12 Fantastic Food Trends That Will Change the Way You Eat
Are you hungry now? No matter where you are—in the office, at home, on a park bench—you can get a perfectly prepared meal delivered from Uber, Amazon, Google, Seamless, Eat-24 or others. Left, Cali Fresh with Chicken Salad, $11.00 (not including delivery fee).
Thanks to Baum + Whiteman for their excellent research on 2016 food and restaurant trends.
In the last five years, pasta sales dropped 8% in Australia, 13% in Europe ... 25% in Italy. It isn't a crisis here yet but pasta's down 6% as Americans focus on proteins, shed carbs, shun gluten or subscribe to Paleo dining.
Graphic Stock
Want a home cooked meal but hate to shop? Subscribe to a meal plan from Blue Apron, Chefday!, HelloFresh or a growing number of other “meal in a box” delivery services. But these subscription services are not cheap—a single meal goes from about $8 to $12.
Evan Sung for The New York Times
Food companies and restaurants are dumping chemicals, animal parts, and other bad-for-you ingredients from their menus. Welcome to the "healthification" of fast- and fast-casual food, based in part on surveys that show consumers want all-natural ingredients.
Hostelworld
Relentlessly rising beef prices, horror over hormones, a scramble for ever-more antioxidants, health-and-diet concerns, growth of farmers’ markets, locavore drummers, and increasing numbers of flexitarians -- all the stars have nicely aligned in favor of eating food that has a root system. But if you’re a flexitarian, eggs, dairy and fish are ok, too.
Vedge Restaurant, Philadelphia
If you love eating out, get ready to pay the price. If the minimum wage was $15/hour or above many good restaurants couldn’t survive and neither could their staffs. Pay is too low and so are prices. Danny Meyer, owner of some of the finest and ‘funnest’ restaurants in NYC, has the tips built into the price of every meal so patrons don’t have a choice and his staff can count on a regular income.
Castle Rock Entertainment
We eat ceviche often made with bay scallops, squid or whitefish. But in Hawaii, the idea is “catch and eat fresh.” The photo above is Ahi tuna, with sesame seeds, green onions, and of course, a lively marinade. If you can’t get to Honolulu, try this recipe at home.
Uncle’s Fish Market & Grill, Honolulu
Fine food, great chefs and star-studded restaurants have emerged in Israel over the past few years, partly to satisfy tourists, but also to appeal to the sophisticated palettes of local residents. What emerged there has found a home here in the form of a fusion of Mideast tastes and textures. Restaurants like Shaya in New Orleans and Sadelles in New York are examples of the nouvelle Jewish cuisine.
Shaya Restaurant, New Orleans
From Walmart to Whole Foods, Açai (ah-sahy-ee] berries, native to Central and South America, are being touted as this year’s anti-aging, anti-oxidant, anti-weight gain health food. It’s sold as juice or in powder form, to mix with yogurt, or as a tea. Just add fruit, granola or nuts to create your own açai bowl
Popcorn and Chocolate
It’s not a new trend for big department stores, but when top designer boutiques like Giorgio Armani offer food and haute ambience from top chefs, you’re talking trend. Others jumping on board include Fred’s (Barney’s), BG (Bergdorf Goodman), Café SFA, Sarabeth (Lord & Taylor).
Nextmagazine.com
Blame it on the millennials -- snacking increased 47 percent from 2010 to 2014. But it’s not your old chips and dip kind of snacking. Hummus variations, flavored popcorns (like seaweed-and sesame), chili-citrus potato chips, mango-chili-lime chips. For really creative stuff, look at Korean and Japanese food shops.
The Fiscal Times
Ever wonder how Ruth’s Chris and other steak houses can cook meat so evenly? It’s pink all the way through, no dark edges and a little rare in the middle. Well, they’re not exactly “cooking” it – they’re dunking it, using the sous vide cooking method. For the best way to cook sous vide, click here.
Serious Eats