So how do you keep up with the trends and ensure your restaurant has the right flavours in the right month? Well, here are a few taste trends to follow.
Hot is hot
While spices that burn the roof off your mouth might not be everyone's idea of a taste feast, innovative restaurants continue to search for the next crazily hot thing to woo adventurous diners. If a percentage of your clientele tend to be of that ilk there are a few trending and seriously hot flavours you can add to impress them. Ever heard of Indian ghost pepper? Apparently it gives taste buds a pretty good scare! As does Southeast Asian sambal, Thai sriracha, Korean gochujang, and North African dukka.
GMO is not
Genetically modified organisms are definitely not flavour of the month. In fact, they're becoming a decided NO for today's more health conscious diners. And while the jury is still out on whether the effects of GMOs are good, bad or indifferent, some customers are already seeking out establishments offering a completely GMO-free menu. While still perhaps a trend in its infancy, it may be a good idea to make sure anything genetically modified isn't your flavour of the month.
Out with the old
Forget avocado on toast, smashed cucumber on a breadstick is the ‘in thing'. Extremely rare blue steak is the new tartare and look out for the rise of plant-based meat substitutes if you're after a chic new taste that makes your menu hot, but your prices not.
Street food smart
If you haven't noticed the rise in popularity of street food of late, you can't have got out much. Such seemingly basic eats as sausages and meatballs are the latest hit with urban taste buds albeit with a fashion tart up in the form of duck and lamb blends. If you want some fast, fun food on your menu, bring the street indoors!
Finishing on a sour note
Believe it or not sourness is being taken to a whole new level – the extremely sour level – with sweet success. Kimchi, a boldly bitter dish based around salted and fermented cabbage, is seen as the catalyst for this trend. So if you've perfected your sweets menu, maybe it's time to look at your sours.
