Fermenting Foods in Restaurants

Nowadays, the concern for sustainable food sources has been a great challenge for humanity, and food waste is no longer acceptable, a concern driven by the need to guarantee food for future generations. Furthermore, there is still a global trend towards consuming natural and healthy foods, free as far as possible from chemical compounds during the production, processing, and preparation stages. Gradually, eating habits adapt to new trends, and new foods are being introduced into restaurant cuisine. Within this scenario, restaurants with these new concepts have been emerging worldwide through sustainable practices, increasing plant-based food consumption, and implementing farm-to-table. The aim is to have as net zero waste as possible, utilizing the whole ingredient innovatively. Fermentation is the primary way it achieves this, with the duration of the ferments ranging from days to years before being presented on the menu. Fermentation, in addition to a traditional food preservation technique, can be an essential tool in restaurant kitchens to enhance flavors and textures and increase the nutritional value of food. In that regard, the famous fast food and ultra-processed restaurants, which were very successful in the 80 s, have been gradually replaced by food spaces focusing on natural and healthy eating.