Serving change

Over 10 months into the pandemic, 2021 brings the promise of new vision. Five hospitality minds share their thoughts on emerging trends

Serving change

Mellow submarine pre-mix by Shroff

In 2020, we learnt to bake and cook like star chefs and tide over the itch to dine out. It threw us the challenge and now, 2021 will implement trends formed out of the changes the year that went by brought us. With tables filling up at restaurants and cafés, the pandemic has brought with it some new trends and old beliefs.

Sumit Gambhir

Comfort is key
"On top of everyone's mind is comfort food; it never goes out of demand no matter the situation. In the pandemic, it has become more elevated, more decadent," says Sumit Gambhir of Woodside Inn, a gastro pub in Colaba, Bandra and Andheri. Recently, they shuttered their restaurant at Kala Ghoda, The Pantry, and turned it into a home delivery model. "Here, we always focused on local produce and healthy options. What happened in the last few months is that people started ordering elevated, home-grown ingredients at home," says Gambhir, pointing to burrata, farm-to-table fresh vegetables and capers, and even Assam black rice.

Xacuti made from mock meat

"Building immunity and healthy eating has become a lifestyle choice. It's pushed small and mid-level restaurants to add local produce to their repertoire," he adds. "We will reintroduce burger-in-a-bowl, a concept we had launched a few years ago. Casual and comfort food will reign but so will dishes that are a chef's take on casual dining." Sticking with the idea to reduce cold salads, their best-seller so far has been a warm turmeric chicken salad served with ghee vinaigrette.

Sairaj Dhond

Better ingredients to the fore
"People are more concerned about eating healthy and have become conscious of what's on their plate. This consciousness will increase in 2021 with more people adopting vegan, healthy and alternative foods," believes Sairaj Dhond who recently launched jackfruit meat under Wakao Foods, a sustainable foods brand that provides meat varieties from raw jackfruit to ready-to-cook jackfruit teriyaki and butter chicken options.

Moina Oberoi

"Options such as jackfruit [vegan] meat, which is the perfect plant-based alternative, will be on the rise, especially since it is versatile and inclusive for people with diverse dietary preferences. Well-cooked dishes will be preferred over raw food due to concerns surrounding the virus. Thus, ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook packaged food will be on the rise. With the overload of experimentation at home during the lockdown, people will move back to home-cooked traditional flavours."

Ami Shroff

That gut feeling
Moina Oberoi, founder of Moo's food, says although the food industry (both F&B and FMCG) struggled logistically and infrastructurally in the pandemic, the demand for food was surprisingly strong during the last quarter of 2020.

Gauri Devidayal

"Sales trends have pivoted towards two extremes - healthier food and comfort food. People are more aware of functional foods like probiotics, because the term 'immune system' has been rolling off tongues more than ever before. I project 2021 to be a year of extreme health and extreme indulgence. This means consumer behaviour will grow more conscious of sustainable food as well, eating more fresh and local, be it healthy or indulgent."

Mellow submarine pre-mix by Shroff

Still time for bars
While home food took a restaurant-style outcome, drinks, too, got a shot in the arm. Mixologist Ami Shroff says it will be a while until the bars will be able to be back in their best element. Till then, premixes are the rage. Drinking at home, straight drinks are not the lazy answer. "To keep the thirst for good drinks going, we created pre-mixers - from a sour mix of hibiscus flowers brewed with kokum with lime and jaggery to a cold-pressed apple blend with ginger, lemongrass and a hint of turmeric and orange. We hope to create a sustainable and inclusive approach, while providing delicious and natural cocktail pre-mixers. The bottle tags are made of seed paper with an optional bamboo basket packed in jute pouches or newspaper bags made using origami," she adds.

Quality, please
In contrast, Gauri Devidayal of Food Matters that runs The Table, Iktara and The Magazine Kitchen and Miss T, believes there will be no major change. "Turning healthy and adding foods that improved immunity was a knee-jerk reaction; it is a good thing but it will never be in the fore as far as restaurant dining is concerned. In the past few months, people started stepping out and it may not be as rampant but they want to enjoy good comfort food. This phase has seen a correction and got restaurants to focus on quality over price as people are certainly more selective about where they go. But when they are out, salad isn't necessarily the first option," she opines.

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