Food Service Trends 2024: Staying Ahead Of The Ever-Changing Culinary Landscape
As 2023 draws to a close, prospects are looking bright for the food service industry. Data platform Mordor Intelligence currently values the UAE’s food industry at $16.92 billion, and predicts it will grow to an enormous $43.98 billion by 2029, and similar positive findings have been recorded across the rest of the Middle East, too.
As always, Chef Middle East has decided to end the year by taking a look ahead at the top food service trends that will be emerging over the next 12 months. This builds on our commitment to always staying ahead of the curve, quickly, and providing our customers with the most responding to market changes valuable and well-informed expert advice.
Our years of experience in providing restaurants and vendors across the region with the best quality food and beverage supplies puts us in a unique position. We’re able to evaluate and assess market trends at an early stage, while our extensive collection of seafood, meat, dairy, pastry products and beverages enable our clients to present their diners with gourmet food at affordable costs.
Our annual roundup of the major food service industry trends for the coming year is designed to help you plan your menus and activations for the year ahead and give you an edge that will enable you to stand out from the competition.
Interactive dining experiences
In 2024, customers will continue to favour unique dining experiences that allow them to interact with the chefs themselves. This includes ‘Chef’s Table’ experiences, masterclasses, cooking demonstrations and more.
For example, the Middle East’s first-ever Michelin Guide Food Festival brought together 16 leading chefs from world-renowned Michelin-star restaurants. Hosted at the Louvre Abu Dhabi in December 2023, guests were invited to meet the chefs behind the globe’s finest restaurants and sample their specialities by attending Chef’s Table dinners and exclusive masterclasses, and sampling bite-sized portions from pop-up tasting stalls.
Another example of this trend taking hold in the Middle East is the intimate private chef’s table dining experience offered by TERO (The Experience by Reif Othman) in Dubai. Accessed through a hidden doorway in the kitchen of Reif Japanese Kushiyaki in Dubai Hills, TERO seats only 12 guests at a time. Allowing guests to meet Chef Reif in person and enjoy bespoke, eight or 12-course tasting menus based on revolving culinary themes, it is a special culinary journey that continues to prove incredibly popular.
We predict that the profiles of the region’s chefs will continue to rise, and that customers will continue to expect opportunities to chat with them and meet them in person.
Authentic cuisines
While contrasting flavours and fusion cuisines are always exciting, we are seeing a return to authentic flavours that honour the history and heritage of countries from across the world.
Chef Middle East proudly offers a one-stop-shop for ingredients and products that span all kinds of different cuisines. We offer everything from authentic Mediterranean ingredients such as Olmeda Spanish olives, Garofalo pastas, premium quality flours and extra virgin olive oils, to Asian spices and sauces for Thai, Korean, Chinese, Malaysian, Thai and many other forms of Asian cuisine.
Take a browse of all our extensive categories here.
The continued rise of Cloud Kitchens
Due to a variety of factors, including low overhead costs, the streamlined operations involved, the increased demand for online food delivery services across the region and the Middle East’s willingness to adopt digitalised food industry tools, the popularity of Cloud Kitchens in the Middle East is predicted to continue to rise in 2024.
For example, Mordor Intelligence found that Cloud Kitchens and quick service restaurants are the fastest growing foodservice segment in the UAE, predicting a compound annual growth rate of 19.08% between 2023 and 2029.
Authentic cuisines
While contrasting flavours and fusion cuisines are always exciting, we are seeing a return to authentic flavours that honour the history and heritage of countries from across the world.
Chef Middle East proudly offers a one-stop-shop for ingredients and products that span all kinds of different cuisines. We offer everything from authentic Mediterranean ingredients such as Olmeda Spanish olives, Garofalo pastas, premium quality flours and extra virgin olive oils, to Asian spices and sauces for Thai, Korean, Chinese, Malaysian, Thai and many other forms of Asian cuisine.
Take a browse of all our extensive categories here.
The continued rise of Cloud Kitchens
Due to a variety of factors, including low overhead costs, the streamlined operations involved, the increased demand for online food delivery services across the region and the Middle East’s willingness to adopt digitalised food industry tools, the popularity of Cloud Kitchens in the Middle East is predicted to continue to rise in 2024.
For example, Mordor Intelligence found that Cloud Kitchens and quick service restaurants are the fastest growing foodservice segment in the UAE, predicting a compound annual growth rate of 19.08% between 2023 and 2029.
Tech-driven dining experiences
Technology is increasingly becoming integrated into every aspect of our lives, including in the way we dine out.
In 2024, we predict that more venues will offer tech-driven experiences such as augmented reality menus and virtual dining experiences.
Enhancing convenience, personalisation and entertainment in the culinary world, a number of Middle Eastern outlets have already embraced the opportunities offered by advanced technologies.
For example, the American restaurant Denny’s has rolled out augmented reality menus across all its branches, including those found across the UAE. Taking guests on a visual journey through Denny’s history, its limited-time special items, the sourcing of its ingredients and more, we predict that many other restaurant chains and independent outlets in the region will soon follow suit.
Zero-waste and sustainable concepts
In the wake of COP28 taking place in Dubai, sustainable and zero-waste concepts will continue to take centre stage in the Middle East. With the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence reporting that roughly 38 percent of the food prepared every day in the UAE is wasted, Middle Eastern restaurants are under increasing pressure to reduce food waste and utilise every part of every ingredient. COP28 has also helped raise awareness about the importance of sustainability across the Middle East, and customers are more likely to choose outlets that align with their values.
The region’s zero-waste and eco-friendly restaurants now span everything from vegan fast-food hotspots to luxury zero-waste fine dining. For instance, BOCA in DIFC, Dubai, was named Sustainable Kitchen of the Year at the prestigious Gault&Millau UAE Gala 2023, and it also holds a Michelin Green Star. Furthermore, ethical restaurant LOWE was the UAE’s first ever recipient of the Michelin Green Star, and it also ranked No.15 in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants MENA 2023.
In the UAE, the ne’ma (National Food Loss and Waste Initiative) aims to bring back the UAE’s rooted traditional values of social responsibility and good stewardship of national resources. It continuously encourages retailers, restaurants and households to practice responsible food consumption and reduce waste, and this will no doubt become increasingly apparent in the region’s dining habits and restaurant trends.
In conclusion, 2024 looks to be a very interesting and exciting time in the hospitality industry. Consistently at the forefront of the sector’s trends and developments, Chef Middle East will continue to provide the finest ingredients and the best service to all of our customers in the UAE, Qatar and Oman.
