Five food trends to look out for 2018

Dining alone 

Think it’s sad to dine alone? Think again. Mad Men’s Don Draper made it cool after all. Encouragingly, the stigma of dining alone seems to be fading, with 78% of those surveyed by Waitrose believing solo dining is more socially acceptable now than it was five years ago, a shift put down to changing attitudes in the UK towards dining out.

Londoners are helping to fuel this trend, as they eat out multiple times a week, while counter restaurants like Barrafina and The Barbary turn solo dining into a social opportunity; a way of eating that has been championed in New York for decades. In addition to restaurants becoming more solo savvy, diners feel less self-conscious about eating alone now they have their smart phone for company. A good book also does the trick.

Indian street food 

Say namaste to tapas-style Indian street food. Forget heavy sauces and chicken tikka masala, this trend is all about smoked and grilled or seared delicacies like scallops in pickled ginger. Food trucks selling puris stuffed with zingy vegetables and drizzled in chutney could also become a common sight.

The cuisine lends itself to hybrids like spiced burgers or lamb keema tacos. Leading the Indian street food trend in London are Kricket in Brixton and Soho; Gunpowder in Spitalfields; Talli Joe in Covent Garden; and early adopter Dishoom, which has sites all over the capital.

Japanese ‘dude’ food

Plant-based food

If you’re dining in a group these days it’s unusual not to find one person with a special dietary requirement these days, from veggies and pescatarians, to vegans, flexitarians, those going gluten free and the lactose intolerant.

In a bid to help the planet, we’re scoffing less meat than we used to, as eating patterns shift towards a more plant-based diet led by the forward thinking Scandinavians who have long championed veggie-focused, locally foraged cuisine.

Waitrose predicts this shift will lead to a rise in interest for plant-based proteins, from pulses, shoots, grains and seeds to soy and even algae, which will lead both  big brands and newcomers to seek a way to add a protein punch to each meal. 

Four meals a day 

Forget three square meals a day, in our fast-paced daily lives we’re becoming more flexible about what, where and how often we eat, as more of us sneak a fourth meal into the mix.