9 Trends That Defined Food & Dining In 2021

This yr greater than ever, headlines — from the Covid-19 pandemic to racial reckoning, TikTok to digital tech — have remodeled the way in which we eat.

And this yr greater than ever, the tempo of that change has been breathtaking.

For this annual meals development record, every year I attain out to culinary and restaurant execs about tendencies they’re seeing (about 40 concepts this yr) and run the concepts by a panel of pros for vetting, to get to the ultimate record you see right here. This yr I obtained feedback from 9 completed, articulate specialists:

Andrew Freeman is the founding father of af&co., a hospitality advertising and marketing, media relations and model consulting agency headquartered in San Francisco, and co-founder of Carbonate, a artistic providers and model communications company. The companies have launched ideas for over 100 eating places and lodges nationwide, and Andrew has been named one of many High 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Gross sales and Advertising by the Hospitality Gross sales & Advertising Affiliation Worldwide.

Anna Francese Gass is a senior editor @thefeedfeed and contributing editor for Bon Appetit, Food52 and MSN.com. She seems often on Good Morning America, Meals Community and Entry Hollywood and simply launched a bestselling cookbook, Heirloom Kitchen – Heritage Recipes and Household Tales From The Tables of Immigrant Girls. 

Simon Majumdar is a worldwide traveler, journalist, creator and broadcaster. He’s a well known Meals Community character showing on exhibits equivalent to Match of Champions, Iron Chef America and Man’s Grocery Video games. He’s the restaurant critic for Time Out Los Angeles and has written three books on his meals travels, together with his newest Fed, White and Blue, about his transfer to American citizenship. He additionally writes and hosts the profitable meals historical past podcast, Eat My Globe, now in its seventh season.

Richie Nakano is the chef/co-owner of IDK Ideas, a pop-up restaurant in San Francisco. His brick-and-mortar ramen noodle store earned him a 2013 StarChefs Rising Star Neighborhood Chef Award. He additionally manages hospitality trade expertise and relations for the meals media firm ChefsFeed.

David Rose is govt chef and spokesperson for Omaha Steaks and model ambassador for Nissan USA and Massive Inexperienced Egg. He was a finalist on Meals Community Star (Season 13) and is at present a daily Meals Community character. Based mostly in Atlanta and a summa cum laude graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Faculty there, he identifies as a southern chef who incorporates French culinary coaching together with his household’s Jamaican recipes.

Robin Selden is a previous president of the Worldwide Caterers Affiliation and was named to the BizBash 500, celebrating the highest 500 occasion professionals in 2020 in america. She is Managing Associate and Government Chef of Connecticut- and New York Metropolis-based Marcia Selden Catering and Bare Fig Catering, a plant-based three way partnership with movie star chef Matthew Kenney. Full disclosure: Robin and I are cousins.

Bret Thorn is Senior Meals & Beverage Editor of Nation’s Restaurant Information with duty for recognizing and reporting on meals and beverage tendencies throughout the nation. He has additionally studied conventional French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.

Jess Tom is creator of Meals Whore: A Novel of Eating & Deceit, referred to as “the Satan Wears Prada for foodies” by the New York Put up, and co-winner of Season 14 of Meals Community Star. Her work has appeared within the New York Instances, USA At present, and Eater and he or she has cooked on Good Morning America, At present and at main meals festivals.

Izabela Wojcik is Director of Fundraising Initiatives on the James Beard Basis and spent near twenty years programing occasions on the historic James Beard Home in New York Metropolis. She usually hosts and visitor judges culinary occasions and serves on the Kitchen Cupboard, the advisory board to the American Meals Historical past Mission on the Smithsonian’s Nationwide Museum of American Historical past.

The yr’s tendencies are beneath. To see how a lot issues have modified in only one yr, try the 2020 development record here.

1 – Deal with BIPOC and Girls-owned Companies

“Amen to this development,” says Izabela Wojcik. “It does really feel like there’s a motion to focus on these kinds of companies on lists and within the press, however the nationwide dialog and rising consciousness of systemic racism revealed a fact we didn’t need to know. Let’s preserve this going.”

“I believe that is the one most vital meals dialogue in America proper now,” Simon Majumdar says, each by way of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and Folks of Colour) teams and the cuisines they signify.

