Food Trends During 2018

From organic and sustainable food to local and regional delicacies, 2018 has been a huge year for food trends in India’s food service industry.

- Sharmila Chand

Millets and grandma recipes has taken centre stage this year as Chefs showcased their love for traditional, and tried to revive the forgotten grains of India.

The focus has been definitely on sourcing local ingredients and preparing seasonal specials, as Chefs worked on experimenting with the season’s best ingredients that may not be available the year round.

Here we talk to some industry experts who gave their views on what are the top food trends of 2018, in the context of India’s food service industry. They also aired what they do not wish to see in the year ahead.

Happening Food Trends

“Quite a few food trends have made a beeline during the year but among them going local is my personal favourite. Going local or ‘go local’ is all about sourcing local ingredients from local farmers and food suppliers, and staying close to the source.

The trend also allows one to explore micro-cuisines within a given cuisine structure, for eg. Konaseema or Rayalseema food within the broader Andhra cuisine structure or Mapala cuisine within Kerala cuisine,” averred Marissa D’Rozario, Food & Beverage Manager, Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park.

“Additionally, exploring local home cooks, who cooks rustic local favourites, handed down by their families, has been quite a prominent trend this year. Exploring rustic buffet wares and service wares for a quintessential rustic yet avant-garde look and feel to the buffet and food presentations has been in vogue,” she added.

“This trend in 2018 has been all about showcasing and bringing back the forgotten cuisines. It is also about the nostalgia of reminding us that we have moved away from roots and need to come back to understand and explore it better,” she analysed further.