World gastronomy specialists and other foodistas announced the advent of green cuisine, organic, more and more healthy and sustainable food combining the benefits for body and mind. More generally the awareness of what we eat everyday imposes itself in 2020 as we are now all turned to the link between food, our immune system and psychological balance in the days of worldwide confinement. 

Chefs are more focused on health in the plate than ever. This phenomenon is named the “mindful eating” which is a large bag (recyclable) in which we will find trendy concept like the organic food and short supply chain. The preference for organic and local products reuniting the two conditions is sometimes a real challenge but a lot of effort is made in this way. 

Super foods are becoming more and more popular and are no longer the prerogative of some nutritionist chefs. Healthy cooking will become the norm in terms of food, this is why vegetable cooking is more and more trendy in all areas of catering, from the Michelin starred restaurants to the street food stands. Chefs put vegetables in the foreground, relaying meat or fish to the rank of garnish. Vegetables and plants become stars in the kitchen but not just any vegetables - those from quality agriculture guaranteed to be sustainable and without the use of chemicals.

The chefs’ concern for the environment is growing. Supply from producers with human and ethical practices, aware of the duty to let the soils and seas regenerate, is not only trendy but essential. The climate emergency is on everyone’s mind and forces the chefs to be proactive by seeking more and more sustainable options concerning fish and seafood. The chefs do not hesitate any more to communicate the fact of using sustainable fishing. Nowadays it is better to use reasoned farmed fish rather than a fish resulting from intensive fishing. 

One of the big trends for the 2020 is also the return to authenticity and that takes, for example, it’s huge comeback of bread. Which product is more authentic than bread? Yet very criticized in recent years because of its negative impact on health: caloric intake and gluten intolerance, the bread is back but once again with new codes and criteria, using local, organic and OMG-free cereals, old wheat varieties without impact on gluten intolerance. Good bread is everywhere, delicious, local, and safe.

Authenticity in 2020 will be in the return of grandparents’ food, food that represent personal and shared stories, without superfluity. Even in gastronomic restaurants the act of sharing will become more and more present. It makes the meal more a community act and a team sport.

The trend for authenticity is also reflected in the return to cooking by ancestral means of preservation such as fermentation, smoking and salting. Nowadays it’s easy to find explanations and equipment to use those techniques at home. In the same way as the fermentation it is possible to smoke a lot of products like oils, vegetables, dairy products… Chefs are applying these techniques on unusual products to develop new recipes.

Among new culinary trends in 2020 we will find the Ithameshi cuisine which is the fusion of Japanese and Italian cuisine. The recipes will focus on tradition and products, two things that represent well its two countries who seem very different but, in the end, very complementary. A lot of Japanese chefs came to Italy to learn traditional cuisine and techniques, then returned to Japan and now apply those techniques to Japanese products.

Overall, we were moving towards a greener, more raw and authentic cuisine, which is waste as little as possible. A return to the culinary roots being Eco responsible, but always with as much fun and creativity. And the actual crisis makes all these trends that were forecasted more than ever  valid.