2020 Christmas food trends
Christmas is the time to celebrate, and what better way to show your appreciation for your friends, family and colleagues than with everyone’s favourite thing – food. More special and sociable than simply taking everyone out for drinks, a dining experience creates a sense of occasion and provides a chance for guests to communicate properly.
We’ve put together our predictions for the biggest Christmas 2020 food trends, from the unstoppable rise of the sustainability revolution to the return of fine dining. Once you’ve got some inspiration for how to impress guests, take a look at our exceptional Christmas party venues to ensure a dining experience with a difference.
Experiential dining
With so many amazing eateries to choose from in London, restaurants are looking for more ways to stand out from the crowd, and what better time to go all out than Christmas? Diners are no longer satisfied with just incredible food, they want to have an experience when they’re eating out.
From live performances to immersive theming and even arts and crafts, the capital offers something for everyone to make their special occasion extra special. Here at The Collection we love watching the thrilling aerialists, contortionists and fire-breathers at Circus while we tuck into the delicious food on offer.
Meat alternatives
Yes, we know this isn’t a new trend, but it’s one that gets more popular each year, especially during the festive season. You won’t find a restaurant in London that doesn’t have a vegetarian or vegan option on their Christmas menu, as the amount of delicious, nutritious meat alternatives available continues to grow.
The newest development is ‘meat blends’, which involves swapping some of the meat content within products for ingredients such as cauliflower, chickpeas or mushrooms. This means you still get the taste of meat, but it’s a much healthier way of consuming it. With products such as chicken and sweet potato sausages making their way into the market, it’s likely that chefs will start experimenting for the Christmas season.
Non-alcoholic drinks
In keeping with the massive focus on health and wellness we’re seeing in 2020, more and more event-goers are choosing mocktails over cocktails, or going straight to the soft drinks. When dining out in winter 2020, expect to see the list of non-alcoholic alternatives be at least as varied as the boozy options.
We’re not talking about a lemonade with a bit of flavoured syrup in it, either – from Seedlip’s game-changing ‘spirits’ to the continuation of the kombucha revolution, you definitely won’t be missing out if you decide to skip the alcoholic options. The Lost Alhambra has a selection of creative mocktails that we think are as good as the real thing.
Sustainable sourcing
In 2020, diners now expect rather than hope for their food to be sourced and prepared in the eco-friendliest ways possible. From using ingredients grown and produced in the local area, to working with suppliers who don’t use plastic and minimising food waste in cooking, most restaurants are now doing whatever they can to make the food industry more sustainable.
This is good news for diners, as it means Christmas menus will be more varied than ever before, thanks to many chefs only using the freshest seasonal ingredients, and coming up with new recipes to use them in.
A focus on fish
Thanks to the trend of ‘seaganism’ (when vegans supplement their diet with seafood) and chef Josh Niland’s The Whole Fish Cookbook, fish is having a moment. The cookbook explains how every single part of a fish can be used in creative and delicious ways, helping to reduce food waste and encourage innovation in the kitchen.
One of the methods Niland suggests is to dry age or cure pieces of fish in the same way as meats such as salami, helping them to last longer and give them a rich flavour. It might sound strange, but it’s becoming increasingly popular – you might be seeing trout instead of turkey on your 2020 Christmas menu!
Fine dining
We’ve seen fine dining fall out of favour in the last few years, thanks to the massive street food trend and the rise of casual food hall-style eateries. However, 2020 promises the return of the ‘proper’ restaurant, as diners look for venues that offer a sense of occasion.
This is especially true during the festive season, when bosses start looking for somewhere a little different to hold the work Christmas party. We’ve seen some lavish dinners take place amongst the Georgian architecture of 116 Pall Mall and underneath the blue whale skeleton in the Natural History Museum.
Feeling inspired to try these delicious dining trends for the festive season? Take a look at our list of Christmas party venues.