Trends That The Best Food Caterers Are Following 

All opinions are mine and mine alone.

Trends That The Best Food Caterers Are Following  

People are always changing their opinions about what they want to eat—this can be influenced by changes in culture, fad diets and revelations in health information. Catering companies need to constantly have their fingers on their pulse to know exactly what their client-base is hungry for and what they don’t want to see on their plates. If a catering company wants to find any success in the business, they will have to follow these three trends responding to customer demands.    

 

Better Ingredients 

Experts have found that there is a growing consumer demand for better ingredients when it comes to food— you can see what forward thinking caterers are doing to meet this demand by looking through their menus. Innovative caterers are modifying their recipes, carefully researching their ingredient sources and opting for transparency to please clients. Companies are emphasizing their use of local, seasonal and high-quality ingredients to show that they are not cutting corners and to assure clients that their food will be well worth the cost.   

Sustainability  

Another trend that savvy catering companies are responding to is the consumer demand for sustainable ingredients and eco-friendly food practices. One company that prides itself on using the best ingredients possible is The Food Dudes, which has event catering, food trucks and several successful restaurants in Toronto. They have ensured that their menus have a strong focus on healthy and eco-friendly food —they use hormone-free animal products for their meat dishes and they source sustainable fish for their seafood dishes. The Food Dudes invest a lot of effort to acquire sustainable and wholesome ingredients so that their customers have a delicious and guilt-free dining experience.  

Dietary Restrictions   

People are becoming a lot more open about their intolerances, allergies and restrictions when it comes to food. For instance, one of the growing trends in the food industry is the needfor gluten-free meal options—this is related to the higher diagnosis of celiac disease, which makes gluten difficult and painful to digest. Beyond the rise in medical diagnoses, gluten-free diets are also part of an extremely popular health trend for those without celiac disease—the dieters believe that the ingredient makes them bloat, gain weight and feel sluggish. Clever catering companies understand that many customers can’t or won’t ingest gluten, so their menu needs to have recipes with gluten-free alternatives. Caterers can use gluten-free alternative ingredients like rice, bulgur, buckwheat, millet, corn, quinoa, oats, and polenta in their dishes.  

Here is a brief list of other common dietary restrictions that catering companies should be prepared to respond to with alternative recipes and ingredients:   

 

• Lactose intolerance 
• Veganism  
• Vegetarianism 
• Nut allergies  
• Shellfish allergies 

• Avoidance of pork products for religious reasons  
• Avoidance of beef products for religious reasons 

 

If caterers want to build a strong reputation in the business and grow their customer base, they will need to respond to all of these current trends. If a company promotes high-quality ingredients, sustainable solutions and tasty alternatives for dietary restrictions, they will be chosen over companies that refuse to progress with the times.