Santa Maria Foodservice reveals food panel findings

Santa Maria Foodservice has released the results from a panel of European food experts about food, the market and the consumer with a focus on delivering the innovation ‘sweet spot'.

The group, including experts from restaurants, wholesale, B&I, fast food and independents from Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Norway and the UK, comprised chefs, menu developers, food scientists, a mixologist and a perfumier.

One common conclusion amongst the experts was the importance of "pushing the menu and trying new things", including: fermentation, mixing up traditional and new cuisines, smoking, specialist spices, sprays, gels, foams and sensory influences.

The top inspirations for new trends were celebrity chefs, nature, social media, customer feedback and inspiration from the past "Retro-isation". The top cuisine trends identified were: Japanese Peruvian fusion; strong and sour (Norwegian); health conscious and warm salads.

Moving forward we are advised to look-out for edible labels, tricking the taste buds, changing textures and food that challenges your perceptions.