January 2024
Blog – Trends Digested – January/February 2024
Welcome to Trends Digested, our bi-monthly look at the flavours and styles making waves in the diverse and exciting world of foodservice and hospitality. As a new year clicks into gear, we’ve dissected and examined the very latest insight from our friends at Lumina Intelligence and The Food People to give operators a tangible understanding of how to translate these trends into real life.
To help us do just that, we’ve worked with one of the most exciting, up-and-coming influencer chefs, Jesse Jenkins alias @adip_food, who has taken our insight heavy brief and run with it to create a vibrant and flavoursome dish – using the complex heat of Schwartz Sriracha Seasoning – that hits all the right notes in all the right places.
Read on for more inspiration.
The growing consumer demand for global cuisines and fusion flavours is, says Lumina, driving interest in innovative flavour combinations in condiments that offer up a new and more complex heat flavour profile. Specialty varieties like Scorpion, Guajillo or Hungarian Goathorn Peppers are found fresh, whole, ground or pickled in menus from emerging players, while a new wave of botana sauces (created to accompany the distinctly Americana-forward take on traditional Mexican street food) and chilli oils are popping up in discerning condiment aisles nationwide*.
Allied to this, complex heat continues its evolution with global peppers taking off in the most curious of places including sushi, desserts and more. Research from Whole Foods Market suggests this trend is only going to get hotter and more widespread as the year progresses. Look out for more from McCormick on this emerging trend in 2024 and why not take a moment to examine the products in our range that take heat and flavour to new levels at www.mccormickforchefs.co.uk.
The trend for ‘hot and sour’ is also one to watch this year as ferments, pickles and vinegars go mainstream. Once the preserve of pan Asian cooking, Lumina menu analysis tells us that ‘Spiced’ and ‘Pickled’ are among the top growing adjectives on menus with garlic, pickle, and mushrooms among the most popular vegetables in use.
The Food People build on this, suggesting that a consumer pull for ferments and naturally sour ingredients (e.g. sumac, sour cherry, and sea buckthorn), is leading to a chef led push to experiment with how they employ their sour hit.
The well-established trend for pickled cucumbers – seen on menus most recently in deep fried form (If you haven’t tried the fried pickles at Meat Liquor, beat a path to their doors immediately) has seen operators using excess pickle brine for any number of dips, salad dressing and even cocktails (another honourable mention for Meat Liquor here, whose PickleJack – a heady mix of brine and Jack Daniels – is an unexpected treat, though not for the feint hearted).
Look out for pickled and fermented chillies, watermelon and even elderflower on menus in 2024 as chefs use their complex and sour flavours to offset and elevate anything from roast pork or duck to ceviche*.
That brings us neatly onto our real-life example of these trends in action, as we turn to influencer chef Jesse Jenkins. Described by Jamie Oliver as one to watch in 2024, Jesse creates a sumptuous, pickled aubergine and pork belly dish.
Here, he uses Schwarz Sriracha Seasoning with its unique blend of red bell and cayenne peppers, alongside crushed chillis, paprika and garlic, to unleash a flavoursome hit of complex heat and tang on the humble aubergine. Before creating a pickle to accompany a fennel and blood orange slaw, both of which perfectly cut through the fatty pork belly.
On the dish, he said: “One of the best sandwiches I've ever had was with aubergine and porchetta in Puglia. The shop was a true 'hole in the wall' and I just said I would eat whatever they liked making the most. I always love the combination of pickled or marinated vegetables with fatty meats, it’s a perfect harmony and an easy way to elevate an otherwise simple meal. I've seen this style of fried/pickled aubergine in Sri Lankan and Egyptian recipes too. The frying makes for a creamy texture that absorbs all that pickling liquid. The Schwartz Sriracha Seasoning saves the step of making a chilli seasoning mix and is seriously delicious with a complex heat.”
Check out Jesse’s recipe and accompanying how to video above. Enjoy!
*The Food People December 2023