The Hidden Brief Behind The Food We Eat

Every food begins with a brief.

Before a recipe reaches a supermarket shelf or a café counter, someone has decided what that food is supposed to do. Should it comfort? Celebrate? Offer convenience? Fuel performance? Or simply make you want another bite?

National Junk Food Day celebrates some of our favourite indulgences. As someone with a Master’s in Food Product Development, it always makes me think about something most people never see: the brief behind the food we eat.

Because there are two very different ways to design food.

One asks, “How do we make people want more?”

The other asks, “How do we help people feel they’ve had enough?”

My career has always been built around the second.

The Brief Behind Junk Food

When people hear “food product development”, they often imagine chefs creating exciting new products. The reality is far more fascinating.

Every product starts with an objective.

For many indulgent foods, that objective is to create an eating experience that’s incredibly rewarding. Food developers talk about the Bliss Point—the precise balance of fat, sugar and salt that delivers maximum pleasure. But that’s only part of the story.

Texture matters. Crunch matters. The way chocolate melts. The creaminess left on the palate. Layers of flavour that keep revealing themselves with every bite. Every detail contributes to an experience that keeps us engaged and encourages us to reach for another handful or another square.

It’s remarkable food design.

But it’s a very different design brief to the one I work with.

Designing Food To Truly Satisfy

When I develop recipes, I begin with a different question.

How can this food leave someone feeling genuinely satisfied?

That means creating food that’s delicious first, while becoming the most nourishing version of itself it can be.

I think about flavour and texture just as carefully, but I’m also thinking about fibre, protein, healthy fats and nutrient density. I’m thinking about foods that support satiety—that wonderful feeling of contentment after a meal where your body simply says, I’ve had enough.

To me, that’s what great food design looks like.

Not taking pleasure away.

Designing pleasure that lasts.

Delicious first. Nourishing always.

Why We Give Food So Much Power

Interestingly, I think the language we use around food can be just as influential as the food itself.

When we label something as junk, naughty or forbidden, we often hand it more power than it deserves. We wait for a cheat day, a celebration or even National Junk Food Day to give ourselves permission to enjoy it.

But food shouldn’t require permission.

It deserves perspective.

There is absolutely a place for indulgence. Sharing pizza with friends. Ice cream on holiday. Fish and chips by the sea. Birthday cake around the table. These moments are part of life, and they should be enjoyed without guilt.