Casual Dining, a trade show dedicated to the casual dining sector, asks food experts what food and drink trends to expect in 2020.
Which key food and drink trends will be shaping menus in the year to come? That’s exactly what Casual Dining asked some of its regular visitors.
Over a dozen industry experts took part, including senior execs from PizzaExpress, Mitchells & Butlers, Star Pubs & Bars, Marston’s, Punch Pubs, Thwaites, The Ivy Collection, Prezzo, The Alchemist, Dishoom, Mowgli Street Food, The Ambassador Theatre Group and more.
Between them they approximately operate 8,000 venues and serve tens of thousands of customers a day. So, keeping up with the latest trends is vital.
The majority agree that health, sustainability and plant-based innovations will all continue to have a big influence on what we’ll be eating and drinking in 2020.
Sustainability will become a norm – Jane Treasure, food & beverage director, PizzaExpress
Consumers will be increasingly focused on self and their sense of wellbeing, plus their impact on the world and documenting it. The big opportunity for food operators will be to elevate the whole dining experience, with beautiful food presentation and great flavours with great ingredient combinations. Strong sustainable credentials to all ingredients and removal of unnecessary packaging will be expected and become the norm.
Home-grown – Seamus O’Donnell, executive chef, The Alchemist Bars & Restaurants
Brexit will have a big influence on food and drink trends next year. It will be a challenge that will impact menus and what we eat. There are some very basic things that we are going to have to accept that we will have to import, and we will have to pay more for it.
Meat substitutes – Mark Teed, food implementation manager, Star Pubs & Bars
Customers are still eating red meat but are more frequently choosing to have meat free days and are looking for meat free options to balance their diets. We’ll see things like banana blossom make their way onto mainstream menus and vegetables being added into meat products, both to enhance taste and texture and cut C02 emissions.
The rise of flexitarians – Paul Lewis, chef director at Prezzo
People, irrespective of demographic and age, will choose two to three days a week to follow a vegan diet. So, picking the right carbs and proteins will play an important role. Pasta is now beginning to grow in popularity again – as people have a better understanding of consuming the right amount of carbs to maintain a healthy diet and all the fantastic, meat free alternatives to classic pasta dishes that are coming back on the market.
Drinks for all seasons – Simon Woplin, head of innovation, F&B at Ambassador Theatre Group
Some key summer brands will see more competition in 2020, with anyone who can come up with a 21st century version of Pimm’s being a sure-fire long-term bet. The decline in growth of Prosecco will continue, as will the growth in UK sparkling.
