If 2022 was marked by the invasion of burrata, non-alcoholic drinks and the consolidation of “dark kitchens”, those industrial kitchens that are focused only on delivery, what can the stomach expect for the year that has just begun?
Trend reports, specialized publications and even Google searches bring their bets, among them a triumphant return of the experience of eating out.
Analyzes like these are still an exercise in futurology contaminated by different lobbies, and what becomes fashionable abroad does not always reach the Brazilian table. Still, there are some possibilities to consider.
Sociologist Dario Caldas, founder of the Observatório de Tendências, has no doubts: 2023 will be the year of fungi. “They are everywhere, in fashion, in industry. And in food, we detect
interest in them as a functional food is growing.”
Mushrooms are also featured in the trends report prepared by AF&Co and Carbonate, two American strategy companies focused on tourism and gastronomy. The document points out that now it will be the turn of maitake, a Japanese variety of fungus that can be toasted or fried, and consumed as an alternative to meat.
Ingredients that offer extra health benefits, such as fermented foods —as is the case with kimchi and pickles—, are on the rise, says Rosa Moraes, hospitality and gastronomy ambassador for Ânima Educação. In this area, what stands out is the use of algae, she adds.
She mentions the presence of the ingredient at Ceto, a restaurant on the French Riviera with a menu signed by Mauro Colagreco —an Argentinean also ahead of Mirazur, which tops the list of the 50 Best of 2019. “A good part of the menu has dishes with seaweed, which can having different types and colors. I keep imagining the potential that exists in Brazil”, he says. Among the recipes is a zabaione (kind of cream) made with the raw material.
It is something that goes in the same direction as predicted by the American newspaper The New York Times, for whom 2023 will taste like the sea, with seaweed and sea urchins reaching the gondolas.
Other bets? The return of “nostalgic snacks”. “You know when you go to a cocktail party and they serve weird appetizers, but you just want kibbeh, risoles?” asks Caldas. “Well, there will be a mixed scheme, with more snacks to balance it out.”
Other than that, the sociologist also predicts a decline in the so-called vegetable meats. “People are questioning whether they really indicate more health or if they are more like ultra-processed foods.”
This quest to learn more about the origin of what is consumed is also the idea of chef Janaina Rueda, from A Casa do Porco and Bar da Dona Onça, in São Paulo.
“There will be an appreciation of cleaner and fairer food”, he says. “People want to know more about where their food comes from and are concerned about how it’s made if it comes from local producers.”
And the picanha? The noble cut of beef ended up even in the last electoral dispute, with the newly sworn-in President Lula saying that it would return with force to the weekend’s barbecue. Judging by the trend in red meat consumption, however, this may not be the case.
If in 2006, still in the first of the PT governments, Brazilians consumed an average of 43 kilos of meat per year, in 2022 this number recorded its lowest historical value: 24 kilos.
“The answer is the price”, says economist Carla Beni, professor of MBA courses at FGV, arguing that the average inflation of the last four years was 28%, while that of beef was 78%.
“So, right away I already say that in 2023 we will eat more pork, which has increased much less.”
Moraes, from Ânima Educação, believes in the development of national charcuterie, with handcrafted recipes for salami, copa, bresaola and sausages making an appearance. Within this field, delicatessen from the sea deserves attention, says the hospitality specialist. As an example, there is the artisanal fish sausage produced at Ocyá, a restaurant on an island in Barra da Tijuca, Rio opened in January last year.
The economy should also shape other consumption patterns, in the opinion of Caldas, from the Observatory of Signs. According to him, trips to restaurants may be restricted to a few, and delivery apps will continue in full force, but consumers should start to prefer to pick up food instead
to pay the delivery price.
“The withdrawal scheme is becoming stronger, because the freight price will weigh,” he says. It is something that could become even stronger in the face of a possible bankruptcy of the company that mediates between couriers and the iFood platform, leader in the segment. That’s what Abrasel, the association that brings together bars and restaurants, fears, as anticipated by Folha’s column Panel SA. This would cause a whole remodeling of this business.
“The fact is that the apps modernized services that were in the hands of very traditional companies”, says Vagner Bessa, manager of economic indicators at Fundação Seade. “It was an innovation that caught on and that only tends to get stronger with hybrid work and distance learning.”
Carla Beni, economist at FGV, believes that restaurants will see an influx, especially in São Paulo. “With the end of the pandemic, there was a pent-up demand. And the restaurant is São Paulo’s beach.”
The New York Times is also betting on this same pent-up demand. Bars and restaurants will invest in the whole experience, including musical attractions, in what would be an evolution of the piano bar.
If the subject is bars, by the way, Brazilians can expect wines with less alcohol, which move away from the 14% mark, according to Paulo Brammer, director of the Eno Cultura school, in São Paulo. It is because today there is greater concern with health and because this is in line with the preferences of generation Z, less inclined to alcohol consumption. “These are wines that help you not to feel bad the next day.”
According to him, red wine is still very strong in the country, but a change is gaining strength. “I’m not saying that 2023 will be the year of white wine, but it’s a growing category,” he says. With good light and fresh representatives, the category goes against the hot climate in the country.
WHAT CAN COME OUT THERE
I like sea
Algae and sea urchins are on the rise and should appear on supermarket shelves and restaurant dishes
sprouting around
Mushrooms will be even more in the spotlight, and the trendy variety could be maitake.
on a tray
Coxinha, kibbeh and risoles can make a strong return to cocktails
less hangover
Wines with lower alcohol content are on the rise in Brazil, and white wine can conquer territory in the country
tracked food
Customers will be even more concerned about the origin of what they eat and whether it comes from local producers
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