My Predictions for 2019

Micro cuisines will begin to emerge in the marketplace as a way to identify with our history.

As the world becomes smaller due to globalization, we try to remember where we came from and what makes us unique. Food and scent are deeply tied to memory and are powerful beyond what’s on your plate.

More styles of pizza are on the horizon!

Many people are familiar with Chicago deep dish, New York and San Francisco’s unique Neopolitan style. Have you ever heard of Detroit pizza? Or bar style pizza? There are more styles out there as well. Great news for pizza lovers!

Regional cookbooks are on the rise.

More and more regional cookbooks are being published, especially from southern states which are claiming their individual heritage.

Communal dining is on the upswing.

We are lacking the human interactions that a decade ago were commonplace. So many of us spend all day in front of a computer and we continue to outsource our shopping and errands more and more (Instacart and Amazon Prime continue to grow).

Restaurants are responding by offering more communal dining tables, teambuilding activities, and public cooking classes, giving us the opportunity to break bread with strangers.

As we grow increasingly technologically advanced and further away from the agricultural communities of the past, cooking classes and shared dining will continue to be popular not only as a way to connect with others but as a way to learn about where our food comes from. A memory that stands out from a recent cooking class was a guest who thought that rice was made from potatoes!

As a side note, community living is also on the upswing in urban areas!

Meal delivery kits falling out of favor.

While they are a great way to get people comfortable in a kitchen and follow a recipe, the recycling waste and transport issues have garnered more and more public outcry.

Keto is out, but paleo is still strong.

Food as medicine continues to loom large with a variety of diets on display, from oil-free vegan to high-fat diets rich in organ meats.

Mocktails and other non-alcoholic drinks will be in the rise.

People are asking the question, “What do I drink when I’m not drinking??”

Photo by Cozymeal.