Food Trends 2017What, where, how, with whom & why we’re cooking & eating.

A man (wiser than me) once said: “Never make predictions, especially about the future.”

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FLAVOUR TRENDS1. We will keep demanding FUNKY from our food. We

want pickles not cucumbers, kimchi not cabbage, and miso with everything. Props to David Chang for making umami about more than just cheese.

2. There will never be enough BITTER GREENS to absorb unctuous fatty cuts of meat and sweet sticky fruit macerates and weeds will be king.

3. We will all agree on getting SMOKY in the kitchen, beyond salmon and Action Bronson.

4. The TANG that you taste at the back of a good sauce will only get stronger and we’ll all be partying in acid land with citrus and vinegar.

5. We’ll still have a SWEET TOOTH, but it will be complicated. Because not all sugar is white; think woody maple syrup, intense black molasses, or the tropical coconut sugar.

INGREDIENT TRENDS1. Forget the leaves, it’s all about the STALKS. Sweet white

stalks of chard, the bitter green of kale, and earthy purple stalks the come from beetroot.

2. HOT is still hot, but less about searing chill and more about the warmer more complex heat of Moroccan Ras El Hanout, Peruvian Aji Amarillo, Iraqi yellow Amba, Syria’s aleppo pepper and Korean Gochujang.

3. Not just for wrapping sushi, SEAWEED is trending. We all know Nori, but what about Kombu’s salty umami, deep fresh Wakame and Arame’s savoury sweetness.

4. Long relegated to granola and healthy blogger grams, SEEDS are popping. Toasted linseed, ground black sesame, liquefied poppy & pumpkin’s dessert-like crunch.

5. You know mise en place will never be the same when PEELINGS become garnish. Charred beetroot skins blended with yogurt, roasted onion skins ground with coriander seeds and peppercorns, and hunks of pumpkin skin confit with orange peel and thyme.

CHEF TRENDS1. Fijian-Chinese-Indian, raised in Australia and now

cooking delicious ‘Asian’ in LA, LOUIS TIKARAM and his food is what you get from this mad cultural fusion.

2. Hailing from Iceland, VICTORIA ELIASDÓTTIR is all Nordic class. Pure flavours combined with plays to her heritage are trademark at her uber-cool Dóttir.

3. KEIICHI TERADA wants to make us feel simple and warm with his rebooted Japanese/French - a challenge for the prodigy that earned a Michelin star within 2 months of opening.

4. Take Root by ELISE KORNACK is Brooklyn defined. Modern and authentic with a real swagger, she uses her artistic chops to make tasting menus sensorial.

5. MARTIN BENN followed the convict route from England to Australia but brought with him a resume filled with names like Marco Pierre White. At Sepia he creates food that is at the same time gutsy and elegant.

DISH TRENDS1. Heaving fully-loaded plates are for the buffet, but

more chefs are showing half the restraint and double the style serving on the ½ PLATE.

2. There is no evolutionary need for dessert, so it should at least be fun! Forget the plates, set the table with a fresh tablecloth or mirror and then start throwing down a SWEET CLIMAX.

3. Dining should be dramatic and by handing out knives to diners, it’s only natural that chefs should splash and slash their way to the MURDER SCENE.

4. Chefs know the pain of watching a dish go to overcooked hell sitting on the pass. Sharing the blame, they are EMPOWERING THE DINER to plate up at the table (cooking stones, hot oil, mini-grater).

5. In 2007 Heston Blumenthal plated up ‘Sounds of the Sea’ with panko sand and and clam foam and nine years later Rene Redzepi created the ‘Vegetable Field’ with malt soil. Find PERFECTION IN NATURE.

HEALTH TRENDS1. Mushrooms are truly magical. With their amazing

immunological properties and Chinese medicine history, GO FUNGHI with Reishi, Cloud Ear and Turkey Tail.

2. Movember and Dry January used to be calendar-limited, but then hipsters grew year-round mustaches and 12 SOBER MONTHS wasn’t just the pain of triathletes. And yes, mineral water goes with meat and fish.

3. No-one’s going to be fooled by zucchini spaghetti and banana pancakes, but with SUPERFOODED MENU COPY, we’re all having spirulina pasta, tumeric waffles, kelp pizza base and activated charcoal burger buns.

4. In a return to the teat, breast milk has been called ‘the greatest supplement of all time’ with immunoglobins and a superior whey to casein protein ratio. GOT MILK?

5. Essential oils aren’t just for THE TANTRICS amongst us. Anise oil for arthritis, peppercorn oil for digestion, mandarin oil for circulation and rosemary oil for beauty.

DINING TRENDS1. Home dining apps are gaining fans amongst hobby

cooks moonlighting as chefs and curious or bored diners inviting themselves to DINNER WITH STRANGERS.

2. Street food isn’t about festivals CRAMPING CREATIVITY INTO A CAR PARK, but random encounters like the ones we used to have with the beloved ice cream truck.

3. Everyone has a startup with no time to cook or chew. We know soylent (the tube of nutritious slime) but the Silicon Valley set continues to find new ways to make eating as EFFICIENT AND JOYLESS as possible.

4. ON-DEMAND recipe kits combine the rush of takeaway convenience and the self-satisfaction of actually using your fully-loaded kitchen.

5. When (if) you’re ever done eating, you can now watch someone else CHEW AND CHOMP their way to online stardom. Mukbang is the latest trend where you watch people on YouTube eat. Props to South Korea.

NO MORE TRENDS1. From sucking green juices through straws, filling them

with salads, or turning them into dessert vessels, let’s leave MASON JARS TO JAM.

2. Slates are sexy and coconut shells are aloha, but PLATE CULTURE DESERVES RESPECT. Artists paint on white canvasses and so should chefs. - white plates that let sauces run and garnishes bling.

3. On Instagram we’re all NARCISSISTIC FOODIES, but by giving food its own selfie (via the burger, donut or gelato in an outstretched hand), there is surely no hope.

4. Rainbows went from natural perfection to modern self-loathing. From Snapchat’s vomiting rainbow filter to rainbow grilled cheese, i’ve given up on POTS OF GOLD.

5. There is a recipe for paella and you shouldn’t stray far. Don’t CONFUSE INNOVATION WITH AUTHENTICITY like Jamie Oliver did mixing chorizo in with a pan of Spanish pride. Respect the classics.

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FOOD IS NOT WHAT YOU COOK, BUT ABOUT WHAT YOU MAKE OTHERS TASTE.