2020 Vision

The industry gives us their take on what the biggest trends will be this year

THE GM

STEPHEN O’CONNOR

General Manager, Limerick Strand

Food sustainability and menu provenance “locavore” is becoming an extremely important factor for the hospitality industry. Food and beverage choices are increasingly being made by conference organisers in particular to minimise impact and maximise enjoyment. Our Executive Chef, Tom Flavin and his culinary team pride themselves in serving the finest quality of Irish cuisine with an emphasis on fresh, seasonal produce. All the food is traceable and where possible, we place a very real emphasis on using locally sourced and produced products, offering a “taste the place” menu. Catering to special dietary requirements, such as gluten-free, plant-based and dairy or lactosefree, is also becoming mainstream and not so much “speciality”.

THE HEAD CHEF

DAN KEANE, Urban Brewing

I think this year we’re going to see a huge shift in the mentality of chefs themselves. Everyone is talking about sustainability but I think that starts from how we order our food. From running the kitchen here, I know that every chef is sick of getting all their produce covered in plastic packaging. I think chefs are going to start reacting more to that and hopefully that will affect the manufacturers and the people that are actually packing it and sending it in.

I think the rise of casual dining will continue. You’ll always have the fine dining restaurants that people will want to go to but everyone else is going to get to a very high standard of casual dining. With the publication last year of the Noma Fermentation book, I can also see a lot more old school practices coming back in, highlighting the things we’ve lost in the past 20 years. Pickling, preserving and fermenting will become more popular. I do it myself and I’ve just gotten into foraging. I’m developing a proper passion for it and I can see it permeating its way through the industry.

THE WORKPLACE CATERER

MARK ANDERSON

Culinary Director, Gather And Gather Ireland

The most obvious food trend is around sustainability and plant-based food, although I prefer to call it plant-led food. I think that’s set to continue. When you hear the horror stories coming out of Australia, I hope what’s going on there will help refocus people on where and what they buy. We shouldn’t be asking ourselves how expensive food is; it should be about paying the right price for food.

For kitchens, there has to be more focus on wellness and mindfulness. We rightly go on about sustainability but we need to look at the sustainability of chefs themselves. What are we doing to be more diverse and inclusive? The world is changing and we need to go back and see how we’re educating our young people coming in. It’s a fantastic industry but we need to sell it and position it in the right way. There are so many horror stories out there but I hear horror stories from lots of different industries. It seems to be cool to just focus on hospitality. We also need to challenge some of the so-called heroes in the industry about what they’re doing in their kitchens to make sure they’re creating a sustainable environment. I think that leadership and empathy are skills you need to run a kitchen. It’s about understanding and listening to people.

THE COFFEE INNOVATORS

FRANK KAVANAGH & PETER SZTAL, Cloud Picker

Over the years, technology on automating coffee equipment has enhanced rapidly. What would have once been shunned by the everyday barista is now welcomed with open arms. The likes of the PuqPress and the Ubermilk have allowed baristas to speed up workflow, reduce the likelihood of wrist strain from continuous tamping and reduce waste.

In our own café, we’ve seen it firsthand. Since opening, we have saved on wasting approximately 3,950 2L plastic milk bottles. Using this machine also allows for optimal milk management – no one likes crying over spilled milk! We expect to see further efforts being made in automation which will have countless benefits for the business and customer alike.

The purchasing power of the coffee consumer is set to get even stronger. As everyone gains a greater understanding of the price of coffee, consumers who purchase cups of coffee or bags of coffee beans can forge a closer relationship with the individual farmers who’s coffee they enjoy most. Via innovative payment models coined ‘tip the farmer’, consumers will be able to scan unique barcodes and directly fund farmer operations instantly, from Donegal to Burundi. Consumers will be able to directly help grow coffee communities in the most remote areas.

