It was a banner year for menu innovation across the foodservice spectrum. Although restaurants struggled, and many of them closed, there was no pause in creativity in the kitchens.
With the continued growth in importance of social media, visually striking ingredients such as bone marrow, caviar, edible glitter, and ube had their parts to play. But so did appealing flavors, such as the vanilla-orange combination of creamsicles and umami-enhancing mushrooms.
Mushrooms are also a very sustainable ingredient, and oysters are actually regenerative, leaving the water where they grow cleaner than it was before.
Americans growing love for spice could be seen in the growth of chili crisp, ghost peppers, variations on Nashville hot chicken, and, to a certain extent, chicken curry.
Texture was important too with the growing popularity of burrata and the creaminess that comes with dirty sodas. Dry-aging fish, another trend, enhances the protein’s texture as well.
Read on for a closer look at these 14 trends from 2024.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]
