A couple of years ago, few would have predicted that Kombucha would be so common place, or that eating bugs would no longer be a challenge on reality TV shows, but a reality itself!
Food trends are dynamic and can sometimes arrive left of field, but The Food Show brought it all together, making it the perfect place to find out what’s new in the foodie world.
FMCG Business Editor Tamara Rubanowski got amongst it on the first day and found that the healthy living trend is still going from strength to strength. Fresh juices, organic ingredients, glutenfree, vegetarian and ‘made in New Zealand’ products attracted lots of attention. The Proper Crisps stand was buzzing, offering hand-cooked crisps with Parsnip, Potato and Kumara variants, all made in Nelson.
Sweet potato and vegetables in general are clearly new hero ingredients, as is turmeric, which was evident in many products such as Alchemy’s Golden Turmeric elixir. Chef Simon Gault wowed the punters with his new Ketchup that is sweetened only with veges, while the pure delish team introduced their take on Bircher Muesli and a glutenfree ginger crunch biscuit.
There were fantastic cooking demos with celebrity chefs, including Annabel Langbein and loads more inspiration for healthy living at the CERES stand and their Healthy Living Hub.
Indulgent treats were also on offer, with premium artisan cheeses in the Huntley & Palmers Cheese Alley, along with copious beer, wine and dessert exhibitors at the show.
The Food Show team shared their top five food trends to look out for this year:
1 International cuisine – With increased access to foreign countries, it comes as no surprise that we are starting to open our palates up to more international flavours. This year at The Food Show you could just about eat your way around the world with exhibitors from more than 20 countries, including: Portugal, Switzerland, Samoa and many more.
2 Beer – Beer isn’t just beer anymore, it’s an art form. With the craft beer revolution well underway The Food Show decided to make a whole alley dedicated to the liquid. Brewer’s Lane was bountiful with varieties you could never even imagine!
3 Subscription services – We live in a world of convenience and thanks to the Internet we can now have nearly anything delivered to our doorstep. Think gourmet meals, unique brews from around the world, or fresh fruit and veges from the local market.
4 Pushing Boundaries – Many believe that today’s society can’t be shocked – millennials are often called the most underwhelmed generation yet! But The Food Show continued to push the boundaries when it comes to quirky and unusual food.
5 Bugs – Bugs are the way of the future! They’re a great source of protein and replacing meat with our not so creepy crawly friends is set to have an incredibly positive impact on the environment. Bakeworks launched its brand new protein bread at the show, made with cricket flour and turmeric.
The Food Show Auckland takes place this weekend from 27 – 30 July 2017.