THE CONSULTANT

RUTH HEGARTY

Agency Director Of Egg&Chicken Food Projects & Consulting And Head Of Community Of Chef Network

The plant-based side of the industry is obviously a major growth area. I think that move towards plant-based food could very much play into the hands of big industry. There’s a huge opportunity to try and get more people focused on actually eating more vegetables and I think it would be great to see it going in that direction. Our industry and chefs have so much influence, it would be great to see chefs taking up the mantle and being more creative with vegetables. Let’s try and think about putting vegetables centre stage and giving fruit and vegetables the respect that we tend to give meat and fish.

We’re facing into a very challenging period for restaurants. The issue around skills and chef shortages hasn’t improved and now we’re seeing the closure of really good restaurants. I think mandatory calorie counts on menus would be a really terrible move. The industry is saying it will be costly and difficult to implement and I fully agree with those arguments but I really feel that the central argument around this shouldn’t be that it’s costly. It should be that it’s not the right approach. We should be focused on building healthy attitudes towards food; focusing on calorie counting isn’t the way to do that. Taking our lead from the US in terms of policy around food and health isn’t a very sensible idea.

THE FRANCHISER

TONY MCVERRY

Managing Director, Esquires Coffee Ireland

When it comes to beverages, the big trend is the move away from dairy in milk-based drinks. I remember a few years ago if you had soya, you were doing well. Now, we have soya, almond, coconut and oak milk. That demand is growing all the time and it’s the millennials and Gen Z that are driving these changes. I would estimate that in our milk-based drinks, 20% are non-dairy. Over the past two years, the popularity of cold brew coffee has been building and I think it will continue to grow. This year, we’ll be introducing cold brew tea. We do reasonable business every summer with iced teas but I believe that will change. Cold brew tea is the trend in Europe and the USA and I believe it will hit Ireland either this year or next. In Ireland, we tend to be a bit more traditional than the UK and the USA so it takes us that bit longer to catch up with trends.

On the food side, over the past 12 months we’ve been seeing less meat-based dishes being ordered for breakfast. The trend is for more veg and egg-related dishes. We recently introduced Shakshuka and it’s flying out the door, particularly for brunch at the weekends.

THE TRAINER

GAVIN MCDONAGH

Head Of Chef Development, Baxterstorey

This year will more of an emphasis on healthy food and in some of our commercial units, particularly the ones aimed towards kids, we’re moving away from fried foods and introducing healthier options. We’re also working on reducing the meat content in some of our dishes and introducing more plant-based and vegetable-based dishes. I’m a big advocate of fermented and pickled products from a digestion point of view and I can see that trend increasing this year. I also use fermented items for seasoning; a lot of chefs wouldn’t see lemon juice as an option for seasoning, but it works well. The stigma around workplace catering is changing, we’re moving away from opening packets of frozen veg and I think that’s something else that’s set to continue.

THE RESEARCHER

MARY FARRELL

Executive Head Chef & Head Of Culinary Research, Enterprise And Innovation, Morton’s And Sons

The relentless march of the plant-based diet continues. We at Morton’s are seeing changes in eating patterns where meatless meals are becoming increasingly popular, whether they be vegetarian or vegan. We’re continuing to expand our range to cater for the increasing demand and this is my area of expertise. It’s an area that’s made easier with new food products coming on the market such as vegan mayonnaise, vegan cheese, vegan tuna etc. However, these products have to live up to the taste test and many currently do not. I have tried vegan parmesan and vegan tuna substitutes and they will not be entering my kitchen any time soon. I think innovative ways of using pulses, grains, spices and pickles to create interesting vegan and vegetarian options are likely to become more mainstream. Meat substitutes are certainly a hot topic in culinary media but the pros and cons are being debated. Regardless, they will make an impact in the culinary world; we’re already seeing it with the success of Greggs vegan sausage rolls. I think it’s more likely that many people will opt for the flexitarian diet, choosing to eat meat intermittently as the novelty of the vegan diet wears off at the end of January.

