Here at meetingsclub, we’re always on the lookout for all things new and of course the latest trends so you can make your next event extra special! So, we are very pleased, at the start of 2020 to share with meetingsclub Members Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants’ sixth annual Culinary & Cocktails Trend Forecast!

So, what’s likely to be hot in the World of food and drink? Well black pepper ice cream, coconut ceviche and Japanese whisky highballs are just a few of the unexpected yet delicious trends according to Kimpton. They also predict more adventurous health ingredients and plant-based menus together with lower-alcohol spritzes. From ingredients like seaweed, ashwagandha and nutritional yeast to dishes like fresh, elevated ceviche and flavourful Levantine cuisine, chefs are getting creative while catering to consumers’ changing dietary and lifestyle preferences.

Each year, the Kimpton Forecast reveals the most anticipated and innovative dishes, flavours, ingredients and philosophies that chefs and bartenders will explore in the year ahead. Trends are uncovered through a survey of more than 130 chefs, sommeliers, general managers and bartenders from 75+ restaurants and bars. “Diners continue to be more educated, mindful and globally connected than ever before. We polled our talented experts around the world to get their insights on how consumer dining habits and dietary preferences will shape restaurants and bars in the year ahead,” says Scott Gingerich, Kimpton’s Senior Vice President of Restaurants & Bars. “This forecast has been able to pinpoint cult classics à la last year’s Aperol Frosé and predict the next big thing in flavours and ingredients like black garlic, s’chug and nutritional yeast for 2020.”

Alternative Diets Become Mainstream

• Diets once considered alternative are now the norm, so expect to see gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan and keto options become menu mainstays. According to 31% of chefs surveyed, it’s no longer enough to have just one or two of these options on the menu.
• We’ll see more gluten-free options in traditionally carb-centric dishes like pasta and breads, using almond flour, rice flour, guar gum or tapioca. From gluten-free cauliflower schnitzel to gluten-free calamari, chefs will continue to give more and more menu items a wheat-free makeover.
• Oat and hemp milks will continue to dominate menus in 2020, alongside nut-based, dairy-free cheeses. Think creamy cashew cheese alfredo sauces, plant-based burgers topped vegan cheese, oat milk honey lavender lattes and vegan breakfast quesadillas filled with nut-based cheese, veggies and tofu.

Not-So-Obscure Health Ingredients

• Health ingredients are moving into the spotlight – alternative milks, plant-based ingredients and superfoods are now commonplace compared to still up-and-coming items like nutritional yeast, ashwagandha, collagen peptides and seaweed.
• As an evolution of last year’s trend, fermented foods with gut-healthy probiotics are continuing to grow in popularity with tempeh, pickled vegetables, infused vinegars and fermented dairy products popping up on more menus across the globe.

Plant-Based Everything + Sneaking Vegetables into Every Dish

• 51% of respondents predict plant-based meat alternatives will solidify their mainstream status in 2020 (no longer just a cult following) and we’ll see more plant-based takes on traditional meat dishes. In fact, 30% of chefs predicted vegetable tartare will be infiltrating restaurant menus in in the New Year.
• Hiding healthy ingredients are not just for kids anymore – chefs will also be “sneaking” more vegetables into pasta, pizza, breads and sauces and even creating full-vegetable burgers, jerky and chips, made from ingredients like mushrooms, eggplant, sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach or cauliflower.

Cross-Cultural Fusions

• Local, responsibly sourced ingredients that bridge traditional culinary lines and blur the fusion moniker will continue to grow in 2020.
• Dishes that bridge culinary regions will be among the most popular trends, with more than half of chefs incorporating cross-cultural fusion dishes onto menus. Some of the tastiest mashups include Mexican and Southeast Asian cuisine, French with Scandinavian flavours, Cantonese Chinese and Peruvian (or Chifa) and American South with Japanese.

Expect to see regional and indigenous-inspired cuisine, including more Native American, Scandinavian, Peruvian and Russian influences. Peruvian dishes include creative takes on Sudado de Mahi and Tiradito de Salmon, as well as Chocolate Aji Panca ice cream.

Funky Flavours + Sweet on Sour

• Ingredients with sour flavour profiles like rhubarb, tamarinds and vinegar will grow in popularity, with nearly 23% of chefs selecting sour as their favourite experimental flavour.
• Chefs also noted that funky flavours will make their way into breakfast staples, including liquorice and salty syrups and savoury oatmeal made with bone broth.
• Diners can also expect to spot more exotic peppers like Gochujang, piri piri, espelette and Hatch chile peppers in their dishes, with 1 in 5 chefs selecting them as their top ingredient for 2020. Gochujang aioli pairs well with steak tartare and crab and espelette pepper packs a powerful flavour punch to pimento and blue crab cheese dip.

Now Trending: Dishes, Spices + Ingredients

• Elevated ceviche using unexpected ingredients – from spicy tomato granita to pickled carrot to whipped avocado – was the top dish prediction for nearly one third of respondents.
• Unusual seeds like lotus, basil and water lily seeds are predicted as one of the trendiest ingredients according to 31% of chefs surveyed.
• Makrut lime leaves, pandan and black garlic, which offers a sweet, earthy flavour and a date-like consistency, emerged as top ingredients on this year’s forecast.
• Schmaltz, or rendered chicken or goose fat, will also be trending in 2020, according to a quarter of Kimpton chefs. Keep an eye out for Schmaltz croutons accompanying roasted chicken dishes, and schmaltz as the new olive oil for dipping baked bread.

Restaurants with a Purpose

• Local collaborations will be king in 2020 – partnerships with local artists, distillers, farmers, purveyors, community members and more will be important to diners and restaurants alike.
• The social trends predicted as the most impactful on restaurant philosophies in 2020 include transparency across ingredients, sourcing and production, and policies to reduce restaurants’ environmental footprints.
• Sustainability will also continue to take centre stage; restaurant and bar managers, chefs and bartenders are crazy about composting, incorporating zero-waste techniques and eliminating single use plastic items.

Beer + Wine Trends

• More than a quarter of bartenders are most excited about sour beers in the year ahead, followed by hazy or juicy IPAs and high alcohol kombuchas as a beer alternative.
• Next year’s biggest wine trend will be the emergence of more natural wines, or wines farmed organically without adding or removing anything in the cellar. Orange wines and Pét-Nat sparkling wines are also becoming more popular with wine aficionados.
• Just as spirit enthusiasts are adding hard seltzers to their coolers, wine connoisseurs are seeking out unadulterated wines that are naturally low in alcohol, like Vinho Verde or Txakoli.

Non-alcoholic Beverage Trends

• Many experts are predicting coffee spritzes as the hot (cold) drink of 2020. The other top coffee trends for 2020 include nitro coffee on tap, cold brew alternatives and CBD coffee.
• Botanical infused sparkling drinks is cited as the non-alcoholic trend bartenders will most likely experiment with, followed up by alcohol-free spirits and up-levelled teas with exotic fruit flavours like guanabana, lulo and passionfruit.
• The majority (42%) of bartenders surveyed are excited to embrace the no-alcohol culture as part of their overall bar experience in the year ahead.

Kimpton Venues