Bowled Over: Why the 'Bowl Food' Trend Will Be Big News In 2017
And, as 2017 gets into full swing, we’re noticing more than a little love for big beautiful bowls across all of our crockery collections.
It’s not just because our bowls are something special - which they are, of course. The bowl food trend is in part thanks to the continued prominence of spectacularly slurpy meals such as ramen and pho, but largely it’s down to the major Instagram-love for ‘stripped back’ dishes, such as (the often incredibly artful) smoothie bowls and acai bowls, Buddha bowls and ‘naked burrito’ bowls, popularised by Insta-chefs and food bloggers such as Deliciously Ella.
These picture-perfect bowls of food are striking it big time with the online foodie community - in fact, you could say that we have reached ‘super bowl’ level. But let’s take a scoop of what is behind the bowl foods trend.
The bowl food trend backstory
The build up to the ‘super bowl’ has been a few years in the making, as restaurant consultancy Baum +Whiteman astutely identified in their restaurant and hotel dining trends for 2017. Even before the opening of cereal cafes caused us to reach for a bowl and spoon, the Hawaiian poke (pronounced poh-kay) craze had foodies saying ‘Aloha!’ to deep dishes.
Then, along came the popularisation of the aforementioned ramen and pho, followed by Korean bibimbap and now dumplings of all kinds floating in delicious, sustaining broth. And suddenly it seems strange to bother plating food up at all when you could just put it in a bowl.
Indeed, if you’re trying to get food out on the pass quickly, there’s a lot to be said for assembling a dish in a simple unassuming bowl. Whether liquid, solids or a mixture of both, a bowl will gently cradle your creation. In a bowl you can display a range of colours and textures, and pile high while still being able to see different elements from above.
One for bowl and bowl for one
Bowl food also has mass appeal that’s hard to ignore. It’s benefitted from celebrity endorsements while also appealing to office workers and the parents of small children alike.
Back in 2015, Nigella Lawson launched her show Simply Nigella by sharing her love for bowls. She said: "I honestly believe I'm at my happiest when I'm eating food out if a bowl with a spoon. No cutting needed.”
For customers hoping to avoid bland office lunches, a meal in a large bowl is also perhaps less prone to spillage. Thanks to the culture surrounding meals such as ramen, we are also getting used to eating such meals solo at benches in authentic eateries. A happy coincidence of the dominance of bowl food is that parents of young children, who inevitably find themselves tipping their meals into a bowl to be eaten with one hand in restaurants and at home have suddenly found themselves to be totally on-trend!
Find soul in a bowl
As consumer interest in ‘eating for wellness’ continues to evolve, it’s no coincidence that many of the food trends that have supported the bowls rise to the top are those associated with self-care and indulgence.
In years gone by the Batchelors Cup a Soup adverts invited us to find a ‘hug in a mug’ and in 2017, whether it be grains and greens galore or marinated hunks of raw tuna, we’re increasingly being urged to find some soul in a bowl.
Take a look at the #buddhabowl, #smoothiebowl and #bowlfood hashtags on Instagram and you’ll soon notice that basic bowls simply don’t make the cut – it’s all about rustic-looking bowls, colourful bowls, and bowls with a subtle pattern to provide a complimentary backdrop to the food itself.
If you think your restaurant bowls require a more photo-friendly upgrade, our Artisan Coast Deep Coupe Bowl, exclusive to Lockhart, is large enough to hold the most substantial soups, yet the natural pottery textured effect won’t distract from the colours of your dishes.
To make a statement, serve your most striking meals in a Fuchsia or Orchard green angled bowl from the Dune range of our Mirage collection, for understated elegance, the Utopia Fuji Dappled Bowl will be the perfect complement to Asian or Asian-inspired dishes. To see our full collection of bowls, take a look at our Tableware and Crockery range now!
Will you be dishing up the bowl food trend in your restaurant? Have you noticed your customers choosing more bowl-based dishes, or will you be adding more to your menu? We’d love to hear your thoughts so leave us a comment below, or share them with us at @BunzlLockhart.
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