What food trends will 2024 treat us with? We’re delving into the annual future-focused food and drink report by the renowned Bompas & Parr studio, exploring how can we, as the food film community, indulge in them.
While we take a step into the new year, it seems like the perfect time to reflect on the past and wonder about what’s to come in the nearest future. The task at hand is much easier thanks to renowned Bompas & Parr, as the studio just released their annual report: Immanent Future of Food and Drink 2024, the driving questions behind it being How can innovation be joyful? and How can joy itself be innovated? Let us dive into some of their predictions and wonder how the emerging trends are potentially useful to us as tabletop and food film creators.
But first, let us reminisce…
To say that the last couple of years were demanding would be like saying nothing. From a content-creating point of view, they created a sort of shift in how we communicate with the world, answering the burning need for authenticity, as we, the humans, find some sort of comfort in experiencing true-to-life people and situations we can identify with in times of uncertainty. To give an example of this tendency, Bompas & Parr brought up the app BeReal, which was created as a sort of juxtaposition to all the fakeness that social media seems to bring out. But, as the studio further notices, as all trends are ephemeral by nature, this one seems to have reached its end as well.
The bizarreness of the times at hand along with the exhaustion it brings to the people, created a demand for a shift in the paradigm – a shift towards the surreal, the bizarre, the gloriously fake. We are in need of a new language, something that can provide an escape from the sometimes brutal reality. And, since history likes to repeat itself, it shouldn’t come as a surprise – just think about the origins of avant-garde art. But, and it’s an important but, while looking for a way out of the greyness of the everyday life, it’s also crucial that we remember about some of the more down-to-earth (literally) problems, especially the ecological crisis, as we can no longer run away from it. To combine these two approaches might seem impossible at first, maybe even contradictory, but Bompas & Parr encourage us to change the perspective.
Fake it till you make it
The 2024 report predicts that in the upcoming months we’ll be observing a loss of interest in the realistic and an uprise of all things unreal. Glorious Fakery, as the studio calls it, means pushing creativity to its limits, which, from the tabletop community’s perspective, should come off as a good thing. It’s the perfect time to use imagination and create the most bizarre looking, surreal compositions! Yes, we do love that natural, rustic look as well, but it’s all about finding the balance, so don’t be afraid to take on the maximalist approach, especially since it no longer has to go hand in hand with increased expenses or wastefulness.
In their predictions, the authors suggest the rise of restaurants serving fake, inedible food, where the dishes will only serve as, well, decorative pieces. Sounds familiar? The tabletop professionals are masters when it comes to making mockups of foods look every bit as mouth-watering as the real thing on film. Now is their time to shine and take it a step further, not only creating the life-like recreations of our favourite dishes, but going beyond what’s possible in the real world. Of course, we can already see it happening, not only with masterfully done mockups, but with the help of AI as well. Oh, and you know what’s great about decreasing the use of real products on film sets? It has the potential to create much less waste! We’re not saying ‘don’t use real products at all’, but maybe just try to explore the possibilities that this fake maximalism trend brings to the table(top).
Cheers to the exaggerated!
When it comes to drinks, Bompas & Parr tell us to let them overflow! With the exception of water, of course – water is an entirely different conversation. But if it’s cocktails we’re talking (alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike), the more the merrier seems to be the new rule.
Bars are taking on the challenge of conquering the grey reality, creating the most outlandish looking drinks and taking molecular cuisine to another level. We’re talking all different kinds of foams, textures beyond just the liquid form, smoke and colour-changing infusions. Yes, a drink like this is best enjoyed in real life, where you can experience it with all of your senses, but when it comes to film, the aesthetics that these out-of-this-world cocktails entail, seems almost as appealing. And, as they don’t need to taste good to look good, or even be drinkable for that matter, we think there might be something to take from this trend as well.
These hyperbolic drinks, as Bompas & Parr calls them, seem to also convey a larger story – themed restaurants and bars. And the concepts that these themed locations use are far from basic, as another trend that the authors talk about – the need for niche targeting – seems to really be at work. Let’s face it – who doesn’t like a good theme, especially if it seems like it was created with your particular interests in mind? And what is a theme if not a good starting point for any storyteller
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In short, the baseline of the story that Bompas & Parr tells us (although we highly recommend checking out the entire report as it provides so much more fascinating insights into the overall food culture!), is that there is a way to provide the ever-so-needed escapism without compromising the moral duties we all have towards Earth and all that’s earthly. The search for enjoyment and indulgence can both start and end down here, on solid ground, and it can be done without harming the already devastated ecosystems. And yes, escapism is not the answer to our problems, but it does provide temporary relief we all seem to seek.
