass Burger from the Heart Attack Grill (pictured above), in Las Vegas is a worthy example of vulgar food. With 8 beef patties, 4 pounds of meat, and 40 slices of bacon, it comes in at 20,000 calories. Stacking not just burger patties, but entire foods on top of other foods is a key trait of vulgar foods.
A drink garnished with a deep-fried turkey or ice cream cones stacked with three balls of every imaginable flavor, topped with an slice of cake, or an ice cream sandwich are just some examples of foods that befall a vulgar fate.
Perhaps the most famous in the vulgar food circle, is the Vulgar Chef, who launched into Instagram fame for his unapologetic food pairings that most people wouldn’t dare to look much less eat. But at 155k followers on Instagram, look they do.
At a time when we have the world at our fingertips, why not go to the extreme to see what is truly possible. We may only need to try it once, or maybe never at all, but at least we know it exists, and that is something.