One instance: a number of of our specialists famous elevated curiosity in Afro-Caribbean cooking. Izabela Wojcik calls it “The lengthy overdue and actual recognition of the position that African and Caribbean heritage performed in shaping America’s regional delicacies,” noting James Beard Basis award winners Nina Compton in New Orleans and Kwame Onwauchi in Los Angeles.

“The dialogue can carry pleasure as extra folks ‘uncover’ the glory of those cuisines,” Simon Majumdar provides, “however it could additionally carry painful discussions as we glance to proper the wrongs of two-and-a-half centuries.”

From the attitude of a feminine enterprise proprietor, Robin Selden says, “I can communicate from expertise.” This month she was sworn in to the Connecticut Restaurant Affiliation. “They even advised me they wanted extra ladies enterprise homeowners on their board.” She was additionally employed by a nationwide luxurious automotive firm searching for assist with rebranding from a lady’s perspective.

“We proceed to hunt out ladies and other people of shade to profile, and I believe we do an honest job of it,” says Bret Thorn, “however there are such a lot of established white male restaurateurs with nice PR machines behind them that it nonetheless requires much more work to trace down and canopy less-represented teams. The battle continues.”

“Now we have a protracted solution to go right here,” Richie Nakano concurs. This may very well be a 5,000-word essay and nonetheless barely scratch the floor of how deep this drawback is.”

2 – Digitized Service in Eating places

Earlier than the Covid-19 pandemic, had you ever used a QR code to obtain a menu or pay to your meal? Me neither. You started to see them as eating places went contactless out of well being considerations. Now they’re a well-established enterprise follow.

“This isn’t only a development,” says Andrew Freeman. “Digital tableside ordering and cost would be the norm throughout the subsequent few years,” and never simply at quick-service and informal eating places. “This rising tech permits eating places to create a extra environment friendly labor mannequin and enhance employees wages.”

“It additionally tends to result in extra correct orders,” provides Bret Thorn.

Izabela Wojcik calls it “One of many few optimistic outcomes of Covid and an actual service innovation.”

There’s nonetheless a solution to go, although. It’s taking some time for some diners to grasp the know-how, and a few eating places haven’t gotten the cling of it both. “I used to be at a restaurant the opposite day that had 4 separate QR codes to scan, and the menu was in 8-point font,” says Richie Nakano.

3 – Ghost Kitchens

Simon Majumdar says that the pandemic pressured eating places to look outdoors “the normal ‘I sit, I order, I eat, I pay’ mannequin. Now that the disaster is starting to recede, some have even determined to not have eating places in any respect, providing their meals direct to residence from ghost kitchens.”

These distant cooking places supply “A number of ideas in a single facility, permitting diners the convenience of ordering throughout cuisines and the economic system of scale,” says Izabela Wojcik. “We would like our meals delivered quick and able to eat, and ghost kitchens are solely blissful to serve. Many shoppers most likely don’t even understand that is the system that delivers their favourite meals.”

Robin Selden calls them “Massively profitable and well-liked. Like culinary WeWork areas.”

However, Wojcik additionally cautions, “There’s an actual darkish facet to all this, particularly with regards to problems with staffing, wages and the way individuals are handled.”

4 – Exhausting Seltzer

“Exhausting seltzers are popping up in all places…shortly!” says chef David Rose. “They arrive in a wide range of mixtures: combined with wine, a myriad of spirits or fruit flavors, and tremendous calorie aware.”

“On one hand, this can be a seismic shift in the way in which folks drink,” says Bret Thorn, “however on the opposite it’s a continuation of a cyclical development of sunshine, easy-drinking, culture-free drinks that began with wine coolers within the Nineteen Eighties, after which Zima within the Nineteen Nineties after which ‘malternatives’ equivalent to Smirnoff Ice across the flip of the century.”

The distinction, he says, is “The consumption fee of arduous seltzer is way greater than these earlier drinks.”

“Each beer and spirits model is leaping on the arduous seltzer prepare!” says Andrew Freeman. “Whereas White Claw put the class on the map, will probably be attention-grabbing to see what different varieties rise to the highest of this very crowded pack. We’re even seeing THC infused seltzers.”

“The beer aisle at my native market is 1/3 seltzers,” says Richie Nakano. However, he asks, “Do we actually like these? They style like someone dissolved a bag of Skittles in a can of Sprite.”

5 – Vegan Delicacies Will get Decadent

When plant-based cooking first appeared on this development record in 2013, it was out of diners’ concern for his or her well being and the well being of the planet. However, as Andrew Freeman says, “Vegan meals is now not synonymous with tofu, sprouts, and even essentially well being. Lately you may rack up as many energy on a vegan cheesesteak because the meaty selection.”

