We asked experts from the world of gastronomy what will be successful this year
the business of anticipate what will happen in the coming year It is in low hours since, at the beginning of 2020, a virus from China blew up any forecast. It also happens in the field of gastronomy. No one saw the unstoppable rise of the ‘delivery’For example, a trend born in a pandemic year and consolidated in 2021 and 2022.
To try to focus on what 2023 will bring with it, we have consulted with leading figures in the world of gastronomy: here is what their crystal ball tells them.
Inflation will make us vegetarians
The side effects of the war in Ukraine are going to make “consuming animal protein less and less sustainable,” according to Borja Beneyto, ‘Matoses’, co-founder of Brandelicious, a marketing and management consultancy in the gastronomic field. “Restaurants are going to have to control a lot the meat and fish they offer to maintain prices. This is going to cause the proportion of vegetable ingredients and carbohydrates in the menus to rise& rdquor ;.
Beneyto believes that this change will be especially important in the case of Spain, “a country where the weight of meat and fish on menus is very large.” Rafa Vega, owner of the restaurants Fornería Ballaró (Madrid) and Pinsa Madre (Rota, Cádiz), believes that the Inflation will also force us to “rationalize the menu” and give priority to traditional dishes and proven success such as “pasta carbonara or ‘amatriciana'” in the case of its restaurants, specialized in Italian cuisine.
The time revolution
“This year we are going to talk about sustainability, but inward: about how the hospitality sector is going to have to learn to streamline schedules, improve salaries and retain talent,” he says. Paco Cruz, The Food Manager, ‘monetizer’ of restaurants, as he calls himself. For Cruz, this is a pending issue for “decades” and he believes that 2023 will be the year in which “The hotelier is going to have to learn to manage, not only for his employees to live better but also for him to live better”.
Mary Ritterdirector of Guía Repsol, also considers that “the sector will have to improve working conditions to make them attractive to well-trained professionals”. Restaurants will also bet more and more on digitizing processes: “We are no longer only talking about reservations, but about the management of ‘stocks’, for example,” explains Ritter. Cruz is also of this opinion and believes that this coming year will bring about a significant change (for the better) on restaurant websites or on their social media channels.
The ‘gourmetization’ of breakfast or snack
The gastronomic experience expands beyond lunch or dinner. According to Ritter“perhaps you don’t want to spend 70 euros in a restaurant with Sol Repsol, but maybe you do have 15 or 20 euros to have a full breakfast, a homemade cake or a signature cocktail. The options to enjoy at different times of the day will multiply.”
Hyper-specialized ‘Delivery’
Burgers, yes, but ‘smash burgers’. Pizza, yes, but ‘pinsa romana’. Matoses considers that the new ‘delivery’ will tend more and more towards “’hyperspecialization’, so that the client can establish comparisons and share their impressions on social networks & rdquor ;.
The large groups will continue to command
Different restaurants but under the same umbrella: “The large investment groups will be the ones that will continue to command the main openings in the coming months. Of course, they will not risk too much with formats: what works in Barcelona will be exported to Madrid and vice versa”, bet Cruz. An apparent diversity of concepts to choose from, but concentrated in very few hands.
More interesting restaurants in neighborhoods, outskirts of big cities or towns
“There is a generation Z in gastronomy that is returning to the towns and is doing very interesting things. The diner seeks to go to those points of interest, travel and discover”, explains Ritter. “It is a question of authenticity but also of price: it costs less for the chef to launch his project outside the city center”. Cruz connects, Furthermore, this trend “with more controllable models, with only a couple in charge and a smaller team, as happens with restaurants like Ceibe (Ourense) or Monte (Asturias) and that have emerged as interesting gastronomic options”.
A new client: the ‘regenivore’
In 2023, the client will practice, more and more, the conscious gastronomy. “He is a consumer we call ‘regenerivore’ and that demand sustainable, local products with minimal impact on the environment. Taking care of the origin is going to become more and more fashionable,” says Beneyto.
Lots of fun
“Restaurants have become a mode of entertainment,” explains María Ritter and, according to the experts consulted, there are no signs that this trend will loosen up in the coming months. For Rafa Vega, “the ‘happening’ has broken into gastronomy and there are customers who are waiting for things to happen around them”. In other words, the show -whether in the form of dances, songs or fireworks- has come to stay and entertain lunches and dinners.
Great chefs at a more affordable price
Dani Garcia, Dabiz Muñoz… many of the great chefs have chosen to diversify their culinary universe into tickets that are more affordable than those of the mother house. “I would not be surprised to see more flashy chefs doing this: it is a perfect way to get the most out of your personal brand. Haute cuisine is not always recognized in economic terms,” foresees Miguel Ángel García.
Supermarket menu of the day!
Rafael Vega believes that supermarkets are going to replace, more and more, restaurants with menus of the day. “The food of great consumption that people take home is developing at full speed in supermarkets, where it has an increasingly large space that is going to increase.” Beneyto believes that behind these options there is a reason not only of convenience but also “of price” because “cooking at home It’s getting more and more expensive.”.
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According to the consultant, we are witnessing a “hypersophistication of the fourth and fifth range” and, in addition to take-away food from supermarkets, he mentions what can be ordered to receive at home: “Better quality options are going to emerge every time that will allow you to have nutritious dishes at home that adapt to your needs”.
Cooking (at home), is it going to end? The answer: next December 31st.