Every year around this time, for as long as I can remember, we’ve been sharing my predictions for what the trends may be in the New Year. This year is a little more difficult to pin down and understand. In the words of Jerry Garcia, “What long strange trip it’s been,” Quite a few things have changed in the last 10 months. Consumer standards and preference have been disrupted, supply chains strained, manufacturers and workers put into unimaginable situations. Restaurant operations — the ones that have been able to survive — work with day-to-day changes that feel like an out-of-control rollercoaster ride. We are all grappling with the necessary safety precautions that most of our nation has embraced. There is a major change in how we shop, dine and receive our goods, touchless and online take-out and delivery of everything from your groceries to your medical marijuana. One of the most used phases in the business world is, “we need to pivot”.

I usually stick to food and culinary trends. I will be broadening the spectrum for 2021. I thought it would be more positive to include things I truly believe that we will be seeing more of, as well as things I hope to see.

Food waste and repurposing of ugly, blemished or damaged fruits and vegetables. I hope more people acknowledge the amount of food waste we produce in this country. It's something we need to start focusing on and change from the ground floor. It’s one of the biggest contributors to climate change and makes no sense while so many families go hungry. One simple thing is to gently demand that your local grocer donates or sells blemished foods instead of throwing them out. For an amazing in-depth plunge into ideas that work, both big and small, please check out our favorite not for profit, mindfulwaste.org. They are talking the talk and walking the walk!

CBD/hemp incorporated into more mainstream food and beverage (and textile/paper) products. It is now legal to grow hemp (the non-psychoactive crop) in 46 states. A profitable crop when farmed sustainably!

Fermented teas, a.k.a. Kombucha-style cocktails and mocktails. This is being done at home and branching out to small businesses everywhere.

Farms, ranches and fisheries will be selling more product direct to consumers as buying local is here to stay. I believe strengthening our own local economy is a great place to start and continue!

Restaurant/hospitality – I have to be an optimist. I believe in the strength of our nation's resilience to overcome this pandemic. Once the vaccine has been widely distributed my hope beyond hope is to see the rebuilding of this gigantic industry. How many of the 13.5 million restaurant workers will survive to fight another day? How many owner-operators can hold on until this happens? We shall see.
Mushrooming interest in mushrooms. I was speaking with R&D Chef Martin Daniels in Canada. I asked him to share what he sees on the horizon for 2021 for our friends to the north. Chef believes, “Mushroom will be taking more of a center of the plate when consumers discover there are more than flat caps and portabellas.” With similar views from across the pond is Heston Blumenthal, already blending wild and domestic mushrooms as center of the plate offerings.

As I stated in my last blog – more people are starting to choose a Flexitarian-style diet and there are growing number of manufacturers pivoting to fill this void. We will be seeing a rise of new products like the blended proteins I spoke about, becoming available for this small but growing demographic.

Such a large portion of consumers, due to the virus, have become reacquainted with cooking and baking more meals at home with and for the family. I see that continuing in 2021. People are stretching their culinary repertoires, seeking out new ingredients and cooking more globally while including their cultural roots. Let’s call this At Home Fusion Cooking! Raise your hand if you made sourdough bread and are still keeping the starter going.

Remember this; hunger doesn’t see age or skin color, doesn’t care if you have an MBA, PhD or a GED, doesn’t care if you're Republican or Democrat. Let’s us be mindful of our blessings as we slide into the last weeks of 2020. Please remember your fellow Americans and donate what you can all year! There are so many families struggling with food insecurity, loss of a loved one, loss of their income. Please be kind to others; every single human on Earth has a pandemic story.

Wishing you all a happy, safe and healthy holiday. May 2021 bring us all a deep sigh of relief! A ginormous "Thank You" to all the frontline workers in the multitude of jobs that continue to keep us moving ahead. Thank you to all our armed forces keeping the peace at home and abroad. A special thank you to all for reading.

Live well, always!

Peace, Michael & Kate

What will 2021 have in store for us?

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