With choices together with plant-based “meats” like Inconceivable Meals and Past Burger, to vegan butters, cheeses and even bacon going mainstream, just about any restaurant can supply viable, tasty and decadent plant-based choices.

David Rose cites the Slutty Vegan in his hometown of Atlanta. “It’s a locally-based restaurant that has made their title in that enviornment and is taking the nation by storm, boasting the responsible satisfaction of a beefy cheeseburger with all of the fixin’s and fries — minus the meat and dairy, with no lack in taste!” Izabela Wojcik mentions Southern California’s Plant Energy Quick Meals.

On the highest finish of the size, “Eleven Madison Park [one of New York City’s most renowned restaurants] has turn out to be completely plant based mostly,” says Anna Gass. “Now that’s progress.”

6 – Nostalgic Cocktails

“It is unusual that folks born within the Nineteen Nineties have ‘nostalgia’ for issues that occurred earlier than they have been born,” says Bret Thorn, “however apparently they do.”

“There’s no query that the espresso martini was the drink of 2021,” Andrew Freeman says.

Izabela Wojcik calls this ‘90s throwback cocktail “the bane of bartenders however so scrumptious.”

As well as, says Anna Gass, “Negronis have made a critical comeback.”

Whereas these gin, vermouth and Campari concoctions have been a factor for – relying in your location – anyplace from the late aughts to some years in the past, Izabela Wojcik says that some eating places now have whole negroni sections on their menus, together with “white negronis, mezcal negronis, and negronis made with a spread of boutique amaros as an alternative of the normal Campari.”

7 – Air Fryers

“For completely no purpose in any respect, I’ve been an air fryer hater,” says Richie Nakano. “however now I’m seeing cooks that I’ve a ton of admiration for embrace them. Man, it’s robust admitting I used to be unsuitable.”

“These extremely easy-to-use countertop convection ovens present a wholesome different for the house prepare dinner,” says Robin Selden. “In a matter of minutes, you may have something from Brussels sprouts and French fries to grilled cheese and crispy salmon filet. You may reheat leftovers and even arduous boil an egg. The chances are infinite.”

Izabela Wojcik says that new scores from the Good Housekeeping Institute and Client Reviews have helped make air fryers the “coveted kitchen instrument this yr,” citing “tasty, crunchy, more healthy variations of our favourite fried meals.”

“I’m nonetheless by no means eliminating my tabletop deep fryer, although,” Richie Nakano says.

8 – “Particular Meals” Get Redefined

Pre-pandemic, a special day dinner meant going to a favourite restaurant or fussing for hours, if not days, within the kitchen. Within the pandemic age, that definition has modified, says chef Jess Tom. “Possibly you do a picnic basket from a Michelin-starred restaurant, an internet cook-along with a celeb chef or get a meal equipment out of your favourite spot throughout the nation.”

“Cooks,” in the meantime, “are realizing that they will make good cash simply doing livestream courses, and that they don’t essentially must be in a restaurant daily to make a residing,” observes Richie Nakano.

“It’s all about diversifying income streams and increasing your model previous the 4 partitions of your restaurant,” Andrew Freeman says.

“Going ahead,” says Jess Tom, “I believe we’ll see much more novel methods of experiencing meals. My hope is that these shall be each honest and enjoyable to diners and cooks.”

9 – Viral Meals Movies

“There is no denying it,” says Andrew Freeman. “TikTok and the viral meals movies created on the platform are one of many high locations the place tendencies emerge nowadays.”

Robin Selden agrees: “You can not go online to social media with out being bombarded by one-minute, mini how-to movies of stylish meals fads. TikTok has put many of those foodies on the map,” amongst them Jenni Hayrinen (baked feta pasta), Emily Mariko (salmon rice bowl), Hannah Cho (whipped Dalonga espresso) and Jeremy Scheck (crispy potatoes).

Izabela Wojcik raves, “This has been an absolute blast to witness, a worldwide development, mesmerizing as any meals porn. The movies are quick, enjoyable, mouthwatering and completely compel you to get within the kitchen and check out your hand, then publish on social media, making certain the development retains transferring.”

And bringing it full circle, she says, “TikTok simply introduced it’ll open ghost kitchens subsequent yr, offering an outlet for all these viral meals tendencies.”