Breakfast pizzas are to become a fixture of restaurant menus according to one of the UK’s leading ingredient manufacturers supplying the hospitality sector. Macphie Ltd has observed that a breakfast version of the flatbread staple is now being served as an alternative to classics such as eggs benedict, avocado toast and bacon rolls - and now features on 2.9% of restaurant menus, a number that is predicted to soar to 15% in the next four years. The £60m brand, which supplies many of the biggest names in the restaurant business has seen demand for its range of cheese sauces and sweet toppings grow significantly. Its Aberdeenshire-based development chefs have been swift to respond, providing clients with inspiration courtesy of a range of breakfast pizza recipe suggestions.

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Data from Lumina Intelligence's Menu Tracker shows that burgers have made significant strides in becoming a staple main course dish on restaurant menus. With a 13% share of main course dishes, burgers now hold the third spot and have grown their share versus Q3 2022. This growth can be attributed to restaurant operators anticipating customers' desires for indulgence during the festive season. Despite this, pizza still dominates the main course scene, holding a 19% share on restaurant menus. Most operators offer a variety of pizza options, which has helped maintain its leading position. The data also reveals a focus on Italian cuisine, with Italian dishes seeing a 2% growth compared to Q3 2022.

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The UK food and drink industry is powering through, adhering to creativity to propel sales as menu counts are on the rise in all channels: pubs & bars, chain restaurants, QSRs and Coffee & Sandwich shops. A new report from Lumina Intelligence's Menu Tracker reveals that the average number of food and drink items on menus in the fourth quarter of 2022 reached a record high of 151, a 2.7% increase from the previous quarter. Pubs and bars saw the largest increase in menu counts, with an additional 10 items added to their menus. All channels saw growth in main course dishes, reflecting the creativity and innovation of the UK's food and drink industry. Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) were the only channel not to increase its total drink count.

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TikTok has generated multiple food trends since its inception — with users on the social media platform inspired to try their hand at cooking all sorts of fun recipes after viewing how-to videos. This has led food experts at Top 10 Prepared Meal Delivery to wonder – what are the most popular TikTok food trends? To find out, the experts collected the number of views of the top food trends on TikTok and can now reveal all, including the fact that every top 20 entry is vegetarian, which mirrors the demand made by diners. First place goes to cloud bread, with 3.2 billion views. Many of us have tried making our own loaves of bread at home, with varying levels of success. But cloud bread is unique in the fact that it is a fluffier alternative to normal bread.

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Bidfood has revealed the key emerging cuisines that are gaining traction in 2022 that we are likely to see popping up on menus at eateries that want to explore new flavours. The Pacific Rim With true fusion of exotic and fresh flavours, and some key dishes like the Hawaiian poke bowl being linked to health credentials, this cuisine is set to keep appearing more on menus and growing in popularity. We've seen the rise of poke chains and these flavours are sure to grow across other eateries. Filipino Filipino food is also known as ‘the ultimate fusion cuisine’. More restaurants are specialising in Filipino cooking, and classic dishes like adobo with its salty, sweet and sour notes are appearing on the high street.

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According to the latest research from Lumina Intelligence’s Menu Tracker, average dish counts across chain, managed pub/bar and fast food restaurants are up +5.5% in Spring/Summer 2021 versus Autumn/Winter (AW) 2020, with an average of four menu items being added. Fast food operators have seen the biggest increase in dish counts on menus, up +6.9% in SS 2021 to 47 dishes. In comparison, managed pub/bar restaurants have seen menus grow 4.4% to 63 dishes on average and chain restaurants +5.8% to 64. Despite increases across menus since the peak periods of the coronavirus, menus are on average 20% smaller than pre pandemic. Operators continue to battle staff shortages, supply chain disruption and price fluctuations whilst considerable uncertainty whilst planning SS 2021 menus would have contributed to continuing to restrict some items.

