Wholefoods – more than fad

Food trends come and go, a few years ago macaroons were big, more recently the buzz was about Nutella anything and “Blokey” fried foods piled sky high. Happily it seems the end of this trend is coming and wholefoods has again found a loyal and growing fan base.

The wholefoods scene used to only attract bare footed and dreadlocked hippies, these days the wholefoods cafes are full of gym gear clad folk, bearded men and executives in suits trying maintain a svelte figure and power up on brain food between meetings.

Wholefoods has hit the main stream, serious empires are being built on what would once have been scoffed at as “hippy” and things that used to be difficult to buy are the new normal; coconut yogurt, “almond milk”, Kombucha, bone broth and turmeric lattes seem to be new standard. Menus are not complete without ancient grains like quinoa, freekeh or teff and raw bliss/ protein balls are superseding chocolate brownies and cookies in the cake display. Old school preserving methods like fermenting and pickling also sprouting are the latest wholefoods concepts to feature.

Set aside your idea of Wholefoods as hipster terrain and you’ll uncover a movement where enthusiasts follow seasons, try to source locally and use as much organic product as they can get. What makes a dish ‘Wholefoods’ is simply experiencing foods in a form that is close to nature. All recipes are prepared to maximise nutrition. In fact most traditional cuisines at their purest form reflect the wholefoods philosophy. Take Mediterranean and Asian food as examples, they are about eating seasonally and enjoying the quality of fresh produce with a very light hand when it comes to cooking.

If you want your customers to be hitting you up several times a week as their go to, then perhaps it’s time to bone up on wholefoods.