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The National Restaurant Association’s “What’s Hot in 2012” survey of nearly 1,800 professional chefs – members of the American Culinary Federation – revealed that children’s nutrition and local sourcing will be the hottest trends on restaurant menus this year.
The top 10 menu trends 2012 will be:
- Locally sourced meats and seafood;
- Locally grown produce;
- Healthful kids’ meals;
- Hyper-local items;
- Sustainability as a culinary theme;
- Children’s nutrition as a culinary theme;
- Gluten-free/food allergy-conscious items;
- Locally produced wine and beer;
- Sustainable seafood;
- and Whole grain items in kids’ meals.
“The top menu trends we’re seeing in our What’s Hot in 2012 survey reflect the macro-trends we have seen grow over the last several years,” said Joy Dubost, Ph.D, R.D., director of Nutrition & Healthy Living for the National Restaurant Association. “Nutrition – especially when it comes to children – is becoming a major focus for the nation’s nearly one million restaurants, in tune with consumers’ increasing interest in healthful eating.”
“Local sourcing of everything – from meat and fish, to produce, to alcoholic beverages – is another big trend for 2012. Local farms and food producers have become an important source of ingredients for chefs and restaurateurs wishing to support the members of their business community and highlight seasonal ingredients on menus,” Dubost added.
Rounding out the top 20 hot menu trends are:
- Newly fabricated cuts of meat
- Farm/estate-branded items
- Food trucks/street food
- Artisan spirits
- House-made/artisan ice cream
- Health/nutrition as a culinary theme
- Non-traditional fish
- Fruit/vegetable kids’ side items
- Children’s mini-meals (i.e. smaller versions of adult menu items)
- Culinary cocktails
Also included in the survey were questions about technology trends, food trucks, fruit and vegetables on menus, and restaurant gardens.
You can download the National Restaurant Association Chef Survey What’s Hot in 2012 report here. It makes for interesting reading as trends by category are also identified. Categories include Appetisers; Main Dishes; Sides and Starches; Produce; Desserts; Breakfasts / Brunches; Children’s Meals; Ethnic Cuisines and Flavours; Other Food Items/Ingredients; Preparation Methods; Culinary Themes; Non-Alcoholic Beverages; and Alcohol and Cocktails.
The hottest appetiser trend for 2012 will be vegetable/vegetarian appetisers, while locally sourced meats and seafoods feature as the hottest main course / centre of plate trend.
In the sides or starches category non-wheat noodles/pasta (such as quinoa, rice or buckwheat) took top place as the hottest trend. Locally grown produce was the hottest trend in the produce category and topped organic produce.
Artisan/house-made ice cream led the desserts category, while ethnic-inspired breakfast items topped the list in breakfasts and brunches. These include items such as Asian-flavored syrups, chorizo scrambled eggs and coconut milk pancakes. Ethnic fusion cuisine was identified as the hottest trend when it came to ethnic cuisines and flavours.
Pickling topped the list in preparation methods, something that really does not appeal to me. I don’t believe I’ve ever eaten a pickled anything that I enjoyed. Hyper-local sourcing led in the culinary themes category. Basically this means sourcing product as close to home as possible, ideally your own kitchen garden.
Non-alcoholic beverages featured house-made soft drinks/soda/pop as the hottest trend for 2012, while locally-produced wine and beer was identified as the top trend in the alcohol and cocktails category.
The American Culinary Federation, Inc., established in 1929, is the premier professional organization for culinarians in
Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry in America, which comprises 960,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of nearly 13 million employees. For more information, visit www.restaurant.org and find them on Twitter @WeRRestaurants,Facebook and YouTube.
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