London pub food 'recognised worldwide'

Simon Stenning, foodservice strategy director for Allegra Strategies, told delegates at the launch of the Taste of the Future 2020 report​​ (PDF) in association with Foodservice Consultants Society International that London, in particular, is recognised worldwide for the progress in its pubs’ food offers.

"People believe that the food scene in London is better than New York from an interest point of view," said Stenning. "The most interesting changes we are seeing right now are in the pub industry. We have seen a growth in good food in pubs. The rest of the world has recognised that about the UK and we will build our reputation based on that."

Changing tastes​

Meanwhile, the popularity of traditional favourite cuisines will wane to make way for different tastes such as south-east Asian, British, premium chicken and ‘global fusion categories’. Today’s most common choices of Italian, burgers, Indian, Chinese and fried chicken will diminish in popularity.

"The popularity of Indian food is waning. We will see lots of old style Indian restaurants struggling as supermarkets are doing so much better in that market," said Stenning.

"We will see a new style of ethnic cuisine. Indian food won’t disappear but the nature of how we get it will change. Dietary needs are changing too and we need to find new sources of protein."

Insects could be the new protein available when eating out. Stenning said there is a ‘mental block’ about eating them in the UK, but likened it to eating whitebait or soft shell crabs.

Food on the go​

Another major factor for the future is that consumer lives are expected to become busier, increasing the need for quick dining options. "Convenience will undoubtedly be more important and we are expecting significant growth in food-on-the-go," he continued.

"Fast food culture will change as people will want the same speed and ease of it but will want better quality and they will be happy to pay more for it. We will also see longer opening hours and the continued rise off all-day dining with traditional meal times no longer dictating service hours."