[Photography: Cod fillet with grilled powder of mealworm. Chef David Faure at Aphrodite]
Pinterest and Facebook are experiencing a traffic boost with three specific food trends on a viral path during the first six weeks of 2016. With an impressive number of “likes,” the following trio are ranking high on the food scene paired. I have paired them with what appears to be their soon to be predecessor:
Goodbye Sushi. Hello Poke.
Goodbye Donuts. Hello Ice Cream.
Goodbye Gluten Free Diet. Hello to the return of the Bread Service “artisan style!”
The next trend expected to go mainstream could surprisingly do so on
a global scale and is being boosted by Millennials who have a fondness
of trying new foods. Say hello to “entomophagy,” the practice of eating
insects, which has grown in popularity without signs of slowing
especially. Ironically, a few years ago, bugs had to be purchased in
night markets or on street food stands in countries such as Asia or
Mexico, but today, items are appearing in traditional food serving
operations.
Being tabbed as an “alternative protein,” crickets, ants, and grasshoppers are finding their way into American food and beverages. Millennials are viewing insects as the next “super food” as they warm-up to cricket bars and centipede vodka while chefs experiment behind the scenes with their own creations of bug cuisine.
Inexpensive, environmentally friendly and a good source of protein,
vitamins and minerals, consuming bugs is catching on at such a pace, one
example is from the protein bar category where Exo Bars contain five
crickets per bite thanks to the concoction of “cricket flour.”
Brooklyn-based Exo claims crickets provide 2.2 times more iron than
spinach and that 80% of the world already eats insects regularly.
Bug-focused restaurants such as Wales based Grub Kitchen is Britain’s first ever insect-only restaurant. Mealworm, grasshopper or cricket burgers and mealworm hummus are two of their most popular insect meals on the menu.
This article was published on 22nd February 2016 by Sherri Scheck-Merrill in Hotels Mag, under the title “Poke, bread, ice cream, bugs go viral"
(The views and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly those of the author.)