THE BREWER

JASON O’CONNELL

Owner, Galway Bay Brewery

We feel that people are sick of the trends that define January. They’re sick of the whole vegan/ vegetarian/no alcohol trend and just want to get back to normal. For the past two Januaries we’ve been slightly busier and I think the reason for that is people just want a beer and a normal life. From a beverage point of view, mixed fermentation and sour beers are becoming popular. We’re seeing a growth in stronger, Classic West Coast 5-6% IPA’s.

We also sponsor Food On The Edge and we collaborate with chefs on a beer for that event. For us, it’s about showing chefs that having good beer on your menu is just as important as having good food and wine. The trends we’re hearing about in relation to the growth in low alcohol beer aren’t true as far as we’re concerned. If it was a big trend, it would be on tap and there’s no non-alcoholic beer on draft in any bar in Ireland from what I can see. I think the change there is that you have a bigger choice of non-alcoholic beers, which is great news for everyone.

THE INDUSTRY VETERAN

JOE MACKEN

Restaurant, Hospitality And Catering Consultant

In this new decade, we’re set to see new openings based on our ever-changing society – regional Chinese foods, Filipino BBQ, Caribbean and more from Ghanian, Nigerian and West African cultures. Our own belief in new Irish food and in our produce will continue to grow. Chef-led restaurants are opening at a fast pace all over the country while chefs, farmers and growers are combining their knowledge and re-finding old skills. The most interesting part of this will be the story of where our food comes from and how it has benefited the environment around us, particularly in the beef sector. As restaurants trends are normally followed in many cases by supermarkets, we need to lead the charge in showing more respect to the animals we rear by eating all of them – the nose to tail approach is now being echoed in how fish is considered and delivered to table.

Uber Eats/Deliveroo/Just Eat will continue to grow and as margins become tighter, restaurants will open a “second channel” under a different name that just supplies the delivery market essentials – you will see restaurants on your app that are being served directly from the kitchen door.

THE EXECUTIVE CHEF

GARY ROGERS

EXECUTIVE CHEF, Conrad Dublin

Vegan cuisine is definitely a big trend I see coming. We have already worked on our new menu to include permanent vegan dishes (we have a Sweet Potato and Quinoa Cake, served with cumin hummus, parsnip crisps, couscous and coriander. We are planning for more in the coming months).

Healthy eating and being conscious of where food is coming from is another trend we’re seeing. Luckily for us, we already ensure that whenever possible, we use fresh, local Irish produce from our Irish suppliers and ensure a farm-to-fork strategy in our cuisine. We also make sure to check our suppliers are sustainable as it’s a priority for us to continue working for the environment. We’re aiming to become as waste-free as possible in the kitchen; we’ve started reusing blitzed old bread in fresh new bread mix. We also recycle coffee grounds and send it off to our local farmers.

DENISE MAGUIRE

Editor, Hotel & Catering Review

Anything that attempts to counter the effects of climate change has to be commended, but the rise of meatless meats must be approached with caution. A product that contains more than two dozen ingredients probably isn’t going to do anything for your health and may not be making a positive contribution to the environment. As Ruth Hegarty mentions in this feature, rather than switching our reliance from meat to overly processed substitutes, we should be encouraging our chefs to be more creative with the vast array of vegetables that are available to us on our island. If the government makes good on its promise to bring in mandatory calorie counted menus, the industry will be forced to comply with admin-heavy legislation that in reality, probably won’t lead to a healthier nation. The intention may be admirable but the practicalities associated with implementing such onerous laws certainly aren’t.

THE GM

FRANK MINOGUE

GENERAL MANAGER, Armada Hotel

Recruitment and recruiting chefs in particular is an ongoing issue. So much more can be done at ground level to make it more attractive for people to join the industry. Rising insurance costs are going to cripple smaller businesses unless they are tackled on a national basis. It’s a much bigger problem than people perceive in that fraudulent claims are more prevalent than ever before. It’s important that hotels continue to offer something different; ensuring the guest experience is better than your competitors is key. New offerings from an F&B point of view including brunch, afternoon tea, whiskey collections, gin offerings and cocktails are all areas that are currently trending and I expect that to continue.