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Tasty trends: what you’ll be eating in 2015

Deli deliciousness.

Deli deliciousness.

It’s been a year of juxtaposition in the food world. 2014 saw brunch menus soaked in almond milk and saturated with coconut everything, as raw desserts battled it out with doughnuts and trendsetters drank green smoothie breakfasts before downing fried chicken dinners. But what’s next?

Like fashion, technology and art, food is driven by fads.

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As Jay Rayner recently wrote in The Guardian, “Food fashions are no different to any other. They aren’t a mark of increasing sophistication. The whirligig merely turns … Here then, is my prediction for 2015. There will be food. Some of it will be horrible. Some of it will be really nice.”

The year that was

Green smoothies.

Green smoothies.

If there’s one thing we learnt in 2014, it’s that there’s no such thing as too much fried chicken. At the other end of the scale, we bought into superfood smoothies and raw food concepts, perhaps in a subconscious attempt to balance the grease.

Almond milk laughed in the face of dairy while the word ‘coconut’ was written on so many brunch menus I couldn’t help but wonder if we’d single-handedly destroyed a tropical habitat somewhere offshore.

Thankfully the trend to locally source and seasonally serve looks like it’s here to stay, which means we’re increasingly eating in a way that supports nearby producers and lessens food miles. But offer me caviar and Champagne imported from France and I wouldn’t hesitate – eating is relative.

In restaurant kitchens everything was made in house, by hand – gravlax, chilli sauce, protein bliss balls, bacon, sausages – and will be again in 2015. BBQ isn’t quite done with us yet, nor is smoking and fermenting.

Aussies are taking to aperitivo more than ever (any excuse for a Negroni before dinner).

Food trucks stepped it up and refined their offerings in 2014. There’s no more room for burgers and Mexican on wheels, but the same can’t be said for jaffles and ice cream sandwiches. The transition from pop-up to permanency is also trending.

Deli deliciousness.

Deli deliciousness.

What’s coming up

As we leave 2014 behind, some food trends will be left behind with it. Diets such as paleo will give way to more wholesome eating with a focus on balance and pleasure (as opposed to sadness and starvation); sliders, bao and pulled pork will disappear; Mexican and Korean have had their fifteen minutes of fame; and people will realise that kale isn’t actually seasonal 12 months of the year and that broccoli is more beneficial for the body.

Now for the fun bit: the predictions. First up, craft beer will reach a new level in 2015 with urban breweries (and wineries) setting up as young brewers and winemakers demand an urban lifestyle to complement a traditionally rural trade.

Upscale comfort food.

Upscale comfort food.

Beverages will become artisan, starting with booze and seeping through to syrups. In terms of cuisines, Southern American food will make way for authentic South American food (think Peruvian, Argentinean, Brazilian) and Indian will be the Korean of 2015.

Upscale comfort food will debut in the form of upmarket steakhouses and rotisserie chicken, while more restaurants will see the value in delivery service, and offer it accordingly. Chefs will continue to locally source and seasonally serve, but aesthetics will give way to more rustic, wholesome presentation that enables premium produce to speak for itself.

If 2014 was the year of Southern American concepts (po’boys and fried chicken) then 2015 will be the year of the deli. Expect bagels and all the glorious fillings that accompany them.

Good riddance to Scandinavian and industrial décor. Spurred by over-saturation, new establishments in 2015 will strive to differentiate themselves on appearance.

Sweet scrolls.

Artisan scrolls.

Restaurants and cafes with space and funding will continue to invest in environmentally conscious waste solutions, from industrial composting machines to innovative relationships with suppliers. Restaurant staff will become savvier when it comes to the new EFTPOS system (where tips are awkwardly and electronically entered) driven by a lack of tips, while more restaurants will embrace the ticketed booking system.

Finally, we will see the rise of culinary tourism, where vacations are organised around dining out and food experiences as opposed to traditional sight-seeing and cultural activities. This will stem from home soil, where restaurants will educate customers and inspire ‘hungerlust’ (it’s like wanderlust, but for food).

Now … let’s eat!

This article first appeared on Poppet’s Window.

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