Winter 2020: the latest food trends

Chocolate

Since Covid-19 arrived, we’ve been comforting ourselves with sweet treats. Sales of big bars of chocolate have increased by a huge 61.6%, and multipacks and snack sizes by 31.5%.*

This trend to treat ourselves can be made the most of in Out of Home outlets. For eat-in customers or takeaways, look at creating some indulgent chocolate bakes.

Jazz up your standard brownies with chunks of Oreos or Rolos. You could sell selection boxes of brownies with customers pre-ordering online. If you have a top baker in your kitchen, consider offering birthday cakes piled high with chocolates as well.

Peanut butter

There’s a new favourite spread in town – peanut butter has bumped jam off the top spot. In the 12 months to the end of April 2020, £98.9m was spent on peanut butter in supermarkets compared with £96.9m on jam. Consumers are going crazy for the nutty stuff at home so why not try it on your menu?

Is peanut butter healthy or not?

Peanut butter is a tale of two camps – the healthy and nutritious, and the ‘bad for you’. The nutty spread is touted as a healthy protein source and is rich in the ‘good’ unsaturated fats. So, you often see it used in healthier meals and bakes. But there is another side to peanut butter – extravagant desserts and OTT milkshakes. Which camp are you in?

One thing is for sure – virtuous or not, peanut butter has big appeal to the Instagram generation so make sure your creation has that visual appeal, so your customers do the advertising for you.

Look out for roasted varieties which give an extra nutty flavour boost. Hi-oleic peanut butter is also worth a try – these peanuts are naturally sweeter.

Peanut butter recipe inspiration

Comfort food and winter are best buddies so stick this peanut butter recipe on your menu this festive season to cheer everyone up. This peanut butter cheesecake is amazing and can be kept in the freezer, ready to be sliced when needed.

Posh pies

Pies are often thought of as a quick grab-and-go snack or a rustic pub meal. Think again. The era of the refined pie is upon us. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with the more humble pie; it’s still up there as an all-time favourite. But this trend offers the inspiration to take your pies to the next level.

Calum Franklin, Executive Chef at Holborn Dining Room in London, is leading the new pie brigade with his brilliant collection of stunning handcrafted pies. He’s bringing back the craftsmanship of traditional pies to showcase this British great.

Sharpen your pie skills with Calum’s recipe for Curried Mutton Pie.