What’s trending – The food & drink keep an eye on in December

Leftfield flours Whole Foods Market has released its annual food trend predictions for 2020 and while most of them have already appeared in this column, the supermarket’s gamble on alternative flours is an interesting one. Beyond the likes of spelt, buckwheat and gram flour, they’re seeing a rise in those made from lentils, banana and coconut. There’s also an increase in teff flour, which is used for the Ethiopian flatbread Injera, while regional Mexican cuisine has been responsible for an abundance of blue corn flour products like Cool Chile Co’s blue tortillas.

Blue food Both chefs and producers are finding ways to bring a vibrant blue colour to dishes, drinks and snacks, which is turning heads and generating a healthy dose of social media exposure. From ‘unicorn lattes’ to blue-tinged health snacks, the striking colour comes from edible algae like chlorella, E3 Blue Majik and spirulina (the blue-green algae already touted for its beneficial health properties). Innocent has used the algae in its new juice Bolt From The Blue, while London street food operator Eat Lah has been knocking out Malaysian fare on  signature blue rice. 

Taste of the Amazon Two big name Brazilian chefs, Manoella Buffara and Rodrigo Oliveira, are about to open restaurants in LA and New York respectively. Much like Alex Atala of D.O.M, these chefs continue to explore Amazonian produce and cooking techniques, elevating them in much the same way as Rene Redzepi did New Nordic Cuisine. As well as these big ticket stateside restaurants, expect to see items like bolinhos and coxinha to start appearing across street food markets and events.

This story appeared in the December issue of Fine Food Digest. You can read more on the digital edition here.

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