New additions to the company’s Inspiring Fruits collection of fruit essences, natural named flavours and depictable flavours include rhubarb and apple. These British, seasonal fruits have had a renaissance recently in the culinary world as chefs make local produce the star of many high-end restaurant dishes.

Synergy has also developed new Belgian chocolate and blonde chocolate flavours to tap into the latest premium indulgence trends and enable manufacturers to add a different twist on classic chocolate flavours.

Synergy analysed the dessert menus of 49 Michelin Star restaurants in the UK as a source of insight for manufacturers across the food and beverage industry and to provide culinary inspiration for future flavour developments. Synergy’s research highlights key trending profiles and explores new ingredients and flavours.

Rhubarb came out top as the most used flavour on the dessert menus, likely because of its seasonality and versatility in a number of pairings, such as ginger or pistachio. It was closely followed by the classic flavours of chocolate, vanilla and apple (Figure 1).

Chefs have also been championing pear, as the sweet and less acidic notes of pear compared with apple make it a great ingredient when combined with a range of fruits, spices, nuts and indulgent profiles such as chocolate.

Synergy has also developed a range of concept ideas using the newly introduced flavours to inspire its customers on optimal flavour pairings for their products. These flavour concepts include rhubarb and basil, pear and verbena, blood orange and yogurt, white chocolate, and bergamot, rose and lychee, and grapefruit and honey. 

Vicky Berry, European Business Development Manager, Synergy Flavours, explains: “We’ve been really inspired by the use of different ingredients and flavours across Michelin Star restaurants in the UK and Ireland. For example, Jamavar, a restaurant that explores pan-Indian flavours, has a Rhubarb Chuski Falooda on its menu – a decadent chilled dessert with rhubarb, basil seeds and saffron."

It’s so interesting to see the ways that top chefs experiment with flavour combinations and to see which flavours are trending. We have used the insights gained from our analysis to create some versatile new flavours, which customers can access alongside some of our existing solutions, to help them inspire their consumers with a premium taste experience."

"Our trends-led approach to flavour development enables us to anticipate some of the up-and-coming flavours, such as bergamot, kaffir lime and honey.”