7 Trends Influencing the Culinary Industry

On Trend

These 7 culinary industry shifts are shaping the future of food

written by Ryn Pfeuffer

THE PANDEMIC has forever changed how people eat and buy food. So instead of chasing the next big thing, many chefs are getting back to basics, rethinking their why, and supporting the local community—from staff and customers to suppliers.

From eating what’s in season to helping people who are food insecure, here are seven trends that are shaping the future of the food and beverage industry right now.

Tio Baby chef Will Gordon sheds fine cuisine to give people exactly what they want.

Jon Green

Eat What’s in Season

Chef Brian Clevenger focuses on seasonal ingredients in his menus.

Linster Creative

Seasonal eating isn’t exactly a new trend—humans have been eating seasonally since the dawn of time. Freshly harvested food is tastier, packs more nutrients, and is better for the environment. Chef Brian Clevenger of General Harvest Restaurant Group’s favorite time of year to eat is fall. The transition from late summer to early fall makes for perfect cooking—using the best of both worlds. “You have the tail end of summer, which still brings tomatoes, melons, peaches and corn … but are moving into fall and seeing wild edibles, a little more hearty greens, artichokes, cauliflower and wild mushrooms,” said Clevenger. In his restaurants (Autumn, East Anchor Seafood, G.H. Pasta Co., Haymaker Eastlake, Haymaker West Seattle, Raccolto, and Vendemmia), Clevenger takes these overlapping seasons and designs a menu that still focuses on a direct approach to seasonal products with as few ingredients as possible. “Every year, we discuss the importance of showcasing this specific thirty days because, before long, we will be into braised meats, winter squash and hearty greens for the next four to five months.”

Make Nutritious Food More Accessible

Mobile app Too Good to Go repurposes food to help eliminate waste.

Too Good to Go

The pandemic exposed the challenges of food and nutrition insecurity in this country. According to a survey conducted via social media by NYU School of Global Public Health researchers, nearly 15 percent of U.S. households—and almost 18 percent of households with children—reported food insecurity early in the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced details of a framework to ensure that every American family has access to affordable, nutritious foods. In the meantime, mobile apps like Too Good To Go (www.toogoodtogo.com) are popping up to reduce food waste and repurpose surplus food for those who need it. Washingtonians can reserve a Too Good To Go Surprise Bag containing fresh, prepared and perishable food. It could include a few slices of pizza, a sushi roll, a cup of soup or some dumplings. More than 200 Seattlearea businesses are on the site.

Mobile apps like Too Good To Go are popping up to reduce food waste and repurpose surplus food for those who need it. Washingtonians can reserve a Too Good To Go Surprise Bag containing fresh, prepared and perishable food. More than 200 Seattle-area businesses are on the site.

Thoughtful Food Consumption

Many people wonder how they can make a difference as an individual and how they can actually have an impact. Chef Dan Mallahan of Driftwood (formerly of Rider) said it’s simpler than it seems. “Thoughtful food consumption is a real way to make a change,” said Mallahan. “Support local family-run farms, ranchers, fishmongers, foragers, dairies, native and artisanal purveyors in your region.” In opening his new Alki Beach restaurant, Mallahan worked closely with tribal members of the Quinault and Makah tribes to source some of the best fish from Neah Bay, the Quinault River and nearby environs. Fun fact: The name Makah means “people generous with food.” Mallahan is also excited about two local farm collaborations—Whistling Train Farm and Little Big Farm, which are growing items just for the restaurant.

Driftwood worked with local tribes to source fresh, local fish.

Dan Mallahan

“Shopping local, eating what’s in season, supporting small business, these are not simple hashtags,” he said. “By sourcing within our communities and not relying on global commodity products, we truly can make a difference.”

Dan and Jacqueline Mallahan, the husband-and-wife team behind Driftwood.

Lisa Monet Photography

Personalization of Menus

Over the past couple of years, chef Will Gordon, formerly of Westward and How to Cook a Wolf, has noticed an increased personalization of menus and the removal of barriers for people to make their food. “Whether it’s through pop-ups or a new generation of chefs opening bars and restaurants that feel like they’re making the kind of food they want to make, whether it’s to represent a culture or the food they like to eat,” said Gordon. So he traded in his fine dining history to open his dream space—one serving really great bar food in a fun environment. “In my case, it’s been called stoner or drunk food, but I like to think of it as dive bar food.” At Tio Baby’s, wings and nachos, two of Gordon’s most-loved foods, are the menu’s mainstay.

