ROQUETTE BLOG

5 Food Trends to Incorporate into Your Event Menu

Remember what you thought was cool to wear as a kid?

For me, it was the 90s, which meant overalls, obnoxiously patterned t-shirts and velcro-strap sandals. You can probably think of equally embarrassing outfits that make you cringe today.
Back in the day, however, you looked good! Your clothes were cool back then, because they were stylish.

What’s a Food Trend?
Food is just as susceptible to becoming a trend as anything else. Sometimes a celebrity will endorse a food, or you’ll just look up one day to find everyone raving about a particular dish.
Food trends can be defined by a particular ingredient (e.g. kale), an entire dish (e.g. cultural-fusion cuisine), or the style in which the dish is prepared (e.g. fondue).

What Foods are Currently Trending?

Food is an integral part of any event, and can either enhance your experience or detract from it. To make sure your event is in vogue, let’s take a look at some of the foods currently trending in 2016:

1. Exotic Roots – The simple salad has perished! If you’re going to include a salad in your menu, abandon the cos, rocket, radicchio and iceberg and instead use native produce, powerful pulses and sea vegetables – especially seaweed! Spiraled vegetables are prominent this year!
2. Vegan Cuisine – Yes, it’s been around for a while now, however up to this point Veganism has not quite yet made it as a mainstream trend. This could be the year that changes.
3. Korean-Influenced Cuisine – Try pear-enhanced savory dishes, charred beef with soy-hit sesame sauce and the funky, earthy flavors of fermentation which are HUGE this year. In addition to lending dishes a unique, acidic flavor, fermented foods hugely benefit the health of your digestive tract. To get in on this hot trend, try substituting your tofu with tempeh, snacking on kimchi, enjoying a bottle of refreshing kombucha, or adding flavor to your cooking with miso paste. And remember: Sauerkraut is sexy!
4. Fried Chicken – Creative spins on this classic dish seem to be sprouting up everywhere this year! For your event, take cues from the restaurant Mighty Quinn’s BBQ, which smokes its chicken before a visit to the deep-fryer, and then serves it in a brioche bun topped with fermented chilies and pickled cucumbers and celery. You could also try shichimi togarashi dressing for a Japanese theme, or a kimchi juice-marinade for a culinary visit to Seoul. Finally, if you’re feeling courageous, go with a variation of “Nashville Hot”, a scorching hot-sauce made with sugar plus your pick of spices and (lots of) cayenne.
5. Savory Dessert – This is a big trend around the world right now, pushing boundaries far beyond the age-old dash-of-salt-in-the-chocolate trick! For inspiration, look to Master’s roast potato ice cream dessert in Sydney or Mammoth’s scintillating sugary doughnut burger in Melbourne.

It’s important to remember that not all food trends will appeal to everyone. Balance trendy and reasonable to avoid an event full of hungry, grumpy people.

Roquette Catering is On-Trend

If you’d like help finding that balance for your upcoming event, feel free to contact us to see how we can help!

Roquette Catering offers exceptional service, uncompromising attention to detail, and delicious and exciting food creations that are always on-trend, like our Bittersweet chocolate Namelaka (Japanese for “creamy”), with beetroot sponge, orange honeycomb, lemon balm and liquid sphere.
With over 12 years of local and International experience, Joshua Luftig and the Roquette Catering team can help you find the perfectly balanced kosher menu for your event, be it a wedding, bar/bat mitzvah, social gathering or corporate event.

For tips on how to select the best food for your event, feel free to download our Ultimate Event Planning Guide.

To get started on planning your own event today, give us a call at 03 9939 3323, or head to our contact page to send us a message!