Now well into the New Year, what can we expect to find when it comes to the food we eat at home? What about the food we eat at restaurants and buy at the high street supermarkets as both strive to find the next big trend?
You can almost guarantee that we will see the year split into seasons as the food industry capitalizes and submits to public demand for seasonal, local produce with provenance. As a chef I am in favor of this move from the high street supermarkets and restaurants allowing us all to enjoy the food of our heritage.
For too long have we been depended on ready or convenience meals with too much added salt, sugars and E numbers. Take time to check out the ingredient lists on packaging before purchasing ready or convenience meals. High street stores such as Marks and Spencer pride themselves on Clean Dec ingredients; Clean Dec meaning ingredients that have no enhancers or stabilizers. So many more food developers are being requested to develop products using ingredients with traceability, provenance, local and seasonal to Britain due to consumer demand.
Top TV chefs are leading the way in various campaigns to regenerate British produce, at a small but well worth cost to the consumer. When it comes to food I strongly believe you get what you pay for, try to buy the best quality produce you can afford. Cook simply and sympathetically and you will be able to taste the difference.
Expect to see healthy and more nutritional produce to give us the kick start we all want, and possibly need after Christmas. Healthy eating will continue throughout the year as many of us heed the warning of obesity. Dishes such as quick healthy and nutritional chicken stir-fries rather than large roast dinners incorporating plenty of fresh seasonal vegetables, giving us the boost of vitamins and minerals we all need.
We will see Great British classics to beat the credit crunch sitting alongside mouth watering Asian flavour profiles, which are becoming more widely available due to consumer demand after an increase in foreign travel to Asia.
The use of sensational yet simple produce, to give us a sense of well being with the freshness of the ingredients playing a pivotal role on the menu and on the packet, with smaller portions for 'grazing style' eating for busy people on the go. Bread products such as sandwiches are making way for healthier, enjoyable tasting products such as Thai flavoured snacks along with the already popular Sushi from Japan.
When at home we must take a more hands-on approach in the kitchen, getting better acquainted with local produce and returning to classic methods of cooking will help people save money and eat better. With the economic recession affecting most of us, cash-strapped Brits should follow in the thrifty footsteps of their grandparents and turn to traditional cooking to see their way through the recession. By rediscovering simple, traditional and seasonal food, credit-crunched Brits can take control of their food budgets enjoying long lost dishes of their childhood.
Investments in good easy-to-follow cookbooks are more fashionable than ever as we try to save money by eating in, rather than eating out. Cooking is a great way to bring the whole family together and sitting down at meals times and recapturing lost times. If possible get the children to help in the cooking as part of the obesity problems lay with the generations inability and lack of interest in cooking good wholesome foods and being reliant on take-away. Learn to check out the nutritional values of products we buy or produce we use to cook at home. Keep to the low fat and low salt options whilst trying to incorporate exercise into the daily routine. The feel good factor will soon return if we follow the simple guidelines.
Slow cooking is a great way to cut your food bill, opt for cheaper cuts of meat and chuck steak rather than rump or sirloin. Let them stew during the day while you are at work. They'll be wonderfully tender by the time you get home for tea. Further into the year all market leaders will captivate the consumer with British regional produce in an attempt to regain the UK food identity and maintain a lower 'price point' to entice us all to buy as we have been use to in the past.