Food & Drink Trends Scavenger Hunt Tasks - 22 August 2026
From viral recipes to new launches, this week's food and drink highlights feature Spot a council-issued small kitchen food-waste caddy (the little indoor one) being delivered or already placed outside a home, then note the council name printed on it, Find a supermarket aisle endcap or customer notice explaining a NEW weekly food-waste collection service in your area (take a clear photo of the wording), and more. Grab your shopping bag and tick off as many of these 30 tasks as you can.
Each task is tied to a real story, trend, or cultural moment from this week. Grab your phone, head outside, and see how many you can tick off.
This Week's Tasks
1. Spot a council-issued small kitchen food-waste caddy (the little indoor one) being delivered or already placed outside a home, then note the council name printed on it.
* Tamworth Borough Council began delivering food-waste caddies ahead of its new weekly service launch this week.
2. Find a supermarket aisle endcap or customer notice explaining a NEW weekly food-waste collection service in your area (take a clear photo of the wording).
* Multiple councils announced/started weekly food-waste collections this week as part of Simpler Recycling changes.
3. Visit your local library or council building and locate a leaflet about weekly food-waste collections; photograph the front cover and the start date shown.
* Southampton and Warrington published updates this week about new weekly food-waste services.
4. Inspect a public bin area (outside flats, a community centre, or a council site) and identify a dedicated food-waste container or signage; capture the label that mentions ‘food waste’.
* Councils are rolling out food-waste infrastructure and communications this week ahead of weekly collections.
5. Buy or photograph a fresh loaf or bakery item that clearly states it’s made with Wildfarmed flour (or ‘Wildfarmed’) on the packaging or shelf label.
* Wildfarmed launched its Food & Nature Resilience Fund this week, putting the brand in the spotlight.
6. Track down a Too Good To Go ‘Magic Bag’ collection point (restaurant, bakery, or convenience store) and photograph the pickup instructions sign at the till or door.
* Too Good To Go’s UK leadership discussed surplus and household food-waste reduction in coverage this week.
7. Open the Too Good To Go app in a high street and physically visit one nearby partner venue listed for collection today; photograph the venue’s name sign from outside.
* This week’s coverage highlighted Too Good To Go’s structured surplus approach and growing everyday visibility.
8. Find a Waitrose patisserie counter or chilled cabinet and photograph one item label from the ‘patisserie revamp’ range showing the product name and price.
* Waitrose announced a 16-product patisserie revamp with UK supermarket firsts this week.
9. Purchase one new-to-you Waitrose patisserie item from the revamped range and give it a one-sentence ‘first bite’ review to your team.
* Waitrose’s patisserie revamp launched this week, encouraging shoppers to try new treats.
10. Browse an Asda ‘New In’ or promotional bay and photograph a shelf-edge label that highlights a brand-new product landing ‘this week’.
* Asda announced a major food shake-up with hundreds of new products arriving in stores this week.
11. Buy one Asda new-launch own-label item (any category) and photograph the front of pack plus the ingredients panel.
* Asda’s wave of new ranges and product launches has been widely reported this week.
12. Compare two ‘new’ products in Asda by photographing their shelf labels side-by-side, showing price-per-100g (or price-per-litre) for both.
* This week’s reporting focused on Asda’s new ranges and pricing changes, making price comparisons a timely shopper behaviour.
13. Find a Tesco plant-based ‘veg-led scratch cooking’ product cue (a meal kit, veg-forward recipe card, or plant-based cooking ingredient callout) and photograph the wording.
* Tesco reported plant-based growth returning, driven by a veg-led scratch cooking trend highlighted this week.
14. Buy a plant-based ingredient intended for scratch cooking (e.g., tofu, tempeh, plant mince, or pulses) and photograph your receipt showing the item name.
* This week’s Tesco update linked plant-based growth to scratch cooking, making ingredient shopping the trend in action.
15. Track down a Maggi ready meal in a supermarket and photograph the front of pack showing ‘Maggi’ and the specific meal name.
