5 Food Trends that Caught on in the Pandemic

Vaccinated cakes are all the thing in the cake world. These are essentially happy, mood food cakes. The bases are layers of healthy stuff like a carrot and apple sponge with hints of lavender.  The topping is an edible white Callebaut card with Philadelphia cream cheese frosting laced with vanilla extract.  “This was to syndicate the well-being measure with good food, good mood ingredients. The stimulus was the world and how we shouldn’t forget to celebrate the small things in life," shares Executive Chef Sandeep Pande. “It did truly thrive. On certain days we sold over 15 of these cakes”, he adds. 

 

Restaurant Feel at Home, The Lodhi

The demand for home deliveries has increased during the pandemic. The popular choice is not just limited to main courses any more; customers want the complete meal experience to come to them at home. So, the demand for items such as soups, salads, smoothies, side dishes like plain steamed broccoli, snow peas, etc., and other accompaniments has also gone up.

 

Before the pandemic set in, the trend was that people commonly ordered these dishes while dining in at restaurants, but these items would generally take a backseat for home deliveries. “In times like these, we were resolute not to confine our hospitality only to the hotel. We attempted to revise our patrons' experience at The Lodhi in the comfort of their own homes. Determined to deliver quality services at the doorsteps of our guests, we thoughtfully designed a home delivery menu that catered to the changes in their demands and preferences. Our priority will always be to provide a fulfilling experience that extends the comfort to our customers whilst ensuring their safety at all levels," says Chef Vijay Thapliyal, Executive Chef at The Lodhi Delhi. “The response has been great. That's how we can say it has become a star trend now."

 

Celebrity Chef Ranveer Brar would break down one or a set of ingredients and/or cooking process and demonstrate a few quick recipes thereof. And he's continuing this thread even for home deliveries. “In concocting a source plan for the recipe demand last year, which saw a lot of people reviving or being forced to realise their culinary skills, I realised, beyond just helping with recipes, it would be great to help people understand the ingredients and process better. Like they say, when you teach someone how to fish, you feed them for life," says Brar.

The concept was well-received, in that people loved that they could understand a recipe and then attempt it in their kitchens. This not just led to more requests for ‘instructional’ videos but also attracted collabs with brands to offer exclusive cooking classes, virtual of course, ranging from general know-hows to specialised in a specific area of study, like spices.

 

The hotel introduced special four-course set menus, Indian from Jamavar, Italian from Le Cirque, Japanese from Megu, Asian from The Qube and a special Thai menu too. These specially curated menus are priced at INR 3,350 and serve two. “Our customers were definitely missing out on pampering their palates with their preferred dishes from our award-winning restaurants. Hence, we devised Signatures by The Leela home delivery menu and our set menus - Daily Delectables," says Anupam Dasgupta. “We also catered to at-home dining experiences wherein our team would create the dining experience for the guest at their home with food and cutlery from our restaurant and everything set by the team," he adds.

 

A Japanese rice bowl dish, that has options of fish, meat, vegetables or other ingredients which are simmered together and served over rice - it was a first by Guppy in Delhi and is a complete meal in a bowl with different protein toppings. It comes in a perfect portion size. 

"It is a nutritious meal in a bowl replete with nutrients. During the lockdown and even after, a large number of people are working from home, with not much house help and our Donburi bowls filled this gap. One can order a choice of protein with rice, which is a very staple lunch option for Indians”, says Chef Vikram Khatri. 

 

The Exotic Vegetable Rice Bowl - which is seasonal pan tossed vegetables in miso pepper sauce served on a bed of rice, or the Chasu Pork Rice Bowl aka, soy and sake braised pork belly, sliced and pan seared and served on a bed of rice with apple, balsamic, kimchi leek and mustard-miso sauce are the highly ordered dishes on Guppy’s menu.