15 Foods That Meant Peak Sophistication In The '80s

The 1980s was a decade of gaudy lavishness: big hair, oversized clothing, loud jewelry. Excess in every way, and that included the food. Many foods that are old hat these days were considered fancy, the height of sophistication even, in the 1980s. These are dishes that were served in high-class restaurants or at family functions, holiday feasts, and fancy dinner parties. 

They are the products your parents put in the shopping cart when they wanted to treat themselves, the things they'd swat your hand away from if you tried to grab one before the company came over. So take this walk with us down memory lane. Some of these were meals you probably ate in the '80s if you were middle class (but treating yourself to a night out) or old-school appetizer recipes that will definitely take you back. So tease your hair, straighten your shoulder pads, and raise that pinky because we're going back to the '80s and getting fancy.

Whether you ate it for breakfast or dinner, quiche was everywhere in the '80s. The velvety egg pie in a flaky crust, often filled with cheese, ham, and chives (among other fillings) was the perfect fancy dish to serve at a classy get-together because it looked complex but was fairly easy to make at home, especially if you used store-bought pie crust. With a leafy green salad on the side?! An easy quiche Lorraine couldn't be beat.

In one of the greatest movies of the '80s (and really, of all time), "When Harry Met Sally...", food writer Jess (Bruno Kirby) asserts, "Pesto is the quiche of the '80s." Quiche's heyday may have started in the '70s, but pesto exploded onto the scene in the 1980s, and the herbaceous, garlicky, oily pasta sauce has been a staple on Italian menus ever since.

Perrier was introduced to the United States in 1978, and the sleek green bottle filled with delicately carbonated water convinced Americans that they were finally able to purchase European class right in the aisle of their own grocery store. If you were buying bottled water in the 1980s, especially of the fancy French kind, you were the definition of sophistication.

Speaking of French things, Grey Poupon Dijon mustard, in that whimsically branded glass jar, was just about as fancy as you could get in the condiment department in the 1980s. It's still one of the best store-bought Dijon mustard brands in supermarkets today, with its zingy sharpness and depth of flavor from the white wine.

If you were throwing a dinner party in the 1980s, you most likely served your cheese platter or your spinach artichoke dip with an array of Sociables. These entertainment crackers come in six different shapes and are flecked with poppy seeds, so that's how you know they are extra classy.

The fanciest candy in the 1980s was hands down Ferrero Rocher. It almost doesn't matter what is inside; the gold foil wrapping and those little pleated paper cups are elegant enough to make you feel like you have obtained the epitome of wealth. But it helps that inside is a whole hazelnut covered in creamy, hazelnut cream, surrounded by a delicate wafer coated in milk chocolate and crushed hazelnut pieces.

Are sun-dried tomatoes basically tomato raisins? Maybe. Were they considered a world-changing food innovation in the 1980s? Absolutely. This popular Mediterranean food was first sold in the United States at Dean & DeLuca, a gourmet grocery store in New York City. And the rest, as they say, is shriveled vine fruit history.

A ripply, designed, frozen dessert with ice cream and chocolate layers, Viennetta looked as fancy as its name and became a staple of the dessert table at dinner parties everywhere. It was a British grocery-store version of a French millefeuille cake and came to the US in the mid-'80s, where it reigned supreme in the freezer aisle until the mid-'90s, when it was discontinued on this side of the Atlantic.

You can't unwrap an Andes mint without feeling like you're experiencing something a little special. The delicate, wrapped mints with layers of chocolate have been around since 1950, and they became the classic after-dinner mint that would get delivered along with your bill at restaurants — specifically Olive Garden. Since 1986, the Italian chain has partnered with Andes mints to provide that fancy touch to its dining experience.

In the early 1980s, vinaigrette of any kind was a novel concept for a lot of Americans. But soon, it was everywhere. Food writer John Birdsall told Taste, "I think of raspberry vinaigrette as one defining taste of California's version of the nouvelle cuisine movement of the early to mid-1980s." It is punchy like other vinaigrettes, but with a light, fruity touch that appealed (and continues to appeal) to the masses.

Have you ever wished your instant coffee could transport you to Paris or Vienna or the Swiss Alps? In the 1980s, that wish became a reality. General Foods International Coffees, introduced in the '70s, were flavored instant coffees that purported to taste like the java offerings in multiple European countries. In case you haven't noticed by now, a flawless equation to achieve fanciness in the 1980s was: convenient product + claim that it's European. That's all you needed!

Milanos, Chessmen, Sausalitos, and more! Pepperidge Farm cookies hit that sweet spot between seeming elegant and sophisticated and homemade and heartwarming. Pepperidge Farm cookies are buttery, chocolatey, and fruity. Some of them came in those frilly cupcake liners, too, making them extra fancy and simply perfect for entertaining.

Chicken Kiev may sound like it originated in Ukraine, but it's actually French. The indulgent dish traditionally consists of chicken breasts rolled around butter, coated in breadcrumbs and seasoning, and then cooked until crispy. What's not to like? It found its way to US restaurants after World War II and became a staple on fine dining menus by the '80s.

Crumbled or sliced, fried, and placed on top of salads, goat cheese exploded in popularity in the 1980s, in large part due to a few women cheesemakers who began making it, and the restaurants that began buying and serving it, including old-school classics like Spago and Chez Panisse. Goat cheese may not be the restaurant menu highlight it once was, but it hasn't disappeared by any means; it's still ubiquitous today.

Whether it was chocolate or chicken (or hair!), mousse was everywhere in the 1980s. Any ingredient whipped into a delicate texture was the height of sophistication. The mousse craze whipped diners into a frenzy beginning in the 1950s, and it only began waning in popularity in the '90s. Of course, it helped that chocolate mousse, in particular, originated in France – American eaters couldn't turn down an easy yet elegant European recipe.