Food and drink trends are always changing; from the early part of the decade’s minimalist Nordic to last year’s caviar and fried chicken, it’s just as hard to predict what lies ahead as it is to make sense of what we’ve recently been eating. But what can we expect to see more of on our shelves and in our restaurants this year? We’ve teamed up with Suttons, online gardening retailers and advocates of grow your own vegetables, to bring you 7 IDEAL food trends you need to know in 2018.
ZERO FOOD WASTE
Scratch menus have grown in popularity this year according to Street & Co, proving that awareness around zero-food waste continues to rise in the restaurant industry. For Pancake Day 2018, pancake pros Where The Pancakes Are and condiment connoisseurs Rubies in the Rubble joined forces with a shared aim to fight food waste. To mark the occasion, the pair have created two ‘Thoughtful pancakes’ using excess produce, harking back to the roots of Shrove Tuesday, using up waste ingredients before lent.
TAIWANESE CHICKEN
We’ve had Korean, Japanese, Thai, Kentucky, Jamaican and many more over the last few years and of course, fried chicken has always been a favourite, but in 2018 the popular fast-food will take on a Taiwanese twist. Found at foodie gems such as Good Friend in Chinatown London, Taiwanese fried chicken is, in simple terms, popcorn chicken, but that would be underselling it somewhat; this isn’t your KFC side dish. There’s a fantastic, unique seasoning mix and coating so crunch it reverberates in your ears. Delicious.
MANY MORE MUSHROOMS
Food Navigator found that year-on-year sales of food products that include medicinal mushrooms have risen between an outstanding 200-800%, depending on the variety. Healthification is again, it seems, at the forefront of our choices.
It appears as though the mushroom industry is growing fast. Consulting firm, Grand View Research, reported that the mushroom market is expected to exceed $50 billion (£37 million) over the next six years. Making its way into the food and drink sector through mushroom-infused coffees (not for us at IDEAL, thanks) and mushroom smoothies, many cafes and retailers are already profiting from the trend.
GALLERY GASTRONOMY
The last few years have seen a rise in art gallery restaurants turning the cooking up several notches – think less of egg and cress sarnies and more of seasonal, modern dishes. It’s hardly a surprise; those with a discerning eye for art also demand more from their food, and coupled with a trend for more innovative, less mainstream spaces serving as pop-up restaurants, and 2018 looks set to continue this trend.
Tate’s exciting food programming in 2017 saw Tate Modern residences from Carousel and most recently, pop up vegan junk food concept Pure Filth. Tate Britain’s Rex Whistler restaurant meanwhile not only serves the best of British cuisine, but has one of the capital’s finest wine cellars, overseen by CEO Hamish Anderson and head sommelier Gustavo Medina. Bonham’s is doing some of the best, Michelin-starred food in London, and beyond the capital in Somerset, Roth Bar & Grill has been wowing critics. Expect 2018 to be no different.
CRAFT SPIRITS
Less quantity, more value runs the booze-based mantra of the year, and that’s a healthier, more tasty pledge we’re very much on board with. Following on from the popularity of craft beer, 2018 is the turn of craft spirits. The trend can be explained by a nation who love boozing but are increasingly aware of the detriments of doing it excessively.
FLEXITARIANISM
Or should that be….fish’n’chipocrites?
Over the past few years, we’ve seen more people remove meat from their diet, occasionally. In fact, the number of vegans in the UK has risen by 350% in the past decade — predominantly driven by the younger market, with half of those opting for this diet falling between the ages of 15 and 34. Some people are enjoying the best of both worlds with a flexitarian diet — primarily vegetarian with meat and fish occasionally.
When we consider a vegetarian diet, we usually assume it’s all healthy with no room for indulgence. However, this is predicted to change — with so many people transforming to a ‘flexitarian’ diet, there is a new market for vegan fast food.
LOW ALCOHOL DRINKS
Most of us enjoy an alcoholic tipple from time to time, or more frequently in fact. And as many bid farewell to Dry January and realise how they spent the month with clear thoughts and bulging bank balances, pledges are being made all over the country to continue this abstinence – to some degree, anyway. Indeed, we are becoming more health conscious and calorie counting doesn’t go well with a taste for liquor…
Make way for the new trend of 2018 — low-calorie, low alcohol drinking. This new trend allows us to drink and be sociable without consuming extra calories and doing damage to our bodies.