08 | Jan | 18

Richard Johnson

#trending in 2018

Good Things magazine asked us what was going to be hot in street food in 2018. This was what we said:

Since Michelin stars were bestowed upon street food (Chan Hon Meng, owner of Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle, is coming over to tour the UK in the spring), it’s official — street food is pushing boundaries. We’re finally moving beyond Dude Food. Michelin-starred Angela Hartnett has set up a new food truck concept in London’s Broadgate. Its name? Schmaltz. Its proposition? Sandwiches. Artful sandwiches, that are just about as far from Dude Food as humanly possible. Dude Food will live on, of course, but with more and more and more foodie touches. Expect everyone to know about Okonomiyaki and Imagawayaki (which sound so much edgier than ‘stuffed pancakes’) by summer.

Last year was all about sriracha. In the British and European Street Food Awards we saw telicherry pepper, Thai basil and tamarind on the menu. As we prepare to ask for entries for the 2018 Awards, we reckon it’s all going to be about Baharat, a spice blend from Syria — a foodie consequence of the migration throughout Europe. And there will be no turning back the vegan tide. With the advent of ‘dirty vegan’, tofu is getting sexier, and more finger lickin’. Ish. Quite how Jeremy Corbyn’s announcement that he’s “in the process of becoming a vegan” in 2018 will affect this trend is, as yet, unclear….