2021: The year in food

A look back on the viral trends, food news and most exciting openings of the year. And in case you missed it, our #12DaysofChristmas features some of our favourite things this season. See the full list here, saved in our highlights!

As the year comes to an end, it’s time to look back at what’s been going on in the food space.

First the bad news. There remains a looming global food crisis. Many parts of the world are already facing drought, and the prospect of famines loom large. There is an ongoing food crisis in Madagascar, Somalia and Afghanistan. COVID-19 led to a rise in food insecurity for around 54 million people in the Asia-Pacific region in 2020. The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks the international prices of a basket of food commodities, touched its highest, since July 2011.

The greatest positive of the year was the government finally approving a bill to repeal three farm laws, heeding the almost 13-month-long protests by farmers at Delhi’s borders. Elsewhere, investments in agri and food tech start-ups rose 97% in the last financial year, with the dominant investment category being restaurant marketplaces.

Here’s a look at what else ruled the year in the food space.

Insects are the new protein

In a look towards the future, the European Union has approved/certified three types of bugs as food fit for human consumption: house crickets, yellow mealworms and grasshoppers. Terming them as ‘novel foods’, it means they will now have regulations so they can be sold in the market.

In fact, international investment bank Barclays believes that by 2050, the world will need up to 70% more food, and suggests that an alternative protein source to meat could be insects. Dutch bank Rabobank’s most recent report says the demand for insect protein will increase fifty-fold over the next decade.

Viral trends

2021: The year in food | Goya Journal — Tamras Gin, by Adventurist Spirits

2021 was the year we saw unusual food pairings go viral: from Maggi milkshake to rasgolla chaat; chef Saransh Goila even created a pappad pasta. If globally, people were searching Birria Tacos and Nasi Goreng, in India, the most searched food item for recipes was enoki mushroom. 'How to make banana bread' was among the top 'How To' searches on Google (Google Trends Report 2021).

TikTok definitely did help bring some changes to the food industry, boosting smaller brands and helping people rediscover their love for weird and wacky food, and experimental home cooking (for example, Nature’s cereal: cut fruit in coconut water). Interestingly, the social network will soon turn meals from popular TikTok videos into actual dishes. The TikTok Kitchen will launch in 300 US locations in 2022.

India on the world stage
Indian brands have been making waves globally, and that’s a cause for celebration.

Delhi’s Sidecar became the first bar to be recognised on the World’s 50 Best Bars list (at #47). The world’s 100 best bars also include Goa’s Tesouro by Firefly (#65) and Delhi’s Hoots’ (#95).

Indian alcohol has been making its presence felt too. Agave India’s 100% Agave spirit picked up a silver medal (Certified Craft Distilled Spirit-International Agave Spirit) at the 2021 American Distilling Institute’s Craft Spirit Awards. Paul John won Indian distiller of the year 2021 and Paul John Nirvana picked up gold at the 2021 New York International Spirits Competition. Stranger & Sons picked up a gold at The Gin Masters 2021. Nao Spirits’ Hapusa won the gold at the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) 2021, silver at the 2021 World Gin Awards, and was the country winner at the World Gin Awards 2021.

Elsewhere, artisanal brands also brought cause for celebrations. Artisanal creamery Eleftheria Cheese won a silver rating at the World Cheese Awards held in Spain. Artisanal tonic water brand Svami won the silver for the non-alcoholic Gin & Tonic, and the bronze for the non-alcoholic Rum & Cola at the 2021 International Wines and Spirit Competition (IWSC).

In the restaurant space, Priyanka Chopra made headlines for her restaurant Sona in New York. Chef Atul Kochhar also launched his own space, Masalchi, in Wembley.

Dining, with a difference
After a rough year, the hospitality industry has returned with a bang, as new restaurants and bars started opening in major metros and across Goa. The few that stood out were because of their name — Ladurée making its Indian debut in Delhi, the experience — combining a meal with art appreciation, or just sheer ambition: Passcode Hospitality launching three restaurants in Mumbai in December.

