This is Cereal Business
January 18, 2005
When I was a kid, my father used to tease my brother by putting a large glass mixing bowl in his place setting at breakfast. The implication was that my brother needed a bowl this large for his cereal each day. He was quite right – my brother did eat an enormous amount of cereal, but no more, I expect, than any other teenage boy. I don’t think this has changed for teenage boys, not that I have much experience in the matter. I am not a teenage boy myself, nor do I spend a lot of time with teenage boys. Still, I have experienced the feeling of being defenseless in a kitchen, unprepared for the ambush of two teenagers with unbelievably insatiable appetites.
I personally tend to shop for only one or two days’ worth of food at a time. Deciding what to make for a meal is always my biggest hurdle when it’s time to eat, and the notion of having to decide what I will make for several days in the future is unfathomable. How could I know what I might feel like having for dinner two or three nights from now? I have tested the concept of buying foods that will keep me prepared to make a variety of things, but if I follow that course of action when cooking for one or two, I find that I end up throwing most of my perishable inventory away. So, I survive by living in a city with two grocery stores very close by and shopping every day or two for the few things I need or want. Consequently, when invaded by teenagers with an uncontrollable and relentless need to eat, I am unprepared. “Hi kids, what can I get for you? A piece of cheese? Some mustard? How about a little tonic? Vodka?” Luckily, this doesn’t happen too often.
I don’t remember having such an appetite myself when I was growing up, but rarely do we have an accurate self image, especially at a young age. I do remember, however, that I could never have eaten as much cereal as my brother did then. I didn’t even particularly like cereal as a kid. There was something terribly dull about it. My mother was a wonder in the mornings, and almost always prepared a hot breakfast for my father while she made packed lunches for my brother and me. Sometimes I was included in the hot breakfast, but often I was relegated to cereal. I think as a result, cereal became the fall back, the second choice, the boobie prize.
I’m older now, however, and find myself really enjoying cereal, even craving it in the mornings. I’ve never been one for sugary cereals. My mother never bought sugary cereals – perhaps that’s another reason why cereals were not an award-winning breakfast for me as a child. I now choose to eat healthy cereals to give me a good start to the day, making Mum proud. Raisin Bran has actually become a favourite choice rather than a punishment, and I have been exploring all the different brands. You’d be surprised at how different these cereals of the same name can be, from the packaging (raisins in separate pouches) to the color of the bran flakes. Kellogg’s version is definitely a contender for first place, but I’m not sure if that’s due to childhood reminiscing or true taste. Trader Joe’s rendition has definitely won a blue raisin in my cereal competition, and General Mill’s Total is a solid fall back option.
I’m not the only one discovering (or re-discovering) a love of cereal. I’m not saying that cereal has ever really fallen out of favour, for as long as I can remember, there’s been an entire aisle of the grocery store devoted to the different options. Rarely, if ever, however, has cereal been an option in the foodservice world, except in those little cereal boxes on a cafeteria line. Rarely, until now that is.
One of the most interesting and “why-didn’t-I-think-of-that” foodservice concepts of the past year has to be Cereality, a new but growing chain of Cereal Bars and Cafés. These restaurants serve cereal. You can go there and get two scoops of cereal, selecting from 33 different options, one of 34 topping of your choice and then load it up with milk (skim, 2%, whole or even soy), all for $2.95. You can keep it healthy and go for warm oatmeal with fruit, or seek revenge on your health-conscious mothers and request the flavour crystals, pop rocks or malted milk balls as toppings. Cereality has expanded their menu to include smoothies (with a hint of cereal), baked goods and parfaits, but plain old cereal is their bread and butter, so to speak. There are only two such cafés currently in existence, both of which are cleverly located near their main target market - college campuses – one in Tempe, Arizona and the other in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
With the understanding that American youth can eat a lot of cereal and that variety is the spice of life, I would imagine that Cereality has found a true market. I’m no college student, but I am intrigued and am planning on having breakfast out tomorrow morning. I just wonder if I’ll be served in one of their cardboard take out boxes, or if they can provide a large glass mixing bowl.