Can you believe it? It has been ten years since Deliveroo arrived in our lives, transforming our takeaway options from pizzas and kebabs to run the length and breadth of Manchester’s restaurant scene.
A decade ago, the idea of being able to order a meal from your favourite restaurant to your door seemed like a real curveball. To be honest, It just wasn’t done – but now it seems like the most normal thing ever.
So, come 2040, will we all be as accepting of VR dinner parties, 3D printed meal plans and breath prints? Experts working for Deliveroo certainly seem to think so.
The Delivery giant has published a unique look into the future of food, and released its Snack To The Future report to mark its 10th anniversary.
Bringing together leading futurists and experts from the worlds of food, science, technology and innovation, the report offers a forward-looking view of how the nation will be eating by 2040 and how our dinner tables are set to revolutionise.
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Image: Supplied
Research commissioned by Deliveroo has revealed that in the next ten years, you’ll be able to virtually smell and taste your takeaway before choosing your order, amongst other things.
The report from Deliveroo and guest experts including Georgie Barrat (Technology Journalist and TV Presenter on The Gadget Show) and Tom Cheesewright (applied Futurist), reveals key predictions and technological advancements by 2040 that are set to rock consumers’ worlds.
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These include breath-prints, me-ganism Diets, foodgasms, edible beauty, 3D printed meal plans, VR dinner parties and restorative restaurants by 2040, as well as ‘wine cordials’ that will mimic the flavour of alcohol and personal AI diet planning assistants.
Dystopian? A little.
Image: Supplied
Deliveroo’s new report outlines exactly what these terms mean and how experts think they will manifest in the next decade. Keep reading to find out the key points made by experts.
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What is in Deliveroo’s Snack to the Future report?
o BREATH-PRINTS: Find out how breath-prints will make our future food decisions for us. Expect personal tech devices to be enabled with BreathTech, meaning you can breathe on your device and get a deep level of insight into what foods you should be eating to have optimal impact on your individual health and wellbeing
o ME-GANSIM: Move over Keto, the predicted next big thing in dieting and set to be the mainstream diet of the future, is the Me-gan diet (Me-ganism); a hyper-personalised diet which is fully bespoke to your individual nutritional needs, powered by AI technology
o PERSONAL AIs: Underpinning the Me-gan diet and lifestyle, AI technology will offer you your own personal AI (a life long AI buddy) which will help automate and tailor what you are eating based on preferences and needs at any given time
o FOODGASMS: Food that makes you feel… food delivery services will be using additional digital audio and visual content to elevate the meal enjoyment experience, so much so that it could take food pleasure to the next level with ‘foodgasms’ (braingasms via what you eat)
o EDIBLE BEAUTY: Get ready to see the food and beauty industry become more integrated than ever with a rise in edible beauty products like anti-aging ice-cream and the chance to dine from hormone-balancing and dopamine driving menus
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o 3D PRINTED MEAL PLANS: From packed lunches to printed lunches, food prep is about to become a lot easier with advances in 3D printing technology helping you create perfectly portioned and nutritionally balanced meals, of your choice, at home
o VR DINNER PARTIES: Dine with celebrities, royals and late loved ones in your favourite holiday destination, or recreate food moments from famous movies thanks to VR technology, which will simulate dining experiences from the comfort of your home – think: enjoying a delightful breakfast at Tiffany’s, while you’re tucking into a bacon sandwich on the sofa
o FAREWELL FUSSY EATERS: Thanks to VR and AR technology, your brains could be tricked into thinking you are eating something you are not, for example, if you are a fussy eater who doesn’t want to eat vegetables, you could put on smart glasses and think you are eating chocolate or sweets
o RESTORATIVE RESTAURANTS: New restaurant concepts will remove outside world distractions, with personal tech devices banned at entry and a rise in the popularity of silent cafés and restaurants, ONLY offering tables for one to encourage mindful eating
o PASS THE AMARANTH: Whole grain staples, such as corn or maize, are about to look very different with alternatives such as amaranth, fonio, sorghum, teff, khorasan, einkorn and emmer, all likely to be mainstream in 2040
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o ALT-OHOL: As the nation increasingly seeks alcohol alternatives, we can expect to see a rise in popularity of ‘wine’ cordials that mimic the taste and flavour profile of real wine, without the negatives
Speaking on the report and the predictions for the future of food Will Shu, Founder and CEO of Deliveroo, said: “I started Deliveroo in 2013 with a mission to connect people to the best quality food from local restaurants and deliver it directly to people’s doors.
“It has been an incredible ride over the past ten years and I am really proud of what we have built.
“As we look towards the next decade and beyond, Deliveroo will continue to create exciting new innovations in food delivery, build new and better consumer experiences and take Deliveroo beyond functionality and convenience to really capture the passion and emotion of food.”
Featured image – Supplied
Eats
The Manchester restaurant serving up the ‘world’s hottest curry’ for just a few days
Danny Jones
City centre favourite Zouk is serving up ‘the world’s hottest curry’ again to celebrate National Chilli Day next week.
The popular tea bar and grill located on Chester Street just off Oxford Road is slap bang in the middle of student central and has hordes of patrons lining up day in, day out, to taste their incredible Indian and Pakistani cuisine.
