The Shape of Food to come - Food trends that are set to get even bigger in the future
Richard Fox looks at food trends that are set to get even bigger in the future
Deli service
You only have to look down the aisles of the supermarket to see how the ready prepared meal has developed beyond recognition in the last few years. There is virtually no food style or meal concept that can't be carried out, heated and served with no preparation involved. The pub is perfectly positioned to take this on board and not only capitalise on the non in-house dinners, but also to give itself a great USP. We are already seeing deli products sold in pubs, and I predict an increasing "take out" movement. All those early doors drinkers leaving to go home for their dinner - sell them their dinner why don't you?
Local, seasonal produce
As Newton so succinctly pointed out: "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction". This has never been so true - or welcome, as the reaction to recent food scares, when the dangers of intensively-reared livestock came to light. Farmers' markets are burgeoning and organic is one of the fastest-growing retail sectors. Subsequently, local, British food is firmly, and respectably back on the map. The pub is perfectly set to build and perpetuate this trend. Historically, geographically - and in spirit - it defines the values associated with the home-grown market: passion, social interaction, heart of the community, the feel-good factor, and a general air of well-being.
Tap into tapas
Smaller portions, more choice, tempting morning, noon and night, lower perceived cost - it's a no brainer. Tapas is the ultimate bar food and quite frankly it amazes me it's taken us this long to latch on to the concept. Tapas is, quite simply, a snack, so, you can still be true to the idea without having a single Spanish dish on the menu. Just about every pub and restaurant favourite lends itself to the concept, ie smaller portions. As licensing, working and leisure hours become more varied, and the hours for traditional meal times become more blurred, this is the way forward, to offer all-day, all-night, flexible eating.
Michelin-starred cooking
Michelin-starred pubs are the surest sign that "the times, they are a changin". At the Star Inn at Harome, you can perch at the bar and enjoy a pint of fine Yorkshire beer, chewing the fat with the barman, while over your shoulder, travelling gastronauts are tucking into Andrew Pern's award-winning cuisine. Many chefs are cutting their teeth in high-pressure restaurant kitchens, learning their standards from the likes of Heston, Gordon and Raymond. The attraction for the understudies of these greats, to head up their own kitchen in the informal environment of a rural pub, is growing all the time.
Provenance
A few years ago the idea of menu transparency meant printed on see through plastic, now it's a term so ingrained in catering culture it's almost old hat. Just labelling something as British is giving way to regionality, before finally ending up on the doorstep; Sue Gaudy's clotted cream comes from the kitchen of her very own farmhouse in the Yorkshire Dales (that's a real example by the way). It gives the customers all the information they need, as well as implying a caring, quality approach to ingredients sourcing.
Retro food
Like it or not, we live in a fashion-based world. What we eat is subject to those forces just as much as our trainers or the height of our waistbands. But back in the unfashionable '80s; in among the flock wallpaper, Mateus Rosé lampshades and background music that sounded like a porn-film soundtrack, there were menu items we loved - and still do. All we have to do is combine what we know now with what we loved then. Hence, we are destined to see more prawn cocktails - made with perfectly-cooked Dublin Bay prawns, an exquisite home-made mayonnaise-based Marie-rose sauce, with a deliciously-crunchy dill flavoured cucumber salad.
Sushi and sashimi
As we continue to push the boundaries with our adventurous culinary spirits - hence the success of chains such as Yo! Sushi - such trends will inevitably find their way into pub dining up and down the country. This style of food also sits perfectly with the tapas - or snack concept - and is just an extension of that menu idea. Organisations such as Yo! Sushi have also shown us that a Western bent can be put on traditional Japanese food to make it more attractive to the British palate.
Gourmet standards
By this I mean fish and chips, scampi, fries and tartar sauce, roast beef and Yorkshire pud. But instead of frozen fish, bought-in chips, jars of condiments and slices of well-done top side; think Dublin Bay prawns, home-made tartare sauce, and whole rib of beef. It's maintaining the traditional elements of pub food, but taking it to gastronomic standards. This is closely linked to the Michelin-starred pub concept. But rather than emulate the food of the restaurants, it's deliberately keeping it as "pub food for the people" - just done better.
Breakfast bonanza
As food becomes increasingly important in the pub, the times it gets served and the nature of the dishes falls under increasing scrutiny. Trading times must be maximised and location advantages taken - 10am openings and well-prepared breakfast menus are already becoming familiar sights in high-street locations, from independent freehouses to national chains. Lets face it; it's our national dish, and we should be taking every opportunity to build reputations on the back of it.
Sarnies and snacks
With all the high-quality produce flying about, it makes sense to:
a) use it all up
b) sell it as much as possible.
Once again, the high street has led the way in this field. You just have to check out Pret A Manger or Marks & Spencer to see how truly ubiquitous and important the sarni and snack is to our daily bread. Pubs are no longer just competing with each other. The competition is the supermarket, the corner shop and the takeaway. It's time to look and learn.
