These food trends can come with us into 2020
Nothing is as fickle as trends. Some food trends make us incredibly tired (Bowls! Freakshakes!) but these trends are ones we’re happy to take with us into 2020. Happy New Year!
Alcohol-free cocktails
Sharon: “I love cocktails. Pure love. But for the moments when I can’t drink, for example because I’m driving, I think an alcohol-free cocktail is fantastic. Mocktails or virgin cocktails, or whatever you want to call them, are no longer sweet kids’ drinks. No, they’re listed very seriously on menus, embraced by bartenders who ensure that sometimes you can barely taste the difference from a cocktail containing alcohol. A keeper, if you ask me!”
Two sizes
Delilah: “Offering a dish in two sizes, as Lazuur in Amsterdam-Noord does: brilliant. Simply a choice between a large or a small plate. And after that first (small) plate, you don’t have to agonize over whether to order two more plates or whether one might be enough.”
Street food from everywhere
Marcus: “Korean Kogi Bangg, savory okonomiyaki pancakes from Japan, kari mnas (pineapple curry) from Cambodia. Dutch food culture has never been so diverse. Every year, new specialty food shops and eateries are added. The tastiest street food from Moldova, Slovenia or Pakistan. What culinary richness and diversity!”
No-table restaurants
Iris: “I hope the rise of no-table restaurants continues in the Netherlands. With this concept, entrepreneurs don’t opt for ‘regular’ tables in the restaurant, but literally have guests eat at the kitchen. Super fun! You experience a special interaction with the chef and see exactly what they’re working on. In fact, you find yourself in a kind of intimate theatre show, with a front-row seat! The prime example of 2019 is KIT 384 in the Amsterdam luxury hotel The Dylan: a ‘secret’ restaurant for a maximum of six guests who eat at the kitchen. In 2018, the first no-table restaurant in the Netherlands opened: 212 in Amsterdam, inspired by New York’s area code. In New York, small no-table restaurants are much more common than in the Netherlands. Great examples from the Big Apple: Blanca** (‘secret’ restaurant behind the accessible pizzeria Roberto’s in Brooklyn), Chef’s Table***, Ukiyo and Sushi by Bae.”
Beer pairing
Lauretta: “The trend that I definitely hope sticks around is beer pairing—in other words, matching beers with food. You see it more and more often, and I’m a fan. The flavor combinations that emerge when you drink the perfect beer with a dish are truly incredible. Beer pairing is surprising, versatile and simply incredibly delicious. In short: a top trend!“
Chai latte
Sabina: “I don’t like coffee. But I do love those fun coffee shops. So what do you drink? Tea is so… tea. And hot chocolate only works when you’re reading Donald Duck or when it’s freezing. And that’s where chai latte comes in. Spices and warm milk and foam and deliciously sweet and spicy, yet in a certain way quite grown-up, I think. I order it everywhere, every time, and I’m nowhere near tired of it yet..”
Vegan
Adeline: “And not because I practice it so fervently myself, but I think it’s good that chefs and amateur cooks have to be a little more creative without fish or meat. Vegan now seems to be the holy grail, and as far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t have to be quite so holy.”
Mini cocktails
Vincent: “There’s nothing as elegant and flavorful as a mini cocktail. This cocktail trend is about flavor, not the amount of alcohol. What could be better than a mini margarita, a mini-Moscow mule or a mini Cosmopolitan? Not to be confused with shots, because these are, of course, quality mixed drinks. The big advantage: you can order more without immediately crawling under the bar completely hammered. This year it already appeared on the menus of top bars such as TwentySeven and as far as I’m concerned, other bars can adopt it too. Mark my words: this trend is nowhere near reaching its full potential.”
Beer-and-a-shot combos
Marcel: “Beer-and-a-shot combos. Back from never having gone away. Dangerously delicious. Always guaranteed to get the party started. No champagne beer (ugh, anti-trend!) can compete.”
Vegetables in the spotlight
Steffi: “That trend has of course been going on for a few years already, but as far as I’m concerned, it can continue for many years to come. Good for people, the environment and your taste buds. Because wow, what a treat when it’s done well. Tip: Yerba. Hallelujah, so delicious. (And for the carnivores among us: they also have meat options. You can, but you don’t have to.)”
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