Restaurant Trends for Next Year
Posted on: 18 November 2016
Dining out has always been a business that is subject to fashion. Of course, some eateries stick to what they do best and never seem to change. However, the Australian consumer is now – more than ever before – focussed on novelty and an exciting experience when eating out, especially in the larger cities where the choice of restaurants is greatest. What have the current crop of restauranteurs and chefs got in store for us?
Relaxing Foods
One of the hot restaurant topics in the UK and elsewhere in Europe concerns a menu that is designed to make diners feel less stressed. As if dining out were not enough to help you de-stress, the food on your plate should act as a means of helping to calm you down. How can this be? The focus is on foods which have a known calming effect such as using herbs like chamomile and lavender in desserts. Especially on-trend for city restaurants where the population needs to be able to chill out, avocados, asparagus and blueberries are all likely to feature more on menus than in previous years. Each is a foodstuff that helps to enhance the mental well-being of the person who eats it.
Parilla Cooking
Perhaps it is because Australians have such a love affair with barbecuing that other forms of charcoal cooking are likely to become big trends in the near future. One style that has already captured the imagination of part of the country and is likely to go mainstream soon is the Argentinian art of parilla cooking. This method uses embers to cook on as they drop through a brasero, a type of charcoal burning box. Crucially, the griddle can be raised and lowered using a crank wheel allowing for slow-cooking and searing to be achieved. Once tried, you might not go back to conventional barbecuing ever again!
Natural Wines
Sometimes referred to as naked wines, this is likely to be a big hit among diners in the next twelve months. Basically, the concept of a natural wine is one that has undergone as little human intervention as possible between picking the grapes and bottling the product. Often affording a highly distinctive flavour, natural wines are made without the need for powdered tannins, added sulphur dioxide, commercial yeasts, vitamin supplements or other enzymes. Frequently used in mass-produced wines, these additives are done away with. As organic vegetables have grown in popularity in recent years, so diners can expect more and more natural wines to be available in restaurants and increasingly recommended by sommeliers.
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