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Consumers’ focus on health during the pandemic is likely to make vegetarian and vegan dishes more prominent on menus than ever when the hospitality industry is able to open again, CGA’s MealMetrics service reveals. A record number of 125,000 people signing up to the ‘Veganuary’ campaign indicates that the pandemic has prompted many people to adopt meat-free diets. CGA’s MealMetrics showed that the number of food pubs offering vegetarian and vegan burgers jumped from 70% ahead of the UK’s first national lockdown to more than 80% by October 2020, nd with an average meal price of £9.90, these items have frequently provided good margins. CGA’s separate BrandTrack research meanwhile found that a quarter (25%) of consumers in Britain were seeking to reduce their meat consumption.

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According to latest piece of monthly analysis from Lumina Intelligence’s Menu Tracker, across Spring/Summer (SS) menus in 2020, 17% of mains have a fish or seafood core component and 21% of starters have a fish or seafood core component. Both of these are up 1pp versus SS 2019. Prawns and squid are the most popular types of fish to feature within starters – 33% of starters include prawns (+3pp YOY) and 25% contain squid (+6pp YOY). Prawns are also the most common type of fish to appear within main courses, with salmon second most popular. 37% of main courses include prawns (+3pp YOY) and 16% include salmon (+0pp YOY). Calamari is the most common starter and fish & chips the most common main course.

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While it is fair to say that there are a lot of strange things afoot and gaining popularity in the food and drink industry, we'll see a lot of past favourites, with olive oil making a comeback and carob among the zanier offerings, according to the Green Seed Group. Middle ground between functional & decadent food Extreme food and beverage trends, even if they are a whole lot of fun to take Instagram-shots of, don’t tend to last very long. Whether it’s one of those ridiculously huge burgers smothered in enough cheese sauce to fill several bowls of mac and cheese or cookie dough coated in cotton candy, these kinds of decadent foods are on one side of the fence. On the other, you have more functional options – that is.

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If you’re wondering what consumers will eat when they dine out next year, think alternative proteins, ethnic-inspired breakfasts or veggie-carb substitutes, and you’ll be on the right track, according to our new research on food trends for 2019. America's National Restaurant Association’s 2019 What’s Hot Culinary survey found that guests are looking for great tasting foods that also are healthful and sustainable at the same time. The survey, produced annually in partnership with the American Culinary Federation, is a barometer of food and beverage trends around the country. This year, we looked at the responses of approximately 650 professional chefs – all ACF members. “These foods, already popular in consumers’ own homes.

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Chefs from leading luxury hotel brand InterContinental Hotels & Resorts have revealed their most sought after ingredients for 2019. Foraging finds – sloe berries, cornelian cherries & spruce tips Eberhard Lange, Head Chef, Hugos, InterContinental Berlin said, “We are seeing a real increase in people looking for regional and seasonal produce that is only available from local producers or specialty grocers. We are moving away from mass supermarket purchases and are looking for unique ingredients that are new and only available to a select few. Some good examples are sloe, cornelian cherries or spruce tips.” “Sloe, a berry that is often used in gin, is sour and bitter to taste. The cornelian cherry.

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Enthusiasm for vegetables among both chefs and consumers is booming. Vegetables are often taking centre stage while meat, if incorporated at all, is playing second fiddle, providing a broth or accentuated garnish. From whole baked cauliflower, to mashed pumpkin spread on sourdough toasts, veg is bringing it's A-game for 2018. It's not just the trendy new bistros and cool-kid cafes that are going full throttle into veg heavy dishes either. McDonalds recently trialled a veggie burger called the McVeggie, which was met with huge social media fanfare and could be rolled out in the very near future. Vegetarianism, as well as veganism, is of huge public interest and with a surge of vegan magazines and recipe columns in the broadsheets.

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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.