At Grand Hyatt Goa, people can dine in the sky, strapped into a 24-seater metal deck suspended 150 feet in the air. In Mumbai, at Cou Cou, chefs whip up pastry orders in front of customers. In Bengaluru at Araku’s first café in the country, customers can avail of multiple tasting bars, brewing stations and soon, training programmes. In Deogarh, guests can dine amid vintage cars at Pit Stop. In Coimbatore, vegetarian fine dining gets a contemporary touch at Kove, from the people behind the city’s Annapoorna restaurant chain.

Drinking it up!
It’s the festive season and predictably, people are celebrating with alcohol. The craft market in India has been growing steadily. The end of the year is seeing more additions to bar shelves.

Last month, Goa saw the launch of another gin. Doja is an In(do-Ja)panese collaboration featuring eight botanicals (sansho pepper, Hinoki chips, cedar leaf, and yuzu from Japan). Doja joins the line of new spirits released this year: Seqer gin, Vinho Fontainhas, Perry Road Peru — a distilled cocktail by The Bombay Canteen and Stranger & Sons,

The Indian Agave market, once only stocking Desmondji’s agave spirits, has a welcome new addition. Rakshay Dhariwal (of Passcode Hospitality) introduced Maya Pistola Agavepura, a 100% sipping agave spirit this year. Recently launched is Tamras Gin, from Khalil Bachooali and Devika Bhagat of Adventurist Spirits. Soon opening their North Goa distillery for tours.

There’s a seltzer storm in the market. The most recent addition is Wild Drum seltzers, in three flavours: Pure, Mango, and Lemon-Mint. There’s also Raya Seltzer, Pursue, and Barney’s Hard Seltzer — manufactured in Goa.

Goa as the new dining destination
Everyone’s favourite pandemic destination has become a food hub, shifting position slightly from being the go-to place for spirits. The last year has seen the tiny state bombarded by new openings — restaurants and bars, besides a host of pop-ups and private dining experiences. There are places serving region-specific cuisine, a cigar den, exclusive gin bars, renovated tavernas, and more. Ruling the popularity charts is artisanal bakery Padaria Prazeres, known for their pasteis de nata and Berliners.

Many restaurant chains set up base here, too. Example: Massive Restaurant’s Bo-Tai in Vagator — the fourth in the country. Mumbai’s Mamagoto brand started Teresa Beach Club by Sly Granny, and Spanish tapas bar Uno Mas just moved base here. Coming soon is the much-loved Bandra sushi place, Izumi. Rumours have it that another Bandra spot will soon make its way here in early February.

Cooking with the celebs
If 2020 was the year of lockdown-inspired food trends and home cooking, this year offered guides on just how to excel at the latter.

Globally, it was a good time for celebrity cookbooks. Stanley Tucci’s Taste: My Life Through Food is an intimate memoir of his life in and out of the kitchen. Ottolenghi Test Kichen - Shelf Love is a collaboration between Yotam Ottolenghi and the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen Family. Gordon Ramsay’s Ramsay in 10 has 100 ten-minute recipes, while Drew Barrymore’s Rebel Homemaker has ‘rebellious’ recipes.

Closer home, pastry whiz Pooja Dhingra released Coming Home, a cookbook with a foreword from her icon, pastry chef Pierre Hermé. Kunal Kapur launched Kunal Kapur In The Kitchen: Family Meals featuring modern Indian recipes. Anahita Dhondy, former chef of Sodabottle Openerwala, dipped into her roots to release Parsi Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family.

Possibly the most intriguing cookbook of the year is from Nobel prize winner, Abhijit Banerjee. His Cooking to Save Your Life is a quirky, fun book that uses dishes to talk about larger social and political issues. Of note are the little imagined descriptions of a context where that particular recipe fits well: For those who live on Maggi, a Raspberry (or Mango) Ceviche to impress the boss!

Joanna Lobo is an independent journalist from Goa who enjoys writing about food, her Goan heritage, the freelance life, and other things that make her happy. Follow her on @thatdoggonelady.

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