These are the most important Christmas trends
What did we feast on during the festive family days this year? Trend watcher Vincent van Dijk lists the ten biggest culinary holiday trends. It is a shame, though, that there are only two Christmas days.
1. Meat-free
Will we finally have a green Christmas this year? In any case, the table is filled with vegetables in all sorts of forms. Vegetable roasts become the centerpiece. Prepared so incredibly well that we do not even miss the turkey or roast beef. During at least one of the Christmas dinners, we will think of those sweet animals that get to roam around the pasture for one extra day before we tuck into them.
2. Deliciously classic
Secretly, we long a little for the old days, when people spent days cooking elaborate meals. A shrimp cocktail, stewed pears in puff pastry, a well-stuffed turkey, followed by a bundt cake and a dame blanche. Dust off a yellowed cookbook and happily go back to the ’70s. Cliché is okay.
3. NO-LO
Oh no! Some people are going to have a pretty tough time during Christmas dinner, because this year we are going to drink more consciously. We start with an alcohol-free cocktail and also serve low-alcohol drinks. Instead of the tired old bottles of wine, we will happily serve a pairing juice, tea or kombucha during dinner. Cheers to your health!
4. British Christmas
We would most like to imagine ourselves in a cute English cottage or a Scottish country house with self-shot antlers on the wall. Perhaps it is because of the approaching Brexit, but we long to return to British traditions with a gigantic Turkey, rich gravy, roast potatoes, pigs-in-blankets, cranberry sauce and Yorkshire pudding, while dressed in tartan, pulling a Christmas cracker apart and placing a little crown on our heads.
5. International
No Dutch fare this Christmas: we are shamelessly travelling all over the world. From Burmese cuisine to Maori cuisine, from the Middle East to Korea. We combine different ingredients with exotic flavours. The more unfamiliar, the better. Dare to experiment. Feel free to serve your Brussels sprouts with an Indian curry blend and rub your duck with Chinese Five-Spices.
6. Michelin-star Christmas
No Christmas stress for followers of this trend. Simply hire a top chef to take over your kitchen for an evening and turn your dining room into a Michelin-starred restaurant. That way, you can give all your attention to your friends and family, while finally eating really well at Christmas. And you can stay at the table until you drop, because even the washing-up is done for you.
7. Rice-table dining
Adoeh! What is better than a table full of bowls of Indonesian dishes? Sambal telor, pisang goreng, rendang, sateh kambing. The great thing is that you can prepare all of this well in advance, so during the holidays you can happily watch Netflix instead of spending all day cooking. Indo cuisine is totally hip.
8. Seacutery
Forget that boring, meaty charcuterie. This year, shellfish sausages, octopus salami and swordfish ham are shining under the Christmas tree. Pickled fish, fermented fish or aged seafood. We are happily applying age-old meat techniques to sea creatures, thanks to this originally Australian trend that adds colour to the festive table.
9. Snow & ice
These are important in this year’s festive decorations. White with a blue glow, ice floes and snow. The inspiration comes from the North Pole and is also reflected on our plates, especially in the desserts. How about snow eggs (ile flottante) and snow-covered chocolate cake? Icing and frosting are the key words for festive desserts.
10. Christmas tree recycling
Oh Christmas tree, what tasty branches you have! It is not really sustainable to have a temporary tree in the house, so to feel a little less guilty, we give it a second life. We make pine syrup and use the needles to season our vinaigrette or a piece of meat, or to flavour sugar that we sprinkle over cupcakes. You can also make a delicious tea from them, which can also be used to add flavour to sauces.
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