If you can’t stomach the hot trend that landed kale on just about every menu, take heart because kale salads are predicted to fade in 2015. If you’re an ice cream snob and only like the house-made good stuff, you’re in luck too. Artisan ice creams are trending up this year. Gluten-free cuisine is trending down. Fried chicken remains a menu favorite. It’s a fascinating food story to follow because the ups and downs of menu trends are a reflection of changing consumer tastes and attitudes about the food system.
The National Restaurant Association’s annual survey of members of the American Culinary Federation asked chefs to rate food trends as either “hot,” “yesterday’s news” or a “perennial favorite.” The association’s 2015 Culinary Forecast’s top four hot trends are the same as last year: locally sourced meats and seafood, locally grown produce, environmental sustainability, and healthful kids’ menus. New to the list is identifying the growth in entrée salads designed for the kids. Also new to the top 20: the appearance of artisan cheeses on the menu.
It’s interesting how many of the trends relate to good nutrition including sustainable seafood, minimally processed foods, grilled vegetables, fresh beans and peas, root vegetables and brown or wild rice. Browsing the menu at recently opened Southbound restaurant in Chamblee is like watching the association’s menu survey come to life. The beets and apples salad features Georgia apples, endive, watercress, prosciutto and pecans. The wild Georgia shrimp is seasoned with lemon, garlic and white wine. Southbound’s bar is on trend too with culinary cocktails and locally made craft beers on tap. There’s also no kale in the fall salad.
Mother Earth on the menu
Climbing up the trend list is a focus on environmental sustainability, food waste reduction and hyper-local sourcing, which includes restaurants with their own gardens. The Inn at Dos Brisas in Washington, Texas, takes that trend seriously with a 42-acre USDA-certified organic garden on the property. In the kitchen, you’re just as likely to see the inn’s farmer as you are the chef. They literally collaborate on pairing the just-picked dragon carrots with the clover-fed lamb loin.
Say cheese
Finally, do you take photos of your food when you dine out? Fifty-seven percent of chefs say they encourage their guests to snap shots because they think it’s good advertising. But 32 percent added, “as long as it’s discreet.” I couldn’t agree more.
