Sure it can kill you (see previous post), but food is bigger than Elvis, and here’s why:

1. It used to be that developers wooed Nordstrom, Neiman, Saks Fifth Avenue, etc. in order to anchor malls and draw big crowds. These days, the wooing is reserved for Cheesecake Factory, Capital Grille, Legal Sea Foods and P.F. Chang’s China Bistro. In other words, blockbuster chain restaurants draw the shopping hoards better than Macy’s these days.

2. A recent study published by Packaged Foods (using information gathered from a Simmons Market Research Bureau survey) estimated that the food gift market has grown 47 percent from 2004 to 2006, even though the total consumer gift market decreased 8 percent during this time. That growth is expected to continue with another 45 percent increase forecasted by 2010, becoming a $23 billion market.

3. The number of accredited culinary programs in the U.S. has nearly doubled in the past ten years, from 89 in 1997 to 174 now, according to Candice Childers of the American Culinary Federation. Because of the Food Network and an increasing number of movies, books and television shows about cooking, teenagers are turning to careers in the culinary arts in record numbers.