Food Trend 2021: what and how we will eat

What will the kitchen be like in 2021? Sustainable, seasonal and #wastefree. The consumption of food produced with natural methods that have less impact on the environment, together with the theme of the fight against food waste, has now become, more than a trend, the main theme for a better, fairer, cleaner future. It is part of a precise choice of social responsibility which also several starred chefs like Massimo Bottura, with his project – created together with his wife Lara Gilmore – Food for Soul, , which to date has recovered more than 200 tons of food with which it has provided a meal to more than 80,000 people. And, speaking of great Italian chefs, one cannot but remember that it has always been there Pop kitchen of Davide Oldani, is a sustainable cuisine, with local and seasonal ingredients with zero waste for over twenty years. The same Michelin guide awarded this year, in addition to the traditional stars, the green stars, with which restaurants whose chefs are committed every day – as he says Gwendal Poullenec, Michelin Guide International Director – to create “businesses sustainable in the field of gastronomy “.

Seasonality and territory are two fundamental keywords also for the foodinfluencer Alida Gotta, who launched the hashtag #alidasuperfood on his Instagram account: only Italian super foods, however, no gojii berries or quinoa: but legumes or seasonal vegetables such as broccoli and beets, of which Alida describes nutritional properties, vitamin and mineral contributions ( with a precise method: “I publish the photo of the product first and the next day a recipe with it”).

After the boom of 2020, 2021 will definitively consecrate the food delivery. Which, according to a survey carried out by Deliveroo out of a sample of a thousand Italians, it is considered a “cuddle” to be received at home, but also an aid for the catering sector. 41% of respondents said they used food delivery to fulfill a wish at the table. At the same time, over 35% used it as a tool to support restaurants, pizzerias, ice cream parlors and bars in their cities. Proof that food delivery has been, for Italians, a useful choice for themselves, but also for others, especially for the sectors most affected by the pandemic. Deliveroo also confirms the trendy kitchens next year: Japanese, Chinese e americana. However, these will be accompanied by gastronomic cultures that are real outsiders: the kitchen Mexican and the Greek.

Still talking about delivery, in the next year it will also be possible toitalian style evolution, of which the first format already exists: it is Delivery Valley, new restaurant concept created specifically for delivery, without tables and with riders instead of waiters, created by the very active Alida Gotta and yes Maurizio Rosazza Prin (and the cuisine is not dark, but clearly visible on the busy Navigli).

Another trend born from delivery and growing is represented by kit starred restaurants with weighed and dosed ingredients for cooking dishes fine dining at home and learn the chef’s tricks directly from streaming video recipes (see for example the restaurant It was Clumsy in Turin, with the Eraway initiative).

Also confirmed on boom in vegan products in imitation of animal meat:. The reason for this success? Taste combined with ethics and sustainability. In fact the fake meat – or surrogate meat, or fake meat – is a 100% vegetable product, which however is not only aimed at the vegan market. In fact the goal of the Californian brand Beyond Meat, distributed in Italy by the gourmet hamburger chain Welldone, is to target omnivorous consumers by offering products that are attractive but ‘made’ with a reduced environmental impact.

In terms of beverage, the #nowaste trend will be represented by homemade beers produced by leftover bread (you see Hybrid, born from a start-up of four guys from the Politecnico di Milano), while the other trend (perfectly circular and sustainable) will be the kombucha, slightly sparkling drink obtained from the fermentation of sweetened tea. Of very ancient Asian origin, kombucha has also become known in the West (first in the United States, where it is widespread) for its properties (it is ricco of beneficial bacteria for the body, antioxidants, polyphenols and B vitamins, it is also useful in the liver and blood purification and ideal for strengthen the immune system).

And to close this round of trends… a good coffee! No, not a cup of espresso, but the one that is now the most instagrammed and crazy on TikTok: that is the Whipped coffee (aka Dalgona coffee). It is a sweet and soft frothy coffee, basically an inverted cappuccino, which can be made at home three ingredients that we all have: coffee, sugar and milk (see recipe in gallery over it).

Still on the subject of coffee from Japan, another trend is coming after matcha tea, the Japanese coffee. Food blogger Sara Waka confirmed this to Tuttofood: “Not everyone in the West knows this, but the Japanese are a people of real coffee lovers”. In fact, it has become an authentic phenomenon of custom % Arabica, a chain of coffee shops where you can taste different aromas, savor the most varied blends and buy coffee beans from the ‘% Arabica’ factory in Hawaii ”. What differentiates it from our espresso is a “typically Japanese philosophy of essentials, in which coffee becomes the moment of pleasure that can give meaning to an entire day”.