Food Trends 2018

So here we are almost two months in to 2018 now. As we sit here writing new menus and researching dishes for development what trends and ideas are we working on and excited about?

The food trends we tend to love the most are those with some legs; in other words not the fads. Things we can see with a cause, flavours we get excited about, dream ingredients. As a luxury wedding caterer we know also that our clients love these as well.

Over the last few years we have seen the growth in all food from the Middle East. Becoming a common enough food trend in fact that Waitrose has most of the main ingredients on its shelves, and homemade preserved lemons are not the most uncommon thing in pantries across Britain! I hope that we will start to see the same enthusiasm for food from Eastern Europe with chefs like Olia Hercules pathing the way and educating us about the incredible food from the Ukraine to Poland, Hungary and Romania.

The food from this part of the world is also inundated with amazing recipes for fermentation and preserving. This is becoming more and more part of the food scene especially in London when restaurants from Caravan to Kiln are serving their own kombuchas and shrubs. We do a lot of work in this world and are super excited to see where it will be by the end of this year. Defiantly a hot food trend for 2018, with kombuchas already popping up on many wedding menus for 2018.

Gut health is something which effects everybody. Our nervous system, hormone production, digestion, and health is becoming more and more, widely understood to root from our intestines. Everything from food to drink can be fermented, and the more creative you are the more exciting it gets. Some of our best dishes we have on our menus at the moment include smoked eel, fermented cranberry and pomegranate with whipped kefir or young pineapple kimchi, pulled pork and living chill sauce bao.

Another majorly exciting aspect about this area of the British food scene is the number of women working in it. As the movements grows to end harassment in the workplace and to make a stand against all types of gender harassment the conversation is spreading to the kitchen. Check out our last blog on Inspiring Women in London’s Food Industry to see who we think is hot right now.

One of our last kitchen suppers of 2017 was on sustainability. And its set to be an even bigger food trend in 2018. Coffee cups that aren’t compostable and plastic in cafes where it doesn’t need to be will no longer be OK.

Finally with flavours from Korea and the Philippines on the rise in the Staes you can assume we will start to see them in London soon. We are heading out to New York at the end of March infact to see what we can learn stateside from their hospitality industry so watch this space!

Meanwhile on the events front expect the unexpected! Less of the precision canapés and more of a creative feel. Bowls, street-food bites and presentation are the names of the game. Weddings especially are incorporating street food vans to serve midnight food, cocktails, and coffees and teas.

We can make your most magical ideas come alive, so do get in touch and see if we can help!

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