2013 food trends

It’s that time of year when you can find lots of predictions of what will be the big food trends in 2013.  As you know, I love tracking food trends.  So I’ve dug through a multitude of trend lists to highlight what I think will be hot in the coming year.  Here’s a collection of what I’ve looked at so far, so you can have all these 2013 trend lists in one handy place:

National Restaurant Association What’s Hot 2013 Chef Survey
Sterling-Rice Group Cutting-Edge Dining Trends of 2013
Andrew Freeman & Co. How Hotel & Restaurant Trends Will Shape a New Reality in 2013
Baum + Whiteman 17 Hottest Food and Dining Trends for 2013
Phil Lempert The Top 10 Food Trend Predictions for 2013
Technomic Technomic’s Take: What’s Ahead in 2013?
Epicurious Epicurious Predicts The Top 10 Food Trends of 2013
The Food Channel Top Ten Food Trends of 2013
Innova Market Insights Top Trends for 2013
Produce Marketing Association’s Produce Trends
McCormick & Co. Flavor Trends (client)
Cooking Light Our Predictions: 2013 Food Trends

Pappardelle with Peas and Asparagus at Supper by gsz on flickr

One consistent prediction is that 2013 will be the year of the vegetable.  Hallelujah, vegetables will finally get their star turn. Veggies are moving to the center of the plate and are being prepared in tons of creative, innovative ways. Lots of restaurants are gaining acclaim for their new-fangled vegetable plates, like New York’s the Fat Radish and Philadelphia’s Supper. With more diners discovering the joys of occasional meatless meals, there’s a greater  flirtation with flexitarian eating styles. Local produce is increasingly in demand, even “hyper local sourcing” with restaurant gardens on rooftops and backyards.

Cauliflower Steaks with Quinoa and Basil Oil form Linda Long’s Great Chefs Cook Vegan by jaunelos on flickr

One breakout star is cauliflower, which is taking over the plate at restaurants like Sunday Suppers in Brooklyn and Chicago’s Girl and the Goat, which serves an amazing sauteed cauliflower dish with pickled peppers, pine nuts and mint that I’ve had at Stephanie Izard’s restaurant several times and tried to duplicate at home (video here).  Roasted cauliflower “steaks” are also all the rage, including the Cauliflower T-bone at Superba Snack Bar in Los Angeles.

Cauliflower at Girl and the Goat by Crispyteriyaki on flickr

Vegetables are even showing up in desserts (see The Unexpected Evolution of Dessert in Food Technology). Battersby in Brooklyn offers a fennel panna cotta, Michel Richard makes a maple parsnip cake, and Brooks Headley at Del Posto in New York features celery in a celery sorbet served with celery salad, goat cheese mousse balls coasted with olive oil sauteed bread crumbs, and macerated figs with balsamic vinegar and eggplant in Neapolitan eggplant and chocolate, and eggplant crostata with stracciatella ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate.  Pumpkin was everywhere this year, and it’s always been big in desserts – but expect it to take on new forms like pumpkin cayenne gelato from Nana. Corn is the most popular vegetable used in desserts, such as sweet corn creme brulee with popcorn shoots, candied bacon and turbinado sugar at Tilth in Seattle.

Avocado Mousse by orrblue on flickr

Vegetables are also big in cocktails (no, not just in a Bloody Mary anymore).  Creative bartenders are influsing vodka, gin and rum with vegetables for some unique hand-crafted cocktails.  For instance, Fifth Floor in San Fransciso serves a “Beet & Bruised” with beet infused applejack and a “Dram at Mt Tam” that’s flavored with kale.  Speaking of kale, it was huge in 2012 (called the new bacon), but other dark, bitter greens will be coming on strong in the new year:  beet greens, chard, turnip greens and mustard greens.  Some other veggies predicted to be big in 2013 include green chickpeas (the “new edamame”) and black garlic – two items I’ve written about before — along with baby sweet potatoes and sweet potato fries, specialty potatoes, green tomatoes, root vegetables, squash noodles, golden and chiogga beets, micro-vegetables and pickled vegetables.

Chioggia beets by Lies Smits on flickr

What vegetables are you looking forward to eating more in 2013?

Tagged as: 2013 food trends, 2013 year of the vegetable, food trends, vegetable trends

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