How Did the Culinary World Change After COVID?
How Did the Culinary World Change After COVID?
by Keren Brown
Isn’t it about time we addressed the huge elephant lurking in the kitchen? Culinary! Yes.
Of all the industries, bars and restaurants perhaps suffered the worst. Restaurants closed at lightning speed while hotels sat empty. At one point, people even feared ordering their take-outs! Let’s not even discuss spending levels. People learned how to live while spending less… and the food industry took the biggest hit!
Here are just some of the changes that COVID has given the culinary world, for better or worse:
Take Out Became a Way of Life
Restaurants had to learn how to create quality, even when it comes to boxed food. Thanks to the coronavirus, they are learning more creative ways to serve up hot meals in a package while also focusing on sustainability. Hello, disposable utensils and edible packaging! Also, apps like Wolt and Uber Eats have become key players with culinary lovers as well
Restaurant Space as a Safe Place
In restaurants we trusted, until Covid, then each dining establishment had to push boundaries when it comes to spaced seating, outdoor seating, spacing out guests and just finding ways to enrich the experience without losing out on the full dining vibe. In Tel Aviv, the municipality created special tables, and designated areas all through one of the hippest areas, Shuk Levinsky. They also gave special permits for outdoor dining and turned Rabin Square into huge seating areas so locals could order food from nearby restaurants and dine outside.
Online Grocery is Soaring
Yes, online grocery shopping may once have been a privilege for the tech-savvy, but now even the tech-challenged can order online. Grocery stores have learned to make the entire experience as easy as possible for anyone with new tech, discounts, and quick deliveries on the menu. E-commerce in grocery solutions is thriving, including local companies such as Stor.ai, formerly Self point which provides a quick online set up for any grocery store, and data-driven digital experiences.
Social Media is Hot
Yes, cooking became a necessity and some of the clumsiest cooks became capable thanks to TikTok videos, Facebook, Instagram, and more. TikTok taught us easy recipes like one-dish pasta and feta – and boujie sandwiches can be made by all. Consuming food content became essential to exist while we were all locked up at home, and a real understanding for cooking became somewhat mainstream. Global food became popular as people longed for the restaurant experience while in lockdowns. As people became more sedentary, a thirst for healthy, vegan, vegetarian and clean eating also saw many shining moments.
Tech Changed Food
Food tech has exploded in the past couple of years. Now, there is a technology that sanitizes glassware, technology that provides more sustainable meat options, and ultra-fast and effective platforms for delivery to all startups, making everything run better. What did the virus give us? Well, more time to create, innovate, and research.
