Want to keep your restaurant bang on trend? Here for your delectation, are 10 buzzwords that’s going to be setting the culinary world alight (using live fire, natch) in 2022.
Caribbean Cuisine
Jerk chicken, conch fritters, curry goat, habanero and guava are just some of the feel-good flavours that will be gaining traction thanks to a surge in the popularity of Caribbean cuisine- we couldn’t be happier about it.
Dessert Boards
Thought freakshakes were the pinnacle of the utterly extra dessert? Well, you haven’t seen anything yet.
This year, prepare for gravity-defying cakes, jelly art and even dessert boards because who said a sharing platter was just for cheese or charcuterie?
Hibiscus
Stand by because hibiscus is happening. Tangy, tasty, healthy, great in cocktails, juices or even food, this flower even lends a beautiful colour to anything she is added to.
Heritage Ingredients
A taste of the past using ancestral ingredients that are stepping out of the mists of time.
As the desire for plant-based eating continues, expect menus boasting legumes, cereals, seeds and grains that you’ve probably never heard of.
Sorghum anyone?
Hyper-local
There was a time when locally sourced meant ingredients from nearby the restaurant. For 2022, local has become hyper-local with a buzz around produce from the restaurant itself, be it rooftop veg patch to eggs from their very own chickens.
Levantine
The Levant contains countries like Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Egypt with each individual cuisine containing a range of extraordinary dishes.
Prepare to see a boom dishes from across the Levant inrestaurants this year with plates like Baba Ghanoush, Fattoush, Mujjadara and herbs and spices like za’atar and baharat.
Live Fire
It’s nothing new, our ancestors did it for thousands of years but it looks like this hot trend is about to get hotter.
Quite simply, live-fire cooking is cooking food over a - yes you guessed it- live fire instead of popping it in the oven or using gas hobs. An all-around sensory explosion that ticks all the boxes- experience, authenticity, flavour and respect for the integral role that fire has played in the human experience.
And it doesn’t just stop at hunks of meat. Everything from starters to desserts can find its flavour in the flames with cuisines from Japanese, Indian to Mexican all at their best when live fire is used.
Maybe this is the year we come back together around the hearth to tell stories and break bread.
Metaverse
Ok, so you can’t eat digitally (yet). Whilst it is understandable that many F&B venues will be wanting to keep things classic with good food and great vibes, any food brand that wants to stay really technologically relevant in 2022 will be taking a look at the foodverse and how it can help them reach new audiences.
Linked to ‘experience’ being a key component of trendy eating this year, food companies are now looking at how they can blend the physical and digital worlds in a way that ensures a consistency of that experience in both.
From AI-powered recipe tools to metaverse games that have real-world food incentives, it may be a huge investment but it could well be one worth making.
Potato Milk
Nut-based milk is so last year. Expect your coffee in 2022 to contain milk made from potatoes.
Allergen-free, cheap to produce and better for the environment, potato milk is the dairy alternative we’ve all been waiting for.
Zero proof
Whilst nothing new, zero proof beers, spirits and wine are here to stay.
Historically saccharine-sweet, the zero-proof cocktail has grown to maturity thanks to a bevvy of great new spirits companies, cocktail recipe books and an understanding that not just teetotalers want to be alcohol-free.
Between the Nogroni and No Booze Martini, zero-proof cocktails are an absolute must for any modern cocktail list and can show real flair from the mixologist.
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