The Most Exciting Culinary Trends You Need To Look Forward To In 2023

The coming year is set to be an exciting time for gastronomy lovers, not just in India but across the globe. Here are some of the top culinary trends you can expect to see in the coming months.

By ANUBHUTI KRISHNA

CUISINE-FORWARD TRAVEL

Food discovery has traditionally been a side effect of travel but is now metamorphosing into something much larger. Instead of looking for food where they go, travellers are now going to places, chosen especially for their cuisines. Lonely Planetʼs Best in Travel 2023 report has released an entire list of destinations to travel to for their gourmet offerings. Peru, Uruguay, Japan, South Africa, and Italy are some destinations that are expected to draw maximum international travellers looking for unique culinary experiences, and we are predicting that cuisine-centred travel would be on many bucket lists
in 2023.

ARTISANAL DESSERTS

Those days when one was satisfied with simple chocolate or vanilla-infused desserts are long gone, probably forever. Novel flavours and elaborate plates are all set to rule 2023. Think lavender honeycomb cheesecake and a rhubarb upside down cake made with fresh produce from Karnataka, served at Chef Vanshika Bhatiaʼs OMO in Gurugram. Well-travelled Indian foodies are seeking contemporary tastes and offerings that are at par with the best in the world—small-batch, hand-churned ice creams (Bono Boutique Ice Cream), gourmet mithai made with organic ghee (The Bombay Canteen), and indigenous tree-to-bar chocolates (Tamil Nadu-based Soklet) are some segments that will see great demand and innovation in the coming year.

SAVOUR NUTRITION

Nutraceutical gummies is a fast developing segment attracting a wide demographic of fans. Designed to provide health and wellness benefits, their popularity has been increasing across the world and will continue to see traction in 2023. According to MarketsandMarkets, the global gummy vitamins market size is projected to reach US$ 10.6 billion by 2025! With the Asian market growing rapidly, India-based brand Vi & Ash, is riding this nutritional wagon with their easy-to-consume fruit and coffee-flavoured gummies that are preservative-free, gluten-free, and vegan.

“Nutraceutical gummies are effective, delicious, and convenient while on the go. They make wellness both fun and functional, and are easy to include in oneʼs daily diet. As their popularity thrives globally, we expect a similar, steady growth in India, too.”
Vinti Rijhwani, Founder, Vi & Ash Wellness Gummies.

INGREDIENT-FOCUSED DINING

Ingredients are now the centre of attention when it comes to whipping up delicacies. From farm-to-table setups like MharoKhet in Jodhpur to Masque in Mumbai (which centres entire meals on ingredients like sea buckthorn and Ambemohar rice)—everyoneʼs focused on star individual elements that make up a larger dish. With sustainability as an important aspect of the culinary industry, the focus on ingredients—both local and foreign—will be at an all-time high in the coming year. Itʼs time to go in search of your favourite gourmet elements; we guarantee youʼll be surprised at the numerous dishes planned
around them!

THE RESURGENCE OF MILLETS

Native to the Indian subcontinent, millets are nutrition-dense, sustainable grains. Already popular, these are set to gain even more traction as the UN declared 2023 to be ʻThe Year of Milletsʼ. Traditional millet recipes like ragi mudde (dough balls from Karnataka), bajra raab (pearl millet drink), and ponkh salad (seasoned millet from Surat) will make a comeback, and international recipes will see innovation with millets. So, a gourmet burger made with a ragi bun, churros cooked with foxtail millets, sorghum pasta, and pizza made with proso are not far away.

“We are going to see a lot of momentum around millets this year, not only in restaurant menus but also in the packed food and snacking segment. People, today, are more open to learning about food issues and receptive to new ingredients, and this is a step in the right direction.”
Thomas Zacharias, Chef & Founder, The Locavore.

REVIVAL OF REGIONAL FLAVOURS

At Delhiʼs Indian Accent, traditional Gujarati khandvi is served with goat cheese as one of the courses. Avartana in Chennai uses local uthukuli (aromatic) butter to make butter chicken and beetroot toffee. India is embracing its culinary diversity like never before. Top chefs are exploring regional cuisines, diners are excited to taste unknown flavours, and the interest in hyper-local food is greater than ever before. In 2023, this trend is expected to turn into a movement, with the reach of regional and sub-regional cuisine extending to a wider audience in both fine dining and casual dining formats.

“Chefs are now digging deeper than before to bring unique and unknown recipes from specific sub-regions. So, what was just Bihari cuisine will now become Maithili Brahmin cuisine of Bihar or even Royal Cuisine of Bihar. I expect to see more sub-regional Northeastern and Konkani food emerging in the mainstream in 2023.”
Chef Manish Mehrotra, Indian Accent.