Chefs are becoming more and more inventive with food presentations, making for some pretty outrageous creations. Love it or hate it, a quirky presentation gets people excited. Outlandish f&b displays are a new experience and, perhaps more importantly, they’re highly Instagrammable. Rather than scoffing at the latest food craze, corporate meeting planners can take advantage by offering trendy foods at their next meeting or event. This shows off your ability to keep up with the latest trends. Even better, it encourages attendees to take and share pictures—can you say earned media? Here are the latest, greatest and most eccentric options to choose from.
1. Black/Goth Ice Cream
Wearing the color black has always been chic. But what about eating it? Since Los Angeles-based ice cream shop Little Damage introduced its “Almost Charcoal” flavor last April, it has been immensely popular and even made its way to New York. As the flavor name suggests, the ice cream’s dark hue comes from activated charcoal. This is thought to have detoxifying properties, which lets you check off another f&b trend!
2. Ube
Ube is another ingredient attracting attention with its color. The purple yam has long been a common ingredient in Filipino desserts, but now the United States is taking notice. Ube has a mild sweet flavor, making a versatile item with a variety of applications. It’s often sold frozen, in a jam or in its original vegetable form.
3. Cold Soups
It seems like not too long ago everyone was raving about the juicing craze. So souping isn’t too much of a leap. Cold soups typically use vegetables such as carrots or avocado. The health benefits are obvious, and changing the lower temperature is less maintenance.
4. Edible Flowers
Perhaps you’ve seen this at a wedding once or twice. The trend is now gaining popularity among all types of meals and events. It’s an easy way to make any dish pretty and it’s a little more interesting than the typical garnish. Let your mind run wild with this. Many have thrown edible flowers in a green salad, baked them into a cookie or even sprinkled them on pizza.
5. Upcycled Fruit
The whole upcycling trend began in an effort to promote food conservation. Simply put, this means that all parts of the fruit or vegetable are used in order to minimize waste. This is often accomplished by repurposing the outer shell of the fruit. For instance, you could serve a watermelon salad and use its rind as a bowl. Some are also taking this trend out of the kitchen and using fruit and vegetable waste to craft instruments, candles, sculptures and more.
6. Sushi Burger
Is the original form of sushi so outdated and conventional that we now need it in both burrito and burger form? Depends who you ask. Using all of the same building blocks as a sushi roll, rice is molded into a bun shape, and raw fish, avocado and other components are sandwiched in the middle. Restaurants serve it in a variety of ways. Some have crafted bite-sized burgers while others have served it up in a more-burger-than-sushi fashion.
7. Matcha Green Tea
Many have crowned matcha the healthy alternative to coffee. The green tea product does have health benefits, while also providing a solid energy boost. The tea has become such a fad that it’s literally seen in everything. Matcha-flavored ice cream, chocolate, crepes, smoothies, macarons, pastries—you name it.
8. Unicorn Foods
There’s no telling how much longer the unicorn obsession will last. The unicorn food trend requires a rainbow coloring (often pastel) and/or sprinkles. Bonus points if the dish also has something resembling a unicorn horn. With Starbucks on board, this trend has definitely hit the mainstream.
9. Overloaded Desserts
Have you ever seen a picture of a truly decadent dessert and wondered whether someone would actually eat that? Well, that qualifies as an overloaded dessert. Often photographed for its appearance and decadence, these over-the-top creations are undeniably taking social media feeds by storm.
