Functional Foods
Consumers are increasingly seeking foods that offer health benefits beyond basic nutrition. So-called ‘functional foods’, such as those enriched with brain-supporting nutrients like omega-3 and zinc, are gaining popularity fast. M&S's new Brain Food range perfectly exemplifies the trend, offering snacks and staples designed to support cognitive health. Granola and the crossword anyone?
Unusual Fruits and Vegetables
There's a growing interest in unique produce varieties, including red-fleshed kiwis with a strawberry-like flavour (try Pomona Fruits’ examples), purple sweet potatoes known for their health benefits, and Flavorking Plums that taste like, erm, bubblegum (get them at M&S). Novelty flavours for those whose taste buds are craving something more than apples, pears and plums at this time of year – as well as bringing fresh health benefits.
'Swicy' Foods
Noticed that #hothoney is trending on TikTok? This is why. The fusion of sweet and spicy flavours, or 'swicy' as the emerging taste sensation is pleasingly known, is anticipated to become a key food trend this year. Think dishes that combine these contrasting tastes – the sugar tempering the heat – to create intriguing new flavour profiles. We plan to kick off our foray into this sensation with a few slices of Tesco Finest Salsiccia Picante With Hot Honey Pizza.
Sustainable Eating
Not so much a trend as an inevitability given our march towards climate catastrophe, a growing army of conscious consumers are focusing ever more on reducing food waste and supporting sustainable products. They are, thus, gravitating towards the minimally processed, the locally sourced, and the seasonal. A return to simpler, more sustainable living: food producing behemoths, take note and action.
High-Protein Foods
An emphasis on protein-rich diets continues apace this year, with an ever-increasing volume of high-protein snacks and menus in the offing. Catering to the health-conscious seeking to incorporate more of the good stuff into their meals and thus stay full longer, aid healthy bones and ward of infection, protein is officially go. Why not start the day with Eat Surreal’s cereal, which is packed with p-word?
Restaurants That Are Hot Right Now
London’s restaurants are always a moveable feast, new kids on the block jostling for favour around a handful of stalwarts. It’s rare, however, that a place can occupy both positions, but the newly refurbed Julie’s on Notting Hill’s Clarendon Cross does just that. After closures and many a tired year, it is now back with ex-The Pelican chef Owen Kenworthy at the helm. It has its mojo – and its celebrity clientele – firmly back. Other hot-right-now establishments include the divisive Hugh Corcoran’s school dinner-style, lunchtime-only, cash-only The Yellow Bittern on the Caledonian Road, and Aaron Potter's Wildflowers, pictured, in Belgravia which has got Jamie Oliver and Grace Dent raving.
