UK consumer food trends

Wild Fennel Pollen by Global Harvest at BBC Good Food Show 2011

Warming spices and good local produce are just two of the culinary qualities UK consumers are looking for, as seen at the recent BBC Good Food show at Birmingham's NEC.

Flavour exploration

As the UK continues to experience a slow economic recovery, many consumers are seeking comfort and assurance from day-to-day stresses such as warming spices infused into familiar ingredients.

Wild fennel pollen is a new spice, sold as the third most expensive spice after saffron and cardamom. It has also been voted by Forbes as one of the top 10 food trends of 2011. While the flavour is unmistakably fennel, picking and bottling wild blossoms and selling them as a fine spice that is capable of infusing its essence in to any recipe is very new to the market.

Cornish blue cheese by Cornish Cheese Co. at BBC Good Food Show Winter 2011

The rise of the Locavore

A locavore is a person interested in eating and promoting locally produced food. This movement was born out of sustainability concerns on future food production and the environmental impact of food miles. A good example is the revival of farmhouse cheesemaking.

Subscribers can read the full report from the show, which explores five major culinary trends, here.