Is Food Fashion #TRENDING?

Lazy Bones, the recently launched restaurant in London Farringdon, serves up fancy fast food with a surrounding of quirky interior design. When a friend slumped down next to me with her ‘starter’, she was carrying a bag of sour cream and chive popcorn. What may have been confined to the walls of cinemas has emerged as a savoury restaurant snack, and popped corn brands such as Proper Corn seem to be everywhere. It was then that it seemed food had become just as trend-focused as the fashion industry. Last year, the UK saw a rise in the consumption of colourful macarons, popcakes, boutique beers and artisan breads, and gradually died out and made room for savoury popcorn.

                Wayne Edwards at The Food People believes that popcorn in particular has become a food phenomenon because “it hits a few trends”. He explains that, “Sweet and salty combinations such as salted caramel are everywhere, and it links to the nostalgia for American-style dining.”
So where have these attitudes come from? These fickle food trends are not something entirely new. Rashima Bhatia of the Indian restaurant Rasoi believes that the era of food trends has been developing since 2009, and now, in 2013, has reached its peak. Rasoi has ensured that different aspects of these trends have been woven into the menu. “We try to source ingredients that are local, and we also have an open kitchen to emphasise the trend of consuming only honest food.”

                An upcoming trend for late 2013 will be a change in restaurant concepts, such as dining in entertaining or unusual environments. The emergence of ‘edible cinema’, for example, allows the audience to eat the provided food packages that have to be consumed at corresponding moments in the film. Similarly, Dans Le Noir? in Clerkenwell Green (featured in the recent film About Time) borders on becoming more of a “sensorial human experience” than a restaurant. Their policy is for all diners to dine in the dark, which will not only intensify the tastes of the dishes but also helps raises awareness of a cause. As the founder Edouard de Broglie states, “half of our staff are visually impaired, but for an hour and a half they become our eyes and we become blind in the darkness. We believe that a good experience is much better than a long speech.” This fits with the new ‘Conscience Food’ trend, where the eating experience is almost educational and enables customers to ‘do their bit’ for a good cause.

                Needless to say, the fusion of British and Asian cuisine is an ongoing trend, now becoming more apparent with the rising appreciation for spicy street food. Some restaurants have embraced Asian cuisine in the style of ‘fast food’, creating a fusion of American and ethnic dining.

                It seems that simple food is not enough. Innovative chefs such as Heston Blumenthal are renowned for developing dishes close to laboratory experiments, such as an oddly delicious Chicken Curry Ice Cream. Are restaurants and brands pushing the boundaries of cooking due to cutting-edge TV chefs? “Chefs have raised the profile and interest in food,” Mr Edwards told us. “Chef Rene Redzepi chef served ants at his pop at Claridges and Wahaca had fried grasshoppers on their menu earlier this year!”Restaurants are becoming more adventurous and challenging of food traditions. Trends are injecting more excitement and fun into the food industry. The only issue is keeping up...

Article in Chaat! Magazine issue 13