“‘The supermodel of vegetables’ according to The Guardian, celtuce had a brief moment in the spotlight but we’d bet a good 70% of people still haven’t heard about this Chinese lettuce.”
It was the year that Jamie Oliver’s empire collapsed, the nation paid tribute to the glorious Gary Rhodes, and Pizza Express Woking went into a TripAdvisor trolling meltdown.
Whilst no one could have predicted those industry shaking events, there were plenty of the usual food trend predictions doing the rounds last Jan. So, which proved true and whose crystal balls were broken?
We’ve rounded up those trends that went the distance and those that missed the mark, with a look ahead to what 2020 might have in store.
HITS
Meat-Free
Nothing could have heralded the moment meat-free became mainstream more than the release of the now infamous Greggs vegan sausage roll last January. We overheard one exchange in our local Greggs where a distraught vegan customer flew back through the front door proclaiming he’d just had a bite and must have been given the meat one by mistake, to which the server replied, “Nah mate, that’s the vegan one, it’s just so peng you can’t tell”. If that’s not an advertising strapline, we don’t know what is. The meat-free revolution continues with a Greggs meat-free steak bake, Wagamama watermelon tuna, KFC vegan burger and Pizza Hut Pepperphoni all appearing on menus in January 2020.
Food Halls
Providing lower rents for operators and more choice for customers, it’s no wonder food halls became the 2019 model of the moment for the eating out sector across the country. In London alone, 2019 saw the opening of Market Halls West End, Arcade Food Theatre at Centre Point, and KERB’s Seven Dials Market. With a tranche of further openings planned for 2020, including Time Out Market and Eataly, this trend shows no signs of slowing down.
Oat Milk
Sustainable, nut-free and plant-based, with a thick creamy finish that doesn’t split in hot drinks, oat milk ticked every alt-milk box last year making it one of the fastest growing plant-based milks on the market (Oatly expected UK sales in 2019 to exceed £30m). More alt-milks like pea milk are set to hit the market this coming year as consumers continue to seek milks which carry both health and environmental benefits, but it’s going to be tough to convert those already tOATally addicted.
MISSES
Age? No barrier
Last year, London restaurateurs Corbin & King planned to, at least, double the number of over-50s it employed to wait tables within the year. With good front-of-house staff in short supply and Brexit looming, this was predicted to become a ‘thing’. It hasn’t yet caught on across the industry but this is one we hope to not see fall to a gimmicky death, it would be great to see the sector continue to diversify across all barriers.
Chlorophyll lattes
Did you spot one of these in your local coffee shop? Nope, us neither.
Celtuce is the new kale
‘The supermodel of vegetables’ according to The Guardian, celtuce had a brief moment in the spotlight but we’d bet a good 70% of people still haven’t heard about this Chinese lettuce.
Ones to watch for 2020, a round-up of the round-ups:
Alcoholic kombucha
Ube (a purple vegetable from the Philippines) becoming the new matcha
Pea milk as the next big plant milk
Rise in North African and Middle Eastern cooking in the home
Seacuterie (dry-aged or cured fish)
Probiotic everything (even crisps!)
