It's not really flaming June, is it? Never mind, we won't bang on... In our tireless bid to keep tastebuds and tummies salivating, we've got a quick round-up of what's hot (as opposed to the weather) and what's not (the weather) on the mighty surreal Planet Food.
First up, a cracking idea - The Pig Idea, in fact - from Wahaca's Tommi Miers and food waste expert Tristram Stuart. They are campaigning for a change in European law that will allow food waste from restaurants, supermarkets and so on to be fed to pigs. The law was only introduced fairly recently in 2002 amid concerns of food chain issues and who knew what was going into pig food, but they argue it makes complete ecological sense in recycling waste and financial sense in decreasing expensive crop imports that go towards pig feed. Check out The Pig Idea website for more info.
Staying with the farmyard theme, let's have a look at what's new in Burger Land. Currently worth £2.8billion (gulp), the posh burger market in the UK is going through what you could say was a tsunami of growth. Probably a bit naffed off that British companies such as Byron, Gourmet Burger Company, Almost Famous, MEATliquor and their pals have nailed that sucker, US companies want a(nother) piece of the pie.... or should that be bun? Five Guys and Shake Shack will be dualling it out in London later this year, but expect to see the gourmet chains grow and grow - hey, you might even get a taste north of Luton if this thing takes off (Not at all still irritated at lack of chefs taking food trends out of London.)
If you wanted a sign that East has really started to go West check this out: Yo! Sushi is launching Yo! Burger. It's one thing to make sushi mass-market, it's quite another to take on the West at its own game. We think it's a tiny bit sad that the cult of beef has infiltrated so far east - it won't go a long way to helping the current ecological problems with rearing cows, that's for sure.
And because we're on the topic, don't think that horse is the biggest of our meat problems at the mo. The UK is seeing a huge rise in illegal exotic meats due to a rising immigrant population allegedly craving a taste of home. Chimp, crocodile, antelope and anteater meat have all been found by police for processing, but one of the most popular - and legal - is llama, particularly favoured by the Ghurkas. Um, your call...
Close to our heart is the subject of children's food (or should that be lack of children's food) in restaurants. Finally the Soil Association and Organix are campaigning to improve kids' lot when eating out. They are encouraging restaurants to revisit and rethink the menus currently on offer, perhaps even ditch them entirely, offering smaller portions of the adult menu. Sounds sensible to us.
Finally some food trends to look out for: 1) Friands are the new macaroons (we are NOT going to talk about cronuts. They will kill you. Google them if you want to know what they are. They are cake crack. The end.) and coming to a pop-up cake stall near you. Light as fairy brains, they are made of almond flour and egg whites and come in various delicate flavours. 2) Steamed hirata buns are Japanese meat buns, nicer than they sound and apparently the new street snack. Sound a damn sight easier than wrestling a burger. 3) Arepas, the Venezelan cornbread patties stuffed with meat or vegetables, also look set to take over the world of wraps. 4) Anything smoked - sausages, duck, meat, vegetables - follow the heat haze. In this weather, it'll be the only one around.
