These food trends we no longer want to see in 2022
Trend forecaster Vincent van Dijk is clear about it: in 2022, we no longer want the unpredictability and all the drama of this year, and we’re going for positivity, quality and clarity on our plates and in our glasses. We’re saying goodbye to what no longer fits; these food trends were totally hip and happening in 2021, so let’s all happily leave them right there.
1. Fusion
No more Marovan (yes, the cuisine in which Moroccan and Javanese influences come together) or Antillean-Chinese food. We want clarity and have more respect for original recipes rather than a mishmash of flavors and styles.
2. Shared
No, no, no! However much we often like our table companions, we no longer want shared dining, but a dish tailored to our personal wishes and not something we have to share with the rest of the table. Especially after corona, we want to be the boss of our own plate again. Or as former FavorFlav writer Emma rightly points out: ‘They’re also never large serving dishes like the ones I put on the table at home, in which case I have no problem sharing. No, they’re always small plates, and the number of shrimp, meatballs or whatever is never equal to the number of people. And every group of friends has someone who eats very quickly and a lot. Two fried potatoes, not one, go onto their fork, and they spread half a brie on their Melba toast. A true shared dining nightmare.’
3. Concept
We’ve had enough of restaurants that have to explain their concept. The menu should speak for itself, and restaurants should simply be good without complications. FavorFlav’s Sharon heads for the door in a backward shuffle when the word concept is mentioned: ‘I’m truly allergic to the question ‘are you familiar with our concept?’, just like ‘for us, it’s all about the experience’, because I mainly come for the food. A concept like that only distracts, and I’ll create the experience myself.’
4. Hard Seltzer
Just because something is hyped in the USA doesn’t mean we should blindly adopt it. Either we drink something healthy, or a high-quality, pure alcoholic beverage. We don’t like and don’t want to drink one of those skinny bitch Hard Seltzer drinks from the United States. Or as FavorFlav’s Delilah puts it: ‘I have no time for this so-called idea that you can have it all: drink alcohol while also being semi-healthy (because few calories, blah blah). Nonsense: alcohol simply isn’t healthy, and if you choose to drink it, for God’s sake let it taste good.’ Amen.
5. Pulled
Pork, chicken, jackfruit. Let’s stop with pulled-apart and marinated food and simply let the digestive process begin in your mouth.
