Locally sourced meat, seafood and produce again top the list of hot menu trends as predicted by chefs surveyed by the National Restaurant Association. Hyper-local items, such as ingredients from restaurants’ own gardens, rank fourth on the list, and a third of chefs at full-service restaurants who were surveyed said they had gardens on-site.
Here’s chef Rick Bayless giving a tour of his backyard garden at a Les Dames event I attended this summer. In his three-city lot in Chicago, Rick grows an amazing amount of vegetables, salad micro-greens, peppers and herbs for his award-winning restaurants Frontera Grill and Topolobambo.
The top 20 predicted hot menu trends identified by the 1,800 chefs who belong to the American Culinary Federation are:
1. Locally sourced meats and seafood
2. Locally grown produce
3. Healthful kids’ meals
4. Hyper-local sourcing (e.g., restaurant gardens)
5. Sustainability as a culinary theme
6. Children’s nutrition as a culinary theme
7. Gluten-free/food allergy-conscious items
8. Locally produced wine and beer
9. Sustainable seafood
10. Whole grain items in kids’ meals
11. Newly fabricated cuts of meat, such as the pork flat iron and the beef petit tender
12. Farm/estate-branded items
13. Food trucks/street food
14. Artisan spirits
15. House-made/artisan ice cream
16. Health/nutrition as a culinary theme
17. Non-traditional fish, such as branzino, barramundi, Arctic char
18. Fruit/vegetable kids’ side items
19. Children’s mini-meals (e.g. smaller versions of adult menu items)
20. Culinary cocktails (e.g., savory, fresh ingredients, herb-infused)
Nitro-scrambled egg at The Fat Duck by LarryHalff on flickr
The top five preparation trends:
1. Pickling
2. Fermenting
3. Sous vide
4. Liquid nitrogen chilling/freezing
5. Oil-poaching
Barramundi, squid and preserved lemon salad with black rice by al_again on flickr
Top five side dishes:
1. Non-wheat noodles/pasta, such as buckwheat
2. Black/forbidden rice
3. Quinoa
4. Red rice
5. Vegetable pickles
Lebneh by ShazzaKataya on flickr
Five hot ingredients
1. Artisan/specialty bacon
2. Artisan cheeses
3. Ancient grains (kamut, spelt, amanranth)
4. Greek yogurt
5. Ethnic cuisine cheeses (lebneh, paneer, halloumi, queso fresco)
Tagged as: 2012 menu trends, chefs, chefs name what's hot
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Wow really it is a great lot of useful information about nutrition. Thanks for such a great share.
Love trend articles – good job! Curious about “oil poaching” – how does that work?
Love the trend talk, when it comes to sustainability I hope the prediction “pans” out.
It’s so great to see #10 – Whole grain items in kid’s meals – on the list. Whole grains and high fiber foods are packed full of nutrition and can go a long way in helping to prevent many of the diseases we’re seeing in children these days. In fact, I’m pleased to see so many topics related to kid’s nutrition. Let’s turn things around in 2012 and get the kids eating healthier foods!
I love all three of these lists! They make 2012 sound like a locally grown healthy year for all. By all I also mean kids! It makes me happy to see chefs continuing to strive to make childrens food better. I just hope it makes it into our schools more this coming year. Who can also turn down a nice Artisan cheese or bacon! Yumm! Also, food trucks just sound like a great summer day atmosphere!! Sounds like a great year in food coming ahead!
Thank you so much for the recipe ideas. I been looking for something new to welcome in the New Year with my friends and family. Thanks again for the well written article.