Trend watch: will cauliflower be king in 2015?

But if the last year has taught us anything, it’s the virtue of re-imagining less commonly used vegetables as sophisticated menu options.

We’ll never know whether it was the slight misconception that it somehow made creamy mash “healthier” that drove customers into kale’s dark, leafy embrace, but 2014 belonged to kale.

This time around it’s looking like cauliflower, broccoli’s tougher, paler cousin, could usurp kale’s position as the trend-conscious pub chef’s veg-du-jour.

But can cauliflower break into the British pub food market the way it has the US restaurant scene?

Simon Stenning, executive director at Allegra Foodservice, says: “Cauliflower steaks are a great BBQ item and can work well for vegetarians, so yes, we’d expect to see them more this year.

“I think that [cauliflower] is something that will be used more frequently, either as a centrepiece item, building on the growth of flexitarianism and for plant-based foods rather than meat, but it will also be an interesting side dish, much like lettuce wedges were a couple of years ago.”

One thing cauliflower has going for it is versatility; in America thick, fried or grilled cauliflower steaks are increasingly being used as centrepiece ingredients.

This side of the Atlantic, chefs are finally waking up to the fact that there’s more you can do with it than just “cheese”.

The health benefits of swapping a hunk of beef for cauliflower are obvious, but its reputation amongst consumers as being a relatively tasteless “filler” vegetable could get in the way of marketing it to a wider audience.

Star endorsement​

Tom Kerridge, TV chef and owner of the Hand & Flowers in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, said: “It is a wonderful vegetable and has a great flavour once it is roasted up – it holds spices really well and big, strong flavours like cheese or bacon.

“I can understand people’s opinion that it doesn’t taste of much if just boiled and plain on its own, but by adding spices and more flavouring it can be a great item in the kitchen.”

Tom Sellers, owner and head chef of the Lickfold Inn, in Lickfold, West Sussex, is another chef to implement cauliflower into his menu, incorporating it into a dish featuring halibut, yeast and sloes.