In a world that is seeing a rise in health concerns, a breed of visionary food entrepreneurs make their stand to make our food choices matter.
“Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are.”
―Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, Author of The Physiology of Taste
Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS), health and wellness—these were key buzzwords, flitting on the edge of our attention in the recent past but have slowly established acceptance with the dining public’s palate and gained a “platehold” on the F&B industry through individual and collective efforts that raised awareness on tasteful yet healthy dining options, local sourcing and just wiser food choices.
A confluence of factors may be attributed to the current popularity for anything organic, farm-to-fork, locally sourced, sustainability and ingredient traceability. There’s increased health risks, for one. But beyond this, there are also more foodservice players who have forayed into the back end of the supply chain, increasing their involvement while collaboratively creating more eating choices for consumers.
TRENDING HEALTHY
The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Industry Forecast identified “locally sourced meats and seafoods, locally grown produce, environmental sustainability and healthful kids’ meals as top culinary trends for 2015. Other popular menu trends included minimally processed foods and gluten-free items.”
Locally, I would credit Chef Robby Goco and Green Pastures for being one of the restaurateurs and establishments that paved the way towards more appreciation for local ingredients, highlighting organic and healthy options that raised the bar for both industry players and consumers.
This definitely bears true this year, as we see restaurants sprouting in different communities and offering health components in different iterations. Menus identify ingredients that cater to different diet plans while dishes highlight where main ingredients are sourced and more.
What healthy eating trends have permeated the local dining scene? Let’s open our minds and palates to the growing specialized market that is slowly increasing due to demand from a public that is hungry for healthy dining options.
LOVE, EAT AND SOURCE LOCAL
Entrepreneur’s “The 10 Biggest Restaurant Trends for 2015” by Kate Taylor cites that “Everyone is going local―super local. The love for local food means rising customer interest in ‘everything from house-purified water to regional seafood to locally manufactured products like beers and liquors’.”
Earth Kitchen exemplifies this on a micro level that encompasses the farm-to-fork model, working with Got Heart Farms in Tarlac and other marginalized indigenous, partner communities and offering healthy, organic and local dishes. The carefully conceived menu by Chefs David Hizon and JR Trani showcases the produce in distinctive ways that highlights locally sourced vegetables, rice, meat, and other products. Co-owner Joseph Hizon elaborates on the concept. “Healthy, local, sustainable―our concept revolves around those.”
Farm’s Harvest Salad
Earth Kitchen stemmed from the owners’ desire to support the livelihood of the farmers under co-owner Melissa Yeung-Yap’s Got Heart Foundation, established in 2007. Joseph explained that, “one of the advocacies of Got Heart is natural farming. It is much better than traditional farming because traditional farming relies on fertilizer and pesticides. These chemicals are bad for the environment and also bad for the farmers because it causes them to accumulate so much debt. When you’re doing organic farming, you’re self-reliant, you make your own fertilizers. The problem was that the farmers don’t know how to sell their crops.” Through Earth Kitchen, a market with a steady clientele provided this opportunity.
Earth Kitchen’s owners represent the new breed of restaurateurs who have carefully thought about their concept from the ingredients to the plate. Even the name is reflective of this concern. “It’s because we wanted a restaurant that did not cover up the taste of ingredients. We rely on good ingredients for the dishes to taste good. So it’s like the Earth is the kitchen,” Joseph explained.
Fish & Mango
“Our menu is not cuisine-specific. We had to work with what the farmers could provide us. It also reflects the personality and preferences of the chefs and owners. The options are pretty safe, since there is something for everyone,” Joseph elaborated. The chef takes an open approach to using local ingredients. The key word is open, meaning he approaches the local ingredients in a different way, a way that’s not expected: “We wanted a menu that was healthy but we didn’t want it to be vegetarian, although we have vegetarian options and very few vegan. We definitely use a lot of vegetables. We make everything from scratch, from the pasta to the ice cream to the tortillas.”
Beyond the food, Earth Kitchen represents new ways that restaurateurs can affect lives and effect changes in their sphere of influence. In the eyes of the owners, this defines their purpose and their being: “I feel that it’s our purpose that is unique. Earth Kitchen is really part of Got Heart Foundation. It is not even a business but an outreach program. The better the restaurant does, the better for the farmers. Whatever the restaurant makes goes back to the foundation and is used in educating farmers and funding the farms.”