Now, to celebrate every spicy-food lover’s favourite day, Zouk is putting on special, limited-time-only menu to cater to all you heat freaks and speaking collectively on The Manc‘s behalf (several of us having tried it), it’s no joke.
The World’s Hottest Curry will be available for five days from Monday 24 to Friday 28 February, with a challenge on Thursday 27 February with prizes to anyone who can finish the fiery karahi.
The dishes
When it came to coming up with the world’s hottest curry, Zouk didn’t have to look far for inspiration, they simply picked the world’s hottest chilli: the Carolina Reaper Chilli.
Combining the 1,569,000 Scoville scorcher of a chilli with their much-loved and already spicy chicken karahi and vegetable karahi recipes, they knew they were on a winner. You might have to sign a waiver to eat it but that’s all part of the fun, right?
Typically prepared in a wok and cooked over hot flames with tomatoes, ginger, garlic, peppercorns and cumin to create the sauce base, the karahi originates from the Northwest region of Pakistan and has a great flavour. Depending on how brave you’re feeling, you can have it as a kebab or a full curry.
Credit: Supplied
That being said, this version does contain dried Carolina Reapers so you might not taste much beyond the heat of the sun after a few seconds. While the chilli is deemed suitable for human consumption, even Zouk’s chefs have admitted to struggling with the dish. Gulp. So, what can you win?
The challenge and prizes
Us Brits love a good curry and we already know that plenty of you won’t be able to resist the urge to take on the Reaper Challenge simply out of pride, so we might as well just tell you what you’ll have to eat in order to win the prizes.
Here’s what’s up for grabs:
Finish the full Carolina Reaper Curry (either chicken or veg) in one sitting (max eating time 30 minutes and no helping from companions), Zouk will give you the meal for free.
PLUS, a £50 Zouk Gift Card so you can come back at a later date to try their full menu (including some less omg-spicy options).
You’ll also get a Zouk Ice Cream Sunday to help cool off afterwards. Trust us, you’ll need it.
Issuing a statement for National Chilli Day and the Reaper Challenge, owner Tayub Amjad said: “Our food is usually more about flavour than heat but it’s National Chilli Day, and we know our customers love this challenge.
“For those who complete the challenge, you still have chance to come back and dine on us at a future date, so you will still get to experience the real Zouk too.”
What you thinking, Manchester? Are you up for taking on the world’s hottest curry?
Prestwich pizzeria Dokes announces closure as neighbourhood goes through big changes
Daisy Jackson
One of Prestwich’s best-loved independent restaurants has announced the end of its current chapter, saying that it’s become too difficult to operate with tighter and tighter margins.
Dokes, a pizzeria that also served arguably the town’s best roast dinner, has said that it’s going to ‘have to call it a day’ after three years in the proudly independent neighbourhood.
The news comes just months after Rudy’s opened its first Prestwich restaurant just across the road from Dokes, though that of course may just be a coincidence…
The restaurant comes from the same team behind Elnecot in Ancoats, and opened in 2022, promising delicious pizzas made with (wherever possible) British ingredients.
In a statement issued today, chef and owner Michael Clay said that ‘it’s just not been possible for us to make the money required for the size of team needed to run as a pizza restaurant’.
He wrote: “We are a small restaurant and the margins that were there pre-Covid are not achievable anymore at this scale and only getting tighter month on month.”
He then teased that they would be keeping the Bury New Road site on, with plans to reopen as a new concept.
Prestwich has been growing in popularity in recent years, with a blossoming food and drink scene and healthily increasing house prices.
It’s on the precipice of a £100m overhaul too, which will see the Longfield Centre transformed and new facilities built near the tram stop, including a community hub, a new village square, a market hall, flexible retail and leisure spaces, landscaped outdoor and green spaces, a new travel hub off Fairfax Road and around 200 homes.
It’s always been a village packed with local small businesses until this year, when both Rudy’s and Gail’s opened up – prompting this heartfelt statement from another local indie.
Dokes’ full statement reads: “After nearly 3 years of trying our hardest, unfortunately we’re going to have to call it a day.
“Having originally taken on the premises in between the two lockdowns (remember them?!), we’ve been extremely proud of what we have achieved under sometimes unbelievably difficult circumstances. Our staff have been the cornerstone of this and we would like to thank them for all of their hard work. The feedback we have received over the past couple of years on their food, service and hospitality has been absolutely incredible and we are extremely grateful for the hard work they have put in and the commitment they have shown.
“We feel like we have created a product that you have absolutely loved and a space that you have enjoyed coming to and we now really feel like a part of the Prestwich community – and for that we can’t thank you enough! You came for the pizzas and stayed for the roasts and it’s been a lot of fun.
“Try as we might though, it’s just not been possible for us to make the money required for the size of team needed to run as a pizza restaurant. We are a small restaurant and the margins that were there pre-Covid are not achievable anymore at this scale and only getting tighter month on month.
“So it is with a heavy heart that we are closing the door on this chapter BUT…we aren’t going to be leaving you completely…
“We have plans for the place which we will be updating you about very soon so please watch this space for more details. We hope you’re going to love it.
“As Dokes, Sunday 9th March will be our final service so please come down over the next couple of weeks, grab a pizza or a roast and say hello. It would be lovely to see you all. Bookings are open and the cellar is stocked so lets fill the little place up and go out with a bang!
Georgina Pellant -
28th June 2023 
