Trends that will define the restaurant industry this year

Going forward into the 2020s, there will be an increasing demand for micro dining experience with miniature versions of the food available in all restaurants. The industry will continue to move towards out-of-the-box experiences for everyone with the current year likely to see a ramp up in the use global ingredients like ruby chocolate, choux pastry and fermented foods like kimchi and kombucha.

- Arjun Raj Kher

The just bygone decade was a revolutionary era for India’s foodservices industry. Restaurants came out boldly to experiment with food, drinks, and ambience. The surge in molecular gastronomy became one of the biggest trends of the decade. The past year, in particular, saw a major turning point with the addition of the latest trends and the impact of the change in lifestyle giving rise to detox, organic and vegan food.

The past year, in particular, proved a fascinating one for the restaurant industry. Apart from the many trends that came to the fore, it was great to see gourmands become more conscious about the need to understand what’s on their plate.

As a result, today there is more curiosity about the various kinds of diets and more awareness about ethically sourced meats and organically grown local produce. It’s not uncommon to see more menus that tell you exactly what goes into every dish, down to even where ingredients were sourced from. When the end consumer gets conscious, it is great for the entire supply chain because it inspires everyone to do better.

Personally, there were a lot of new things that I enjoyed observing and indulging in the year gone by. For instance, the process of dry-aging fish and fermenting vegetables was immense fun. As more and more people look for experimental beverage options, we went big on that at both our brands –Bayroute and Hitchki.

At Hitchki, we consciously worked hard on our cocktails, experimenting with the unusual – from jalebi, Japanese butterfly pea flower to hajmola – our patrons have lapped it all up in their drinks. There have also been a lot of innovations in regional cuisines from all over the world. Diners and chefs have gone beyond the usual and dabbled in super-specialties. At Bayroute, for instance, we added rare dishes from lesser-known cuisines of Jordan, Libya and Saudi Arabia.