Millennial food trends to watch

“Millennials have wonderfully interesting food tastes,” says Jacquie Bols, owner of Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering. “After all, they have grown up with access to all kinds of cuisines from around the world.”

As a generation, Millennials (those born in the 1980s through the mid 1990s) do take food variety very seriously. Studies show they enjoy sampling national and regional flavors and sharing them with friends and family.

“This is a generation that looks for big and bold,” says Melina Romero, a trend associate at CCD Innovation, a food trends analysis and product development firm. “About two thirds — 67 percent —say they consider themselves to be “adventurous eaters.”

According to Jacquie Bols, “Planning an event with Millennials (customers, friends and coworkers aged 23 through 38) means you can have fun with your menu. They love to try new flavors and nuanced flavor combinations. That means we can have a great time planning the menu, and your guests can have a blast sampling everything from ‘earthy spicy,’ ‘smoky spicy’ and ‘sweet spicy’ — it’s that layering of flavors that makes our food much more nuanced.”

Here are 5 top food trends we see in upscale catering:

• Sweet & savory  – from bacon-topped desserts to sweet and salty entrees
• SouthEastern Asian spices – Sriracha has never been hotter, as are side dishes with Korean hot pepper sauces
• Fermented veggies are huge – as are kimchee and kombucha-based sauces in unexpected places
• Flavors of India – Chutney is back and bold, as are interesting appetizers paired with naan crisps
• Tunisian food is now trending. Watch for Harissa coming to a menu near you!

Ask us about some interesting new ideas for your next corporate event or celebration. We can go all out with new ideas, or pull together some new tasty ideas in side dishes, appetizers or main courses.

We’re all about making your next event memorable … and delicious!