The Chef’s Survey is in! What do chefs think will be the stand outs in the restaurant industry this year? The annual National Restaurant Association survey of American Culinary Federation member chefs asked more than 1,500 professional chefs for their professional opinion of what they think will be a “hot trend,” or “yesterday’s news,” or “perennial favorite” on restaurant menus in 2011.
The envelope please……… and the winners are:
Top 5 Trends by Category
Appetizers
- Ethnic/street food-inspired appetizers (e.g. tempura, taquitos, kabobs, hummus)
- Amuse bouche/bite-size hors d’oeuvre
- Warm appetizer salads
- Appetizer combos/ platters
- Dumplings/dim sum
Main Dishes/ Center of the Plate
- Locally sourced meats and seafood
- Sustainable seafood
- Half-portions/smaller portion for a smaller price
- Newly fabricated cuts of meat (e.g. Denver steak, pork flat iron, Petite Tender)
- Non-traditional fish (e.g. branzino, Arctic char, barramundi)
Produce
- Locally grown produce
- Organic produce
- Super fruits (e.g. acai, goji berry, mangosteen, purslane)
- Heirloom beans
- Exotic fruit (e.g. durian, passion fruit, dragon fruit, paw paw, guava)
Desserts
- Artisan/house-made ice cream
- Bite-size/mini desserts
- Dessert flights/ combos
- Deconstructed classic desserts
- Savory desserts
Kids’ Meals
- Nutritionally balanced children’s dishes
- Fruit/vegetable children’s side items
- “Kid cuisine”/gourmet children’s dishes
- “Mini meals” (e.g. smaller versions of adult menu items)
- Children’s entrée salads
I was thrilled to see restaurants taking an interest in healthy, gourmet style meals for kids! Start a child eating healthy and interesting food early and you will have the next generation of fabulous foodies. It was also fun to see that the dessert category backed up my Dessert Trends for 2011 post from last year.
Be sure to check out the entire survey and what they based it on from the National Restaurant Association.
Happy Dining in 2011!
