Not bad for a recipe!
I’m sure you’d be ecstatic if a post of yours on social media was this successful.
The New York Times has an online cooking section where chefs from all over the world and from many cuisines offer recipes.
They have had Coconut Chicken Curry, Kung Pao Cauliflower and Youvarlakia Augolemono (Lemony Greek Meatball Soup to us non-chefs).
But 1 recipe has remained a favourite for nearly 20 years since it was published in 1994.
Molly O’Neil’s Old Fashioned Beef Stew is a dish that won’t appear on Instagram and needs only 4 main ingredients (plus some store cupboard essentials). No other recipe has come near in terms of popularity. In 2022 alone it averaged 18,000 hits a day, something many food brands can only dream of!
I read about this with a little amusement. I love a great stew, especially when the weather is cold and miserable, as it can really improve both body and soul.
But there’s an opinion out there that if something has a few miles on the clock, it needs updating or worse still replacing. This is something I’ve heard more than I’ve had hot dinners! So many “experts” on social media talk about the “next big thing” and how we need to innovate and improve.
Sometimes you do need to move with the times and take advantage of new technologies and opportunities that allow you to improve how you or your systems work, and sometimes you may be forced into a change to comply with new laws.
However, sometimes the old adage “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” is a sensible option, even in this day and age.
The trick is knowing when to stick with what works and when you should look to update how you do things.