Flavor shock as a future food trend

In the food world, it seems that the trend now seems to be setting an endless set of trends whenever possible. When New Year comes it is almost obligatory to announce food trends of the coming year. Now that the summer season is starting, food magazines are featuring tastes of summer, of course with the regular summer cliché trend of rosé wine. Recently, I had the chance to meet with Star Chen, CEO of Unilever Food Solutions to talk about their UFS Future Menus Report 2024 which delves into the world of food trends, scrutinizing global inclinations of chefs round the globe. I was curious about how an industrial food giant such us UFS was following the trend, as well as acting as an actual trendsetter for the future of food.

Delivering more with less is the biggest challenge for chefs today. Customers and guests in restaurants are more demanding than ever for memorable dining experiences — in quests for delicious food and drinks and searching for a total-package experience in the hospitality sector. However, with rising ingredient prices, a shrinking workforce and the ever-increasing cost of staying in business, it's getting harder to meet these demands. Therefore, offering high-end dishes that center on the creativity of the chefs needs to be done in a whole new way. While keeping up with menu trends remains important, it proves to be hard in doing so, especially in the digital age, where trends appear and disappear with the speed of light on social media. Chefs and home-cooks alike are constantly trying to keep up with pace, and it is no secret that we do not have the ample time to make everything from scratch, such as a perfect demi-glace or béarnaise sauce, in our hectic times. The shrinking workforce is also a problem in professional kitchens,...