Why Almost Everything Was Garnished With Parsley During The '80s

Remember when you went to your first fancy restaurant growing up and you asked what that weird green stuff on your plate was? Your mother may have said something along the lines of "that's parsley, and you're not supposed to eat it" — which, likely, just raised further questions. Why put something on the plate if you're not supposed to eat it? Why that curly, leafy herb, specifically? And why was it absolutely everywhere back in the day? All of these questions have answers, but let's tackle that last one first: it's because America was really into French cooking back in the 1980s.

When added to a dish, parsley lends a fresh, mild herby flavor. But back in the 1980s, its most famous use was purely decorative. Parsley had been used as a garnish long before then, of course — it was bright, pleasing to the eye, and filled up empty space on a plate — but it really took off when French cuisine became en vogue in the '80s. At the time, French cooking loved its little presentational flourishes, which countless other restaurants sought to copy. But while not everyone can turn a tomato into an elegant rose, just about anybody can throw a sprig of parsley on a plate — so those who wanted to add a bit of continental flair to their dishes did just that.

So what happened to parsley? Well, while French cooking is obviously still well-regarded today, it's no longer seen as the alpha and omega of haute cuisine — a shift that began to take hold in the 1990s. The fussy complexity of French cuisine — the kind eaten in hotel restaurants and ultra-luxurious Michelin-starred establishments that serve dishes you only pretend to know about — began to lose favor in comparison to hearty, rustic Italian cuisine or the elegant simplicity of Japanese cuisine.

It didn't help that the garnish game was changing in more ways than one. A philosophy was beginning to take hold that every element on a plate should enhance the eating experience in some way. While you can eat parsley, it's not necessarily satisfying. Why not add some crunch to your dish with daikon radishes or a note of peppery bite with kohlrabi? These unusual farmer's market vegetables and others became more widely available to restaurants and consumers alike, leaving poor parsley by the wayside. But don't feel too sorry for this herb: it's still a welcome addition to dishes, whether as an aromatic in a soup or as a substitute for cilantro that won't make people taste soap.