There are a multitude of food trends I could talk about. If you missed part one about superfoods, “4 Superfoods – 2018 Food Trends,” feel free to take a look. I also discuss beverage predictions in “Cheers! Drink Trends for 2018 – Part Two.” Following are a few of my ideas about the culinary forecast.
Healthful Personalization
At one time, personalization meant being able to asking for extra cheese on that hamburger, or adding a build a your own sundae station and omelet bar at our events. As positive, accepting attitudes about dietary restrictions and better understanding of food allergies continue to grow, things will continue to shift toward healthful choices.
Allergen mindful venues and a heavier focus on vegetarian and vegan dishes were two 2017 trends I predicted in “2017 Cutting Edge Food Trends.” My culinary forecast says we’ll see a continuation in that direction as prebiotics and probiotics, gut-friendly gastronomy, and anti-inflammatory spices work their way into menus and venues.
The Mood About Food
This year, we’ll continue to find understanding and acceptance as professionals across the board learn more about their duty of care. The #NoAppetiteForBullying campaign will continue to educate the public and help reduce misconceptions. If you aren’t sure what food allergy bullying looks like, check out my own account in, “Two Men With Food Allergies Bullied By CoWorkers At Awards Dinner.” Myself and others will help this trend along by discussing how to “Thrive! With Invisible Disabilities” and build inclusion into all events.
Sustainable Sources & Supply Chains
Sustainability has been a word with a history of overuse. It almost lost it’s meaning, but people are learning about their food sources, supply chains, food waste, environmental impact, and the choices and power we all have as consumers. Sustainable Seafood will be a particular focus on 2018. For more about that checkout, “An Important Brief on Sustainable Seafood.”
The culinary forecast here at Thrive! Is that accountability will be a more common customer-server conversation. Instead of sticking to questions like, “Does that have dressing on it?” Servers will have to answer questions about specific ingredients, where they came from and how they were grown. Make sure your servers have gone through a quality Food Service & Safety Training that will prepare them. While the “Climatarian” diet may not have taken off, it’s principles sure have. And I predict that I’ll be able to update my article about food labels in the near future: “How to Buy: 19 Food Labels You Need to Understand.”
Back to Basics: Simplify & Streamline
I worked on this quite a bit in 2017 as a preemptive move on my 2018 predictions. We’re not just talking about classic dishes. We’re talking about simplified recipes. We’re stripping dishes down to fewer ingredients, fewer complications, fewer costs, and more taste than ever. If you missed it, my piece on Meeting Menu Makeovers is a great example of creative simplicity.
Not only is this economical for servers because they won’t have as many ingredients to talk about, fewer ingredients means lower cost and faster assembly. The same care and talent go into the menu planning craft, but with easier to understand, more transparent, and trustworthy menus. I discussed this in August 2017 in my article, “Basics Aren’t Boring – It’s Foodimentary.”
What do you think about this culinary forecast as a list of 2018 food trends? Anything to add? Please reach out to me here or on social media.
For other articles in this series:
4 Superfoods – 2018 Food Trends, Part One »
Cheers! Drink Trends for 2018 – Part Two »
