Our latest menuwatching report is now live covering the topic of Fine Dining - an area of the hospitality industry that has suffered like most during the pandemic but has found ways to innovate and pivot to still connect with consumers.
We've compiled our top 3 takeouts from the report below. You can also view our report recap video here.
Finishing – Fine dining dishes have a certain look about them and this starts with the plate chosen to serve on. We have seen the return of classic white plates; these may be plain or textured or textured often creating a striking monochrome look. We have also seen repairs to plates being made as a feature, saving precious plates often made by local potteries, using gold coloured adhesive to highlight the break in the style of Japanese Kintsugi. The food served on these plates can be rustic looking, but all dishes tend to have delicate a finishing of flowers, petals and herbs or dots of sauce and oil meticulously placed on the plate and over the food.
Savoury Style of Sweet – Ice cream is a typical dessert dish. As a contrast to other ingredients, savoury ice creams are appearing as starters and palate cleansers, served in mini cones or to complement other textures. Savoury custards made with cheese, cream and uni give a smooth creamy texture that is flavour packed. In desserts, vegetables are appearing to add a natural sweetness and creaminess.
Dine at Home - Dine at home has been one of the biggest phenomena of 2020, helping to sustain foodservice during lockdown. Many restaurants turned their kitchens into takeaways and delivery services, others took slightly longer to do this but, seeing the success of other models, were soon to follow suit. Offering national delivery opens your trade to a wider audience, and diners are loving the chance to try food from restaurants they could only dream of visiting in the past. Now the question is, will these services continue when the world reopens?
Read the full report over on trendhub for subscribers here. Those not subscribed but keen to read more can get in touch today.