Food critic Urtė Mikelevičiūtė told us what we will eat in 2021

Urte, let’s talk about next year’s food trends, what will dominate our table in 2021, what will be new, and what will remain old.

Every year, for many years in a row, I analyze global trends in food, beverage and restaurants. Watching them for many years shows a very nice continuity and most trends just mutate, some, as in fashion, go through cycles, fading and coming back on the wave again.

Although many think that 2020 has changed everything, I would dare to say in food that not so much. Yes, the fact that it has thrown everything off balance, especially when it comes to restaurants, but the gastronomic fads themselves or the general trends have remained as predicted.

By the way, in preparation for this interview, I had two excellent long talks with two Lithuanians who work in restaurants abroad: chef Tomas from Oslo and Ignu, who currently works in Denmark’s most famous bakery.

Do you think simple meals will stay in cafes and restaurants when they open, or do we want something more sophisticated because home cooking will be boring?

I would highlight two links. It’s been called “home cooking” since last year. Comfortable food was upper part. Many restaurants moved into it, including Good dinner restaurants were inspired by the kitchens of mothers and grandmothers or by old recipe books. Therefore, this direction will develop even more strongly as many luxury places change concept and direction, eg. Eg specializing in takeout or open food stands.

There is another direction, when we really return to normal life, people will miss more sophisticated dishes, those that are not made at home. Fewer people are expected to go to restaurants than before the pandemic, but their basket per person will increase.

This year, the borders were often closed for travel, it was not so easy to go abroad. Has this slowed the spread of food ideas from other cultures, or will it only bring new winds next year?

I would not agree to pause. Perhaps it simply spread faster due to increased use and communication on social media. There, knowledge flies faster than the impressions that travel brings.

People at home remembered not only the dishes of their country (which is also, in a sense, a strengthening of culture). Lithuanians themselves learned to cook zeppelins or make homemade dumplings.
People have also tried other countries, p. Eg the same Mexican or Asian dishes.

Maybe you know which country kitchen will conquer the world next year?

For the second year in a row, the world says African food culture is spreading. Average, maybe it wasn’t that familiar, so chefs and food bloggers want to get to know it and get a closer look at it. Easy to predict through spices, that’s what the trend is called: Egyptian – dukkah, Bahian spice – a mix of African, Portuguese and Brazilian Berber berries originating from Ethiopia, Mexican Tajin and crispy chili from China.

Another of the cuisines is the Balkan.

There was a time when everything was fermented, from vegetables to tea. What approach will we follow this year?

Urtė: The tan doesn’t go away. There is still talk of its benefits. In general, it may not be the form itself, but the food that strengthens the immune system. To do this to maximize the benefits of the product for the body. E.g. quick freeze. And, of course, the benefits of the product itself for the body.

What about drinks? I think the fermented tea drink – kombuča was a real “bomb” this year. His species appeared incessantly not only in niche food stores, but also in ordinary supermarkets, from Lithuanian to Portuguese. What are the beverage trends for 2021?

First of all there are non-alcoholic beverages that resemble alcoholic beverages. E.g. As the chef, who works in Norway said, last year non-alcoholic gin made fun of all Norwegians, and now he’s happily enjoying himself. After all, there was a ban on alcohol in restaurants during this pandemic.

There is a lot of talk in the world about non-alcoholic beverages with a mild intoxicating effect, p. Eg with CBD or super strong tea.

There will also be bars on the wave that create non-alcoholic yet impressive cocktails.

Tea, coffee, of course, with clear geographical indications and stories. Filter coffee and various brewing methods not only in coffee shops, but also at home.

When it comes to alcohol, the world is getting worse. The transition from strong or beer to wine (statistically).

I also notice something strange with the bread. When were Lithuanian popular, then lavash, French baton, then chiabata, etc., what kind of country bread will we choose next year? Maybe the ones we’ve never tried it on before?

Clearly on the wave now sourdough bread. Lithuanians are still learning how to bake it, comparing what quality we should see. There is still a lack of understanding and quality. It is not a specific type of topic or trend, a tendency to talk about flour, where it comes from, what its type is. Give sourdough be Gliuteno.

Lithuanians have always valued and will appreciate rye bread. She will not disappear from our table anywhere.

To the trend I would add corn tortillas that do not disappear from fashion and do not disappear. baguettes and whistles.

Many liked fresh Italian cheeses: mozzarella and burata. Perhaps the latest food trends are driving what will enrich our taste experiences? In which country will this product be?

A surprising direction is cheeses of non-animal origin. Mozzarella is nowhere to be found, as Italian cuisine is always in fashion. From cheese, cheddar, like British cuisine, intensifies. We remind you of feta!

A couple of years ago the avocado reigned. It seemed to be found on all dishes. And now? What to prepare from fruits or vegetables to take to your daily table?

The avocado was a new banana. I don’t know if anyone could have thought that would be the case. The interesting thing is that there is a lot of talk about chickpeas. And not only in the form of hummus, also flour from them. By the way, they are great to use in place of protein for vegans and vegetarians.

All beans completely bombina. And olive oil, maybe not specifically olive oil, but there is a lot of talk about its flavor and benefits for the body.

Soups Where to get ideas for making them?

As I told someone recently, the soup has risen from the dead. Of course, it is best if you follow chefs, food bloggers, read magazines or cookbooks; you will find inspiration for everything there. You can look for it in movies or series: watch what they eat. The cinema also sometimes dictates fashion. From ramen to Minestrone, from borscht to gaspati. Sometimes inspiration and memories, what Grandma did, or maybe just in the fridge, they open the door and make soup out of what is.

And what Lithuanian dish will be reborn on our table next year?

Urtė: Now we see the birth of the white mixture. Even the ones that have never produced do so. Kugel, cutlets, boiled cottage cheese, borscht. It would be great to make chests. In recent months I have seen so many people on social media preparing dishes for their great-grandparents, grandparents, Samogitians, and Suvalkians. But I won’t predict it one hundred percent. Who would have thought that Lithuanians would like octopuses so much that they would only eat them in restaurants?

Well, and in the end. What kind of gastronomic zinc awaits us in 2021, something we may not have even thought about?

Urtė: Regarding restaurants, this will slightly change safety and hygiene, the distances between tables will increase, it is expected that there will be no tablecloths, the waiter will wear gloves. Printed menus will be drastically reduced, moved to phone, apps or on the table as QR codes.

There is also a trend that has not been fully understood: mushroom cultivation and mushroom fillets (structures similar to real ones).