The key food trends ahead that we'll see popping up over a growing number of menus include root to shoot dishes, more veggie and vegan plates, and West African flavours, according to Just Opened London. Veggie offal ‘Root to shoot’, ‘root to fruit’, ‘root to stem’ or 'vegetable offal' is a cooking style that utilises the whole plant - roots, stems, peels, seeds and leaves. ‘Throw nothing away’ is the mantra of root-to-shoot cooks. It’s the ultimate in fruit and vegetable preparation; focusing on using every possible scrap of produce. Basically, the aim is to eat the entire plant, such as carrot tops, cauliflower leaves and even potato peelings. The goal is to find a use for these typical ‘waste products’ within the kitchen, rather than throwing bits away. Carrot top pesto has emerged this year and ‘ash baking’, which uses pulverised onion skins, is on many menus. Dan Barber’s ‘wastED’ popped up in Selfridges in the spring and swiftly sold out, and Skye Gyngell introduced ‘Scratch’ menu based on this concept. Other fans of stem-to-root cooking are Waitrose executive chef Jonathan Moore, and Dev Biswal, head chef at the Michelin-starred Ambrette restaurant in Kent. Veggie & vegan dishes get exciting As diners demand more vegetarian and vegan options, whether it's a life choice or just another option, these dishes will get more widespread and more inventive. Good examples of where we will be going is Gizzi Erskin’s Pure Filth pop up at Tate, which focused on nutritious, plant-based ‘junk’ food, and Tredwell’s Chantelle Nicholson cooked up roasted cauliflower, saffron, cornichon, caper and lemon. Modern West African cuisine Up until now, this food has mainly been found in certain city areas of the UK in high street takeaways and home-style casual diners. However, now restaurateurs are exploring modern ways of presenting African flavours. Zoe at Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen is popularising these flavours and this year, I Go Chop in Camberwell launches – a modern take on the high street counter takeaway, followed by Ikoyi, which serves up Sustainable cocktails As the sustainabilty drum has been beaten for years now when it comes to food, it's now time for drinks to join the party. ‘Closed loop’ cocktails are now emerging which are made with ingredients people would usually throw away. We're also seeing more sustainable ingredients being used and plastic straws being ditches, led by Mr Lyan (Cub, Super Lyan) Duck and Waffle and Trash Tiki. (source: Just Opened London, image: pexels)