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Our resident food columnist, Angelo Comsti, gives us all the exciting news in the food industry for 2024, from trends, new restaurants and chefs to watch out for

WHAT'S COOKING?

Food trends, like fashion, change with the times. And it’s helpful to note that it’s not simply to keep restaurateurs, chefs and consumers abreast with what’s current but rather to be integrated with culture, influence behaviour and inspire innovation.

If 2023 were a year of alternatives, with people going for healthier options such as nut milks, plantbased fast food numbers, coconut flour in pastries, monk fruit and dates in place of sugar, and jackfruit as a substitute for meat, this year would have ingredients culled from different parts of the globe.

FLAVOUR: SWICY It’s a flavour combination that’s not new, but thanks to TikTok, it has officially earned a label. It’s a playful portmanteau of sweet and spicy, which has been proven to be effective with the likes of pepper jelly and Mexican spiced hot chocolate; and just recently, we saw doughnuts slapped with sour cream, drizzled with the hot sauce, then garnished with slivered almonds from New York’s Jolie Patisserie, or Gochujang Chocolate Pot de Creme with beignet from the DC joint Succotash.

The flavour dynamic duo isn’t just limited to confectionaries. Shake Shack had a cheeseburger with bourbon bacon jalapeño jam; Doritos released a spicy sweet chilli variant; and in the Philippines, Cheeza Bakes by Sunshine Puey has hot honey cheese pimiento, while bottle brand Isla Filipinas has a natural raw honey and siling labuyo (local chilli variety)condiment.