Changing mindsets to spur new F&B trends in 2020
Stepping into the next decade, I believe 2020 will be the most phenomenal year for food trends. Diners now play a pivotal role in driving the Indian food services industry. People are getting conscious of what they eat and at the same time, the impact of its consumption on the environment. Keeping consumer behaviour in mind, we can foresee the following trends for the year 2020. molecular gastronomy has been prevalent and hugely successful globally for the past few years, the concept is relatively new in India. While diners find the concept fascinating, there is still a lot left to explore and a long way to go in terms of awareness and understanding the nuances of the process, for a pure molecular gastronomy concept to work in the Indian environment. Also, there is a generic perception of the concept being unsafe, which is largely owing to the fact that diners haven’t been exposed in depth to the concept of molecular gastronomy; but this notion doesn’t hold true in actuality. The elements used in molecular gastronomy are all natural and mostly plant extracts, which are globally accepted and certified and now being very frequently used in India as well. for fusion variations to come up. However, the downside to it is, in the Indian context, “traditional Indian” cuisine is getting lost or losing focus. While we may be stepping away from traditional cuisine due to globalisation, there is enough demand for authentic as well as contemporary Indian cuisine. The demand for traditional Indian fare is still equal to what it was a few years back. But modern Indian cuisine is only set to take centrestage in times to come.
Modern diners are looking for out-of-the-box concepts and something that breaks the daily monotony of home dining. It is here that the concept of progressive cuisine has stepped in to bring in a sense of surprise into the average dine-out experience. Using modern culinary techniques, latest technologies and cutting-edge styles of presentation, progressive cuisine aims to showcase cuisines from around the world in a contemporary manner, bringing them to the 2020s. Don’t mistake progressiveness with the earlier concept of fusion, which sadly many believe to be the same.
After Japanese and Teppanyaki, other international cuisines like Vietnemese, Cambodian, Mexican and Lebanese will see a surge in popularity in India in the coming years. Indians are travelling all over the world and their palate has become quite refined. They want some of that food back in India. If you enjoy a good risotto, why should you have to go to Italy? There should be plenty of restaurants for that where you live. I’d say the days of going to just Indian or Chinese restaurants are gone. People want to be surprised. They like innovation and are rewarding it in a big way. So, a lot of restaurateurs are taking risks that they never did a decade ago.
Earlier, this was largely the domain of super luxury hotels around the world. Today, restaurateurs and chefs globally are investing in offering their patrons a similar experience, using high quality, exotic and imported ingredients not as a point to lure in the well-heeled, but to add to the dining experience. They are offering a more authentic and flavourful cuisine at practically one-third the cost of what one pays for a similar experience at a luxury hotel. While this has already been in process, the trend is only expected to become bigger in the coming years.
Luxury is now more affordable as a result of high disposable incomes and the availability of brilliant, luxurious (and affordable) premium fine dining restaurants outside the confines of five-star hotels. This is one trend that is only set to become bigger in times to come.
In the recent past we have seen many chefs of Indian origin being invited overseas to showcase Indian cuisines for Western audiences. The same has been the case with chefs of international origin being invited to India to showcase their cuisine at specially curated events. This form of interchange, although seen in ancient times as well as effectively done by people like my father Jiggs Kalra, late Tarla Dalal and Camilia Punjabi in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, is seeing a surge in the form of culinary tourism and is set to become bigger and an effective way of showcasing authentic cuisines from various countries for the Indian audiences.
India is a treasure trove of— and, in my opinion, the only country in the world to have— so many regional cuisines. While Indian regional cuisine has been served as Punjabi cuisine to the global audience for over five decades, I see in the coming years a renewed focus on other regional Indian fares, and these being taken forward to the international audience.
Today, diners are looking for exceptional experiences not just at premium restaurants but also in the confines and comfort of their own homes. Thus, the concept of gourmet food delivery has emerged. Most gourmet dishes have a complex composition and are presented with innovative plating so as to increase their aesthetic appeal while delighting the palate with their gourmet flavours. If restaurants can manage to recreate the visual appeal of a gourmet dish, as it is presented in the restaurant, and offer a premium fine dining experience outside the confines of five-star hotels, or standalones, this trend is likely to gain traction.
The author is founder and managing director, Massive Restaurants Pvt. Ltd.; he also served as a judge for Masterchef India in 2016