* Food industry coverage this week highlighted newly launched Maggi ready meals among other releases.
16. Find a Quorn product you haven’t tried before and photograph the pack next to the shelf label (showing the price).
* This week’s launch round-up included Quorn, keeping it in the new-products conversation.
17. Locate an Ella’s Kitchen baby/toddler product with a ‘new’ flash or limited-time callout and photograph the front of pack.
* This week’s product launch coverage included Ella’s Kitchen among notable new items.
18. Order (or photograph on the menu board) the fast-food chain’s ‘fan-favourite US item’ newly added to UK menus this week; capture the exact item name as shown.
* Regional reporting confirmed a fan-favourite US menu item arriving on UK menus this week.
19. Visit a Wingstop and photograph a sign or in-store graphic celebrating the brand’s 100th UK restaurant milestone.
* Wingstop UKI hit its 100th restaurant milestone with the Inverness opening reported this week.
20. If you’re in Inverness: queue at Wingstop and photograph the in-store ‘free offer for first customers’ messaging (without photographing staff or customers’ faces).
* This week’s local coverage described Wingstop Inverness opening with a free offer for early customers.
21. Visit a food hall in your city and photograph three different vendor menus in one shot (showing three distinct cuisines).
* Food halls were highlighted this week as bucking the downbeat hospitality trend and staying popular.
22. Buy one small bite from a food hall vendor and photograph the receipt plus the stall’s name sign.
* This week’s reporting framed food halls as resilient, encouraging people to eat from multiple small vendors.
23. Recreate ‘frambled eggs’ by ordering eggs at a café and asking for them scrambled extra-soft; photograph the plate and write down whether it matches the ‘frambled’ look.
* UK coverage this week spotlighted ‘frambled eggs’ as a viral recipe trend.
24. Spot a café or bakery selling a ‘dot cake’ (or a colourful spotted cake) and photograph the slice/whole cake display label.
* Good Housekeeping highlighted the colourful viral dot cake recipe as a big bake-this-weekend moment.
25. Find a restaurant, takeaway, or supermarket ready-meal that mashes up two cuisines in one dish (e.g., ‘dumpling’ + ‘lasagne’) and photograph the product/menu name.
* This week’s coverage noted ‘dumpling lasagne’ everywhere on TikTok, reflecting ongoing mash-up food experimentation.
26. Buy ripe bananas and a chocolate bar from the same shop, then photograph them together on a checkout counter (or at home) as your ‘viral banana treat’ starter kit.
* A viral recipe this week suggested turning ripe bananas into chocolate-covered Ferrero Rocher-style treats.
27. Find a canteen-style ‘school dinner’ classic being sold as a special in a café (look for wording like ‘school dinner’, ‘dinner lady’, or a named classic) and photograph the menu line.
* BBC coverage this week reported school dinner recipes going viral online, spilling into café specials and nostalgia menus.
28. Locate a Wetherspoons notice (at the bar, entrance, or table) stating customers can’t play music from phones, and photograph the sign.
* Wetherspoons’ phone-music ban was reported this week, making in-pub signage a timely spot.
29. Check a supermarket’s Bank Holiday opening-hours notice (Aldi, Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Lidl, or Co-op) and photograph the Monday hours shown.
* Bank Holiday supermarket opening hours were widely shared this week, with stores posting temporary notices.
30. Seek out a new restaurant pop-up or residency mentioned in local listings and photograph the ‘residency/pop-up’ wording on a chalkboard or window notice.
* This week’s round-up highlighted new UK restaurants, pop-ups, and residencies to know right now.
How to Play
These tasks are designed for BucketRace, the UK's favourite scavenger hunt platform. You can play solo or in teams, and each task is meant to be completed in the real world. Snap a photo as proof, share it with your group, and see who can complete the most.
New tasks are published every week based on what is actually happening in the UK, so no two weeks are ever the same. Follow us for next week's challenges.