10 Restaurant and Food Predictions for 2023

Communal eating understandably fell out of favor during the pandemic, and many people aren’t ready to return to buffets or reach into the same chip bag. But forecasters see a change coming. “If you look at what our lives were like for a couple of years, we didn’t share because sharing was considered dangerous,” said Ms. Lefebvre of PepsiCo Foods. “Now the sense of community has never been stronger.”

That’s in part why her company in November introduced Minis, tiny versions of snacks like Cheetos and Sun Chips in canisters that make it easier to pour some into a friend’s hand. It’s also behind the growing popularity of appetizer and dessert towers, and large-format cocktails like the $100 Disco Mule served in a big disco ball at the Tipsy Alchemist in Austin, Texas. And there might be no better indication than the rising popularity of food for a crowd than the continued growth of food served on a communal board that started with the charcuterie craze.

The vibe goes beyond products. Restaurants, coming out of the pandemic into a new era of staff respect and community love, are sharing more information about the people behind the food, whether listing the names of the whole crew on the menu the way some restaurant name farms or, in the case of Hi Felicia, a new kind of homegrown, high-end restaurant in Oakland, Calif., encouraging diners get to know the entire staff by name.

And Bonus Small Bites

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/27/dining/restaurant-food-trends-2023.html