Chef Will Gordon of Tio Baby’s raises the bar on the dive bar menu.

Tio Baby’s

Gordon thinks Covid has had a lot to do with this evolution, as restaurant owners have had to adapt, whether taking over the kitchen at bars or setting up shop at breweries for the day. For people who don’t have a lot of seed money to open a brick-and-mortar business, this can be a helpful way to get started.

When you’re a cook, he said, you want to feed people. “It’s exciting to see people’s vision of what food is going forward instead of this one thing we were all working toward. And to see it at lower, more accessible price points that people can get more often.” But, for Gordon, the general trend of cooks making the food they want and figuring out ways to get it into people’s hands is the thing he’s most excited about right now.

Nachos and other high-quality comfort foods shine at chef Will Gordon’s Tio Baby’s.

Jon Green

Nurture Your Team

It’s no secret that restaurants are facing a massive worker shortage. According to the National Restaurant Association, the industry is still down 750,000 jobs—roughly 6.1 percent of its workforce—from pre-pandemic levels as of May 2022. The restaurants that survive will realize that the only way forward is to put their employees’ welfare first.

Chef Eric Donnelly sees a new guard of cooks who need mentorship and teaching. “We need to reinvest in the restaurant industry,” he said. The culinary world has been kind to Donnelly, but it took him a long time, hard work, and a mentor who showed him how to thrive in hospitality. “There are two ways you can go in the restaurant industry, and that’s kind of off the rails, which we’ve seen, and then grow within the restaurant, which is great.”

So, at Donnelly’s restaurants, FlintCreek, RockCreek, and Bar Sur Mer, he’s been taking a backto-basics approach, focusing on classic techniques, emulsifications and big flavors. “We’re not focusing on a bunch of highly stylized food—just focusing on things that are simple to execute and highly flavorful,” he said. One of those dishes at Bar Sur Mer is a fresh take on clams with chorizo broth. Donnelly makes a compound butter, emulsifies it with clam juice, and uses chorizo spice, sherry, lime juice and lime leaf oil. There’s no actual meat in it. “It’s just using a classic technique, emulsifying butter and protein and making it fragrant and beautiful on the plate.”

Now that Donnelly has three restaurants and a fourth in the works, he wants to continue making the same quality food. So, as a chef, he asks, how can we do that by using people who can cook but aren’t necessarily chef quality yet? “We teach them and help them grow.”

More Plant-Based Foods

Plant-based burgers and other plant-based foods are part of a growing trend to help reduce the environmental effects of meat.

Impossible

During the pandemic’s peak, many consumers experienced difficulty finding certain foods as many items were out of stock. Supply chain issues and consumers’ desire for better health pushed many to experiment with plant-based diets and nonmeat alternatives. We’ve seen Oatly, Beyond Meat, and Impossible Foods partner with restaurants and major chains. Even Lunchbox Lab, known for its fat meaty stacks, is serving a Faux Real with a Beyond Burger. Fast food restaurants are also getting in on the action, adopting plant-based food options. Cue the Impossible Whopper. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, it’s estimated that the global plant-based market will grow from $30 billion in 2021 to $160 billion by 2030, making up 7.7 percent of global protein market by 2030.

According to Bloomberg Intelligence, it’s estimated that the global plant-based market will grow from $30 billion in 2021 to $160 billion by 2030, making up 7.7 percent of global protein market by 2030.

There’s a New Crop of Condiments

Sure, ketchup and mustard will always be staples. But chefs are thinking beyond these kitchen mainstays. At Eight Row, executive chef and owner David Nichols gives dishes a boost with the restaurant’s house-made chamoy sauces. Chamoy is a Mexican condiment made from pickled fruit and flavored with salt, sugar, chili powder and citrus juice. The restaurant has always focused on orchardinspired ingredients—Nichols uses produce straight from his family farm in Central Washington. In June, his team picked more than 50 pounds of cherries and have been making cherry chamoy that’s used on their steak tartare, in cocktails and in housemade shrubs. “These sauces go so well with a lot of dishes—they’re the perfect balance of sweet, spicy, acidic and salty,” said Nichols. Next up is Nichols’ series of peach chamoys. He believes this is a great way of preserving fruit and using it in different formats throughout the year, even in the dead of winter when it’s hard to find those great flavors.

Eight Row’s beef tartare with pickled cherry chamoy, cured egg yolk, three-year cheddar and pickled green elderberries on focaccia.

Eight Row