This is an exciting time for foodies and restauranteurs alike. There have never been more diverse dining options, with bold flavors, healthful options and traditional model disruption. Here are five restaurant trends we’re excited about at Restaurant Technologies:
Street food-inspired dishes
Since food trucks came into the gastronomical purview a few years ago, it was often thought that a large kitchen with all the accoutrements was necessary for creating complex flavors and beautiful dishes. However, when the traditional city street cart got an upgrade with the proliferation of pseudo-gourmet food trucks, that tradition was squashed. We love the trend of street food inspired dishes because they’re smaller and it’s an easy way to get lots of flavors into one meal, similar to tapas. From shrimp tacos to falafel to banh mi sandwiches, we love that restaurants around the country are following the lead of our on-the-go society by bringing these flavors indoors and putting their own twists on them.
Chefs opening quick service restaurants
Michelin-starred chefs have been shirking their traditional kitchens and staff and going into quick service enterprises with restaurant developers. And why not? Though chefs pride themselves on their ingredients and recipes, bringing good food to the masses is high up on the list of most of their missions. Since the world is becoming more global, it makes sense to branch out from a one brick-and-mortar and increase one’s presence in the restaurant and food landscape in a new and refreshing way. And there’s one more factor not to ignore: you can’t beat the press of a chef opening a 99 cent burger chain after having tremendous success with $250/plate dinners.
Pop-up restaurants
The food industry seems to have taken a cue from the fashion industry and is getting more involved in pop-up restaurants. Some open kitchens in already-established mixed-use or retail spaces to add more excitement and others pop up in unexpected neighborhoods. Most recently, NYC’s Noma pop-up sold out at a whopping $2,000/person. Noma’s chef has created pop-up restaurants in Australia and Mexico previously, bringing his gourmet ode to foraged food across the world (and even fed culinary students for free).
The Internet of Things connectivity
With the internet of things and connected devices, restaurants can become more savvy about their ingredients, equipment and waste management, creating more sustainability and keeping employees safer in the kitchen. For example, at Restaurant Technologies, we are able to monitor a restaurant’s oil usage and quality so we can drive our dynamic distribution of oil. We can even automate a text to tell managers when they’re using too much. The more technology is introduced to restaurants, the better quality foods and experiences customers will have.
Bringing the outdoors in
We know that hyper-local sourcing of ingredients has been a huge trend in the past few years, with many chefs featuring not only the towns, but the farms, from which they sourced today’s plates. But as this “farm to table” trend has continued to grow, restaurants are trying to visually mirror this trend. By introducing more live greenery inside the restaurant itself, patrons are reminded of the freshness of ingredients and the accompanying smells can add to not only the ambiance, but the flavors and taste as well.
Got another restaurant trend that gets your tastebuds dancing? Share it with us on our Facebook page! And if you’re looking for more information about how Restaurant Technologies can streamline your back of house operations, check out more information on our total oil management solutions or click here to request more information.