We've just published our latest menuwatching report, covering the season of Spring and everything we've picked up on from across both the northern and southern hemispheres from 2020-21.
To give you a flavour of what our report covered, we've pulled out three key take-outs below.
- Wild Ingredients - Spring is a time for all things new, and there are plenty of wild ingredients for chefs to forage to add to their spring menus. Wild garlic can be smelt before it is seen, with a delicate flavour, the new tender leaves are at their best right now. Nettles, when picked carefully add a unique look and taste to menus. Not only found in the countryside there are plenty of coastal wild ingredients and if you look in the right places you will find wild ingredients in urban areas too.
- Meal Boxes & Subscriptions – Over the last year, meal boxes, kits and subscriptions have been the life blood of the restaurant trade, across all channels consumers have loved supporting local and national restaurants, and restaurants have loved supplying them. Springtime ingredients add a new look to these boxes with fresh sweet vegetables, tasty wild garlic and spring favourite lamb being used. Many restaurants are looking to continue with these boxes as they reopen and lockdowns are eased.
- Using It All – Food waste is a key problem in the industry, however, chefs are rising to the challenge by using every part of the food they serve. 'Fish butchery' involves using every part of the fish, vegetables are used from root to tip, and the same is happening with fruit too. From creating tepache from pineapple rinds to using fish collars to create fish wings, every piece of food is being valued equally and utilised in some way in the kitchen.
Read the full report over on trendhub for subscribers here. Those not subscribed but keen to read more can get in touch via the links below.