Autumn food trends: Gourmet fast food and fusion

James Birch, Development Chef at Unilever Food Solutions, explains some of the new food trends he is seeing for pubs and restaurants:

“We’re seeing restaurant chefs try out new fast food concepts, both as a creative outlet and because it makes business sense. This could be as a pop-up at a local food festival or a scaleddown menu at quieter times of the day or week. “There are two key trends in the fast food area:

Gourmet

“Using more high-end, sophisticated ingredients, such as better-quality or local meat in burgers, handmade pizza dough with buffalo mozzarella topping or hot dogs with creative topping such as crispy fried ham, roasted peanuts or hoisin sauce with freshly grated ginger.

Fusion

“This is all about unlikely food pairings – Indian breads stuffed with Mediterranean chicken and tzatziki or Mexican tacos filled with Korean ingredients. “These styles are popular with a foodie crowd who are looking for quick meals that have interesting flavours and good quality ingredients.”