TasteNews Edition 1 January 2016

Brazilian BBQ food –   With the Rio Olympics fast approaching, Brazilian fare is set to become very popular – barbecued meats, Tempero Baiano spice blend, caipirinhas, lots of rice and fruit.

Persian cuisine -Think lamb and chicken stews and rice dishes spiked with dried fruits and nuts. Also Shawarma Recipe dishes. Amba  pickle (mangoes, mustard, turmeric and chilli).

Black Pudding – Blood sausage is going to become a superstar in 2016 as it’s packed with protein and practically carb free.It’s also a great source of protein, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Black pudding is also rich in iron and zinc – two minerals frequently missing from modern diets. Iron is needed to make healthy blood cells and prevent anaemia. Iron deficiency also leads to fatigue and poor concentration.

Golden berries – A Peruvian berry that is set to become the next ‘superfood’.

Sprouting seeds – Sprouting seeds supposedly have more health benefits and are easier to digest. Waitrose will introduce a sprouting kit for those wanting to give it a go at home and you can also buy pre-sprouted seeds from health food stores. Sprinkle over salads, smoothies, soups and porridge.

The Delivery Revolution – Popular apps that simplify online and mobile ordering making “dining in” even easier and, in some cases, “dining out” irrelevant. One particular threat to restaurants could be app-only services like Munchery, which delivers restaurant-quality food from a central kitchen, cutting out brick-and-mortar restaurants completely.

Fast Food Refresh – Consumers gravitate to ‘better’ quick-service restaurants. This has created the subset of ‘QSR-Plus’ concepts with fresher menus and more contemporary designs, which exploits a price threshold between fast food and fast casual e.g. Chick-fil-A and In-N-Out Burger. ‘Build-your-own’ menus are springing up across the industry, and many quick-service brands are adding amenities like alcohol. ‘QSR-Plus’ also helps other restaurants clarify their positioning by giving up their attempt to go upscale in a piecemeal approach, and those chains instead are returning to their roots with simplified menus and lower prices.

Elevating Peasant Fare –  The popularity of street foods and consumers’ demand for portability and affordability have put things like meatballs, sausages and even breads back in the spotlight. But this time, those meatballs might have a nouveau twist, such as a blend of fancier meats like duck or lamb. Multiethnic dumplings will also continue to grow in popularity, from Eastern European pierogi to Asian bao.

The Sriracha Effect – This hot sauce from Thailand will continue to grow in popularity, but the ‘effect’ is that chefs will search for the next hot ethnic flavour such as ghost pepper from India, sambal from Southeast Asia, gochujang from Korea, and harissa, sumac and dukka from North Africa.

‘Neolithic’ Diets – Meanwhile in the barmy world of dieting, Paleo dieters have evolved sufficiently to re-invent the wheel with the Pegan diet (unlimited fruit & vegetables, small amounts of grains, nuts, legumes and seeds, meat and eggs, but no dairy, gluten or sugar). Rest assured trend spotters, once fire is rediscovered we are assured another quack diet is just around the corner.

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