The pandemic wreaked havoc around the world and forced everyone to stay home for their safety. The situation compelled us to pause for a while. Some people started a garden while others started baking bread. Some households even started making fermented food or pickled vegetables.
These were the food trends that started when everyone was hunkering down and keeping safe at home. But with the continued rollout of the vaccines, the end of the pandemic is coming. With this, there are a couple of food trends for us to watch out for after the pandemic ends.
Breakfast
The work-from-home arrangements of many companies gave people more time in their hands every morning. Instead of rushing out for their daily commute, they can relax on the porch for a while with a cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. It also gave them time to have a real breakfast at home instead of a granola bar on the train.
Even if the pandemic is over, some companies will continue their work-from-home arrangements with their employees. So, more people will enjoy a good breakfast before they work. Fast food restaurants may even offer new breakfast items suitable for employees who have to work on-site after the pandemic.
Food Delivery Services
Food deliveries saw a significant increase in demand when the pandemic started. The increased demand covered both deliveries from restaurants and groceries. Industry watchers expect the share of restaurant food deliveries to continue increasing in the next few years.
Meal kits are among the items that will enter the delivery market as people will start to try out pre-prepared meals they can eat at home. Additionally, alcohol deliveries may also increase, particularly in the states that allow them.
Plant-based Dishes
With more household having their gardens, plant-based diets will gain more popularity. While the industry saw a slowdown at the start of the pandemic, it is expected to pick up once everything goes back to normal.
The International Food Information Council revealed that around 28 percent of people got their protein from plants during the pandemic. People will also start to eat good-tasting vegan food. Some fast-food restaurants may even start offering plant-based dishes in their menu in the future.
Individual Celebrations
The Centers for Disease Control and Preventing (CDC) released guidelines about parties and celebrations that people may hold at home or anywhere else. These guidelines discouraged large gatherings and sharing of food utensils, and offering self-serve food options. Instead, organizers can offer pre-packaged food boxes to the attendees.
This practice may carry over even after the pandemic ends. Instead of one large cake, people may start seeing cupcakes and other individually prepared dishes on the food table. Buffet-style food services may be frowned at. Organizers may even use a rented sound system to call tables to get their food for the party to avoid crowding on the food table.
Virtual Cooking Classes
Virtual classes were popular during the pandemic. These classes included the regular classes of school-age children and fitness classes. Virtual cooking classes also became popular as households tried to vary the dishes served at home every day. The teachers include ordinary food enthusiasts to well-known chefs.
These virtual cooking classes will continue even after the pandemic ends due to their popularity among many households. Besides teaching them to cook everyday meals, these classes will also introduce dishes from different countries and cultures worldwide. People will look forward to these classes every time they feel like cooking something special for the family.
Exploring Other Cultures
Virtual cooking classes will introduce viewers to food from different countries and cultures. A well-known chef or foodie will likely demonstrate how to prepare the food and cook it in front of the camera. With this, people will see more food posts showing dishes from other places in the world.
This may even pique the interest of some households, and they will research more about these cuisines. If there’s a restaurant close to their place, they may even drop by or order takeout. They may even have the food delivered to the house.
Pickling Food
Pickling or fermenting food is one of the food trends that became popular during the pandemic. It was so popular that mason jars were hard to come by. Due to this, people started to explore canning. The popularity of pickling came after people started harvesting the produce from their home gardens and placed them inside jars with pickled red onions, cucumbers, and radishes. And its popularity will not wane even after the pandemic ends. People will continue pickling food and show them off on their social media accounts.
Different food trends emerged during the pandemic, and some of them will remain popular even after everything goes back to normal.