DINING DECISION DRIVERS
In a survey conducted by Acosta together with Technomic, The Why Behind the Dine and Health & Wellness 360° Hot Topic Report provided revealing facts about the evolving eating habits and perceptions of diners.
“Health and wellness is a mega trend that’s causing a disruptive shift across consumer lifestyle markets, from grocery and foodservice to healthcare and retail. The challenge for foodservice operators is creating healthy menu options that don’t sacrifice value or taste. While 86% of diners report being confident about their ability to select healthy foods on a menu, far fewer actually make the healthy choice. However, younger consumers are at the forefront of the health and wellness trend as well; younger consumers who are moving into their peak spending years, are expected to increase their grocery spending and plan to increase their spending on meals out of home.”
SALAD TIME
Even the quick service restaurant scene is seeing a shift in the preferences of their customers. According to QSR Magazine’s article Fast Food Restaurant Trends to Impact the Industry in 2015, Do-It-Yourself Health is here for the long haul.
“There are people heavily into gluten-free, who care about [genetically modified organisms], who want low-fat or organic items, but there is no consensus about what is a healthy diet,” says Rita Negrete, senior editor at market research firm Technomic. Still, she says, “more people really are trying to eat more healthfully, and that becomes an issue for restaurants in an era of shrinking menus.”
Entrepreneur’s 10 Biggest Restaurant Trends for 2015 also reinforces this. “The rise of customers with personalized diets means that healthy eating is taking on many different, highly specific forms. With the plethora of dieting options, the best way to make restaurants work for customers whether they are following the paleo diet or eating only vegan is to display pick-and-choose options. Then as nutrition buzzwords come and go, restaurants can stay current.”
One example of the D-I-Y idea is SaladStop!, one of the fastest growing F&B operations in Singapore. It entered the Manila dining scene as the newest food brand operated by Specialty Food Retailers Inc. (SFRI). SaladStop! President and Co-founder Adrien Desbaillets was in town recently to share his thoughts about how their company evolved into a brand that connects their customers to their food and pioneering a movement that strongly believes in the human right to truly eat well.
Salad Bar
The idea for SaladStop! is quite simple and truly unique. The quick-serve salad bar concept allows customers to choose their favorite salad greens, top it with their array of over 60 fresh toppings for their salad or wrap combined with a choice of 20 locally inspired home-made dressings.
Their success in the market can be attributed to SaladStop!’s ability to develop recipes that deliver a hearty main meal, balancing local flavors with a variety of international tastes. In fact, Executive Chef Tony Tan created two salads specifically for the Philippines, Man-Go Wild! (accentuated by a Mango Vinaigrette made with local mangoes) and Sunshine Manila (flavored with Tamarind Citrus Vinaigrette created with local calamansi).
“The whole idea was to change the perception about salads and that it is not boring” Adrien clarified. “The idea is to integrate a fast and efficient system with the well-designed salad bar.” One critical factor for the brand is that 90% of their ingredients are locally sourced. “We are working with a farm here that produces our spinach and very soon, cherry tomatoes.” In fact, all of their ingredients have to be 72 hours away from the farm to the salad bowl. This blend of freshness, quality standards and affordable pricing has definitely made an impact with the local diners.
The company’s ideology of “EAT, WIDE, AWAKE” goes further to ensure that all food and beverage items sold in the store are healthy, wholesome and does not impact the environment in a disastrous manner. “More importantly, we are constantly striving to inform our customers about our passion to ‘EAT, WIDE, AWAKE’ and how each and everyone of us plays a part in preserving the local ecosystem of sustainable foods. The result is YOU, the customer know exactly what you eat.”
KEY TAKEAWAY
Healthy dining cannot be pegged into one cookie cutter mold. The increasingly diverse needs of the market, coupled with assorted health issues, have to give rise to a more personalized approach for customizing orders and choosing one’s healthy options while also placing restaurateurs in a more pro-active stance when it comes to both their actions and restaurant concepts.
Photos from Marilen Fontanilla and the Facebook page of Green Pastures