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New research has revealed that 74% of diners are open to trying new vegetarian ingredients and dishes out-of-home, and a further 60% find typical meat analogues such as vegetarian sausages and burgers unappealing. With the vegetarian market predicted to be worth £882.4m in 2016, caterers are being encouraged to raise their game when it comes to vegetarian menus. The independent study, commissioned by Vegetarian Express, showed that 9% of diners want to see more meat-free options. Pasta dishes (54%), curry (52%) and stir fries (46%) were the top dishes that diners want to have a vegetarian option for. (source: www.vegetarianexpress.co.uk/)

New research by OpenTable, the world’s leading restaurant booking service, reveals that almost 8 out of 10 (79%) diners feel restaurant menus can be overly confusing, and over half (51%) the UK have had to ask a waiter/waitress to explain an item on a restaurant menu. As a nation it appears Brits aren’t embarrassed by their confusion with three quarters (76%) of the UK admitting they’ll happily ask a waiter/waitress to explain an item on the menu. Additionally, it seems women are more inquisitive than men, with 54% of female diners admitting they have asked for an item to be explained, compared to 49% of men. Though, when analysing the data by age, it was revealed that the younger generation are more reluctant to ask for assistance.

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It’s no secret that spicy is an incendiary menu flavour right now in the UK and the US. Technomic’s Flavor Lifecycle, which tracks flavours on their journey from innovation to ubiquity, shows many mature staples in the States, that we also see in the UK, including chilli, jalapeño, Cajun, and Buffalo. The tracker also shows what’s likely to come next. Bernadette Noone, vice president at Technomic, said, “Menu categories see wide variation in flavor innovation. Aji amarillo, a South American yellow hot pepper spice, is the leading cutting-edge spicy flavour in appetisers; while in entrées [starters], it’s sambal, a Southeast Asian favourite. 'Spicy flavors that are one step closer to widespread acceptance.

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Menu Trends, the latest report from foodservice consultancy Horizons, reveals how British menus are becoming increasingly eclectic. Some of the newest ingredient trends picked up by the survey include the wheat-free, grain-like superfood quinoa, the use of which has doubled on menus since winter 2014 and is now on menus at Hilton, Nando’s, Leon and O’Neills. South American seeds have also become more widely used including amaranth and chai seeds, which have a delicate nutty flavour and a high nutritional value, used in breakfast and dessert dishes at All Bar One, Pod, Castle Pubs and Le Pain Quotidien. While burgers and steak may still be the most frequently listed items on British menus, dishes from Middle Eastern.

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Small-plate menu items have risen 25% on menus in a year-over-year comparison in the UK, according to Technomic's MenuMonitor. Small plates allow customers more ordering flexibility, whether they desire just a snack or a full meal across several dishes, and offer a variety of price points. Ethnic small plates are making waves right now by allowing customers to sample, pass and awe at dishes that may be unfamiliar to them without having to make the commitment of ordering an starter-sized main dish. Darren Tristano, Executive Vice President of Technomic, said, 'Operators have a tremendous opportunity to gain share of stomach by offering small-plate options. Restaurants can be creative with their menus.

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Having clearly labelled free-from dishes on the menu will become an increasingly vital part of a restaurant’s offer as a growing proportion of the population become concerned with food ingredients, allergens and the desire to eat a more health-conscious diet. As the Food Information for Consumers Regulation has just come into force [13 December 2014], which requires foodservice operators to provide information on 14 listed allergens on all food sold, foodservice insights consultancy Horizons is urging operators to go further by offering a choice of free-from dishes. “We have been monitoring consumer demand for free-from dishes for some time now,” said Horizons director of marketing Emma Read.

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Horizons' latest Menurama report shows that whilst Italian remains the top cuisine on menus, American dishes are now more popular than British. All sectors and day parts have been influenced by the US, from pancakes at breakfast to hot dogs appearing in the top 20 mains in pubs and hotels. Meat is still very much the focus of this American influence, with hot dogs, pork ribs, pulled meats and flat iron steaks all appearing frequently on British menus. Horizons believe that this trend is set to continue, with a growth in BBQ, 'low and slow' and authentic US comfort foods such as mac 'n cheese and buttermilk fried chicken. Dishes are also becoming more regionalised, such as Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich.

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