Did you know that each year Mike refreshes his personal chef menus twice a year, to stay in line with food trends? This allows him to keep his menus in line with seasonal produce, whilst working with a team of local suppliers. The recreating of his three course menu and six course menu has to take into account a lot of variables, including which meals have been popular and the ones less chosen, also health trends and differing generational attitudes.
Offering personal chef services from The Cotswolds to London means he covers a wide range of different customers and tastes. Therefore, it is important for Mike to keep an eye on the changing and emerging food trends and tastes. Here is a run down of the latest food trends for 2024 from the UK and USA, that Mike is considering for his 2024 Summer menu.
One of the biggest trends is hi-lo. Driven by the cost of living and generational trend changes, customers are looking for the highest quality food, but they want value too. People want quality and reliability rather than the rarity of specialist items. A trend driven by hi-lo is snack food. So really investing the time in creating amazing snacks or starters, is what the customer is after from their chef. This way, people can can enjoy something more tasty and expensive at a more affordable price in a smaller portion size.
On the health front, buckwheat is the grain to watch. Super versatile, it can be used as a crunchy layer in a terrine, topping a hot chocolate, as an alternative for breading on fish or poultry or spiced with chai or vanilla and turned into drinks. It is also great for the climate as is a good crop that is rich in protein and fibre. You can also expect to see mushrooms everywhere as their versatility to substitute for other food items such as fish continues to grow in popularity.
New vegetables and herbs. Have you seen the newest vegetable on the block, garleek? A cross between garlic and leeks that brings a stronger flavour to the leek. Or what about ParCel a delicious herb that is crossed between parsley and celery. A great alternative as a topping to many tasty dishes. All created through responsible seed breeding.
The favourite flavour of the year is touted to be tamarind. It has a sweetness and a tang that makes it ideal for marinades and BBQ sauces and for classic drinks like a Mexican agua de tamarindo. Get yourself a spice that can do both! Watch this space in Mike's barbecue menu.
The trend away from ultra processed foods continues its growth. People want to know the provinence of their food and Mike can show you where all of your food was sourced and keeps it as local as possible. Consumers are also looking for naturally derived products such as natural fermentation, cold-pressed oils, meat substitutes from nuts and legumes. But also, traditional foods such as butter and cream will grow in popularity due to their natural origins.
With the Pantone colour of the year being peach fuzz, will there be a growth in peach coloured food? Watch this space for the new menus in Spring…..
If you would like to book a private chef for your next event, and be sure of healthy, fresh local food, please get in touch today to find out more.