We are avocado-ed out of it. So what’s in store for the new year? Here are the top trends expected to grace our restaurants and plates in 2019.

  • Healthy frozen savouries: Deliveroo is an online delivery service and last year it teamed up with Scoop to offer a savoury cheese and onion ice cream. All you Tayto lovers may be jumping with excitement while others may be sceptical, but it was a good success so expect more of these unusual ice cream flavours to come. Internationally, these flavours have taken off. While we may not be welcoming the broccoli split with open arms, expect to see veggie varieties on the dessert menu.
  • Fermented food and drink: Deliveroo also predicts that we will be fermenting our way through 2019. Fermentation is a traditional form of food preservation, but it has become very trendy again with more and more restaurants offering foods such as pickles and sauerkraut. Breaking through the fermentation process for 2019 will be more varieties of kombucha. Hailed as a miracle drink, it packs a probiotic punch for gut health. Seeing as Ireland’s unofficial national drink is tea, this fermented version is sure to be a key 2019 healthy hit.
  • Root to tip cooking: 2018 was the year of really recognising the urgency of tackling waste, including food waste. Root to tip cooking, which involves the use of the full vegetable, is a method of days gone by, but will return and bring cooking back to basics in 2019. It’s expected that using the likes of root vegetable leaves to make tasty and flavoursome pestos to accompany dishes will become more commonplace in kitchens.
  • Sea snacks: According to global trend forecasters, sea vegetables and greens will become a regular addition to diets next year. Get ready for kelp noodles or puffed savoury snacks made with algae. Time to open your mind and try something new.

    • Dublin’s firm favourite spreads its wings to Rathmines

    When anyone asks for a good restaurant recommendation in Dublin, there is one name that comes up again and again, Elephant and Castle. It’s been a staple on the restaurant food scene since 1989. Nearly 30 years later, it still has queues out the door for its famous chicken wings. It is one of the few reasons why Irish Country Living will venture into Temple Bar. Now after all this time, it has just announced it is opening a second location in Rathmines.

    The menu will feature the same great dishes from the fluffy omelettes, buttermilk pancakes, caesar salads and juicy burgers to, of course, those crispy spicy wings. It has friendly, laid-back service and a relaxed atmosphere, and with 110 seats, it means maybe there will be less queues in the original location. Early 2019 will also see a further expansion even further afield, when Elephant & Castle will march its way into Monkstown Village.

    www.elephantandcastle.ie

    Seafood masterclass with Sean Smith

    If you’re planning to up your cooking skills in 2019, then Cliff Townhouse Dublin have just announced a new series of their very popular Seafood Masterclasses with head chef Sean Smith. It’s particularly handy for anyone whose New Year’s resolution is to cook and eat more healthy, delicious food.

    Capitalising on the expertise available in Cliff Townhouse, the seafood-mad Donegal chef will host his next masterclasses on 19 January, 23 February and 23 March, demonstrating how to choose and buy the freshest fish, as well as easy ways to prepare and cook it at home.

    Tickets are just €35 and include the masterclass, a glass of wine and some nibbles. There are only 10 places in each and booking is required.

    To book, email info@clifftownhouse.ie

    Food photography skills

    You can’t go into a restaurant these days without spotting someone photographing their food and posting it on Instagram so the world can see their culinary delights. If that sounds like you and you’re thinking of stepping things up a notch in the new year, then get yourself to Dingle (22-24 February) for a food styling and photography weekend.

    Taking place in Castlewood House in partnership with Dingle Cookery School and Monika Coghlan of Pepperazzi Food Styling and Photography, this weekend is sure to book out fast.

    On Saturday the course takes place in Dingle Cookery School where participants will learn about lighting, composition, shooting angles, styles of food photography and how to use props and backdrops.

    There will be a demo and dine by Mark Murphy from Dingle Cookery School, where food plating will be discussed. After lunch will be a hands on food styling and photography session.

    On Sunday morning there will be a guided tour of the craft brewery in the famous Dick Mack’s Pub followed by presentation of photographs by the Little Cheese Shop Dingle and Bacus Bakery.

    Also, the location is top class. Castlewood House Dingle has a string of accolades to their name including winner of Irish Independent Reader Award for Best Breakfast in 2017, TripAdvisor Best Small Hotel in Ireland 2014-18 and TripAdvisor Best Bargain Hotel in the World 2014. Accommodation will be in a bay-view room with bucks fizz on arrival followed by tea, scones and cakes.The cost per person sharing is €335 or €405 for single occupancy but places are limited.

    For more details on this weekend and other activities, please contact Helen Heaton of Castlewood House Dingle on 066-9152788 or 087-7694286.