Wednesday, 8th June 2022
It’s about the Individual: Shifting Focus in Commercial Food Preparation
As the food industry starts to find its feet again as Covid-19 settles into a more manageable epidemic, we take a look at some of the trends in 2022 – largely impacted by changes from the past two years – that will affect commercial food production as the year goes on, and into next year.
Adjusting food servings for smaller, more intimate events
The impact of Covid on large catering events has been significant with the requirement now for smaller, more intimate and complex (in terms of catering) events the preference over large, buffet-style catering requirements.
Practically-speaking this means more individual servings and portions with a higher degree of complexity, which will impact on planning and preparation. This in turn means that caterers and commercial food preparation staff will need equipment that is able to handle varying quantities of foods to be prepared but also have a high degree of quality from a visual perspective – from conveyor ovens to bar marking grills, foods will need to be prepared and presented with the above in mind.
More diversity
Covid-19 kept hundreds of millions of people at home for extended periods of time, and with it came a renewed sense of exploration around food. With more time on their hands, people were trying new cuisines from around the world, and with that has come an expectation of more diversity.
Consequently, food manufacturers need to provide a range of menu items to meet that expectation – whether based on the region or country they’re in seasonality, or other factors. From a food production perspective, this means ensuring that equipment is diverse enough to prepare a wider range of foods.
Healthier eating
Health foods have been an ongoing trend for some time, but the pandemic put a whole new emphasis on eating to stay healthy. Consumer behaviour shows that people are thinking more and more about how food affect their health, wellbeing and immune system, and how their eating habits can impact them in the long term.
When you look at this in conjunction with the rise in popularity of plant-based foods (again, seen as healthier options) fresh foods that appear healthy, nutritious and less ‘processed’ are shaping up to have a strong year.
Specialty diets
Added to the expectation of more diversity, customers now also want to see a wider range of healthier diet options on menus, as well as more availability and diversity of options for specialty diets such as plant-based and gluten-free.
From a preparation viewpoint this in turn means understanding not only what needs to be prepared but being able to do so with the requisite quality and presentation to match expectations.
The industry is constantly evolving, and Covid-19 was just an accelerator of change. Setting up a commercial kitchen to handle these trends is an absolute must, starting with food preparation equipment that helps to meet quality and presentation standards at the highest level.
Speak to our trained team at Frampton Worldwide to find out more about our wide range of bespoke industrial ovens for grilling, flash roasting, bar marking and more.
Call us on 01354 650569 or email sales@framptonworldwide.com.