2012 Trends

As we move into the new year, there's always a tendency to look back at the previous year and ahead to the coming year.  There are a million people out there giving their thoughts as to the food trends for 2012.  Here are just a few:

• French Fry Menus.  Restaurants will specialize in fries with menus that allow diners to choose what gets fried and the toppings or sauces that will be served with it.
• "Creative" ice cream flavors.  I personally don't see this as a coming trend.  If you've been to Owowcow Creamery or other artisan ice cream shops, this seems to have been going on for a while.  Remember the ice cream flavors I ate in Bar Harbor this year?  (Click here to refresh your memory.) 
• Classic comfort foods will continue to be popular and be "gussied" up.  Things like fancy burgers and mac and cheese will be on the rise (although this seems to have been happening for a while as well). 
• Simplicity.  I've always believed that if you use great, fresh ingredients, you don't have to do too much to them to make them delicious.  Some prognosticators think that more people will realize that throughout 2012.
• Better Kids' Menus.  I really hope this is a trend.  Having a 5-year old, I see all the kids' menus.  And most of them are terrible--hot dogs, mac and cheese (usually Kraft from a box), burgers, chicken fingers.  Why can't a kid have their choice of something delicious and creative?  One of the best kids' menus we've seen is at one of our favorite places, Cafe This Way, in Bar Harbor, ME.  They have grilled shrimp, quesadillas, fish, pasta, etc.  I hope more places take up that trend.
• Restaurants will list the sources of their ingredients.  With more people interested and involved in where their food comes from, eating locally, etc, I think this would be a great trend.  Some restaurants, Earl's Bucks County, for example, do that now.  Here's hoping more will do it, too.  It's not only informative, but kind of fun to see where your butternut squash or veal originated.
• Korean, Thai and Scandinavian foods will rise in popularity. 
• More people will use coupons--both for buying groceries and for restaurants.  Why wouldn't you?
• Restaurants will offer smaller portions to tap into customers desire to eat less and more healthy.
• On the other hand, some say that a donut craze will sweep the food landscape.  Fine with me!
• Some "diets" or items previously thought to be healthier will be scrapped in favor of more natural and tasty options: butter instead of margarine, healthy fats instead of fat-free, etc.
• And what I think might be the best trend of all: family dinners will prevail over activities that keep families from eating together.  For kids, this is a great thing.  Studies prove year after year that kids who eat the majority of their meals with their families do better in school, use less drugs/alcohol and have better relationships with their parents.  (Personal chefs make this really easy to do!)

So those are some of what people are saying will be happening in the food world in 2012.  Check out what some of 2011's trends were in my post from last year.  A few seem to have materialized.

Here's to a healthy and tasty 2012!

2011 Trends

As we head toward the start of a new year, we inevitably have to look at what's going to be hot in the coming year.  Movies, sports, politics...and food.  So, according to a few articles that I've read--and the "experts" that wrote them--here are some of the food trends for 2011.

• Food trucks.  They're pretty hot right now in most major cities, but the thought is that food trucks will be even a bigger hit next year.  They'll use social media to let folks know where they'll be and when; what their specials are, etc.  Food truck "rodeos" will bring together a bunch of trucks in one spot in a sort of mobile food court.  And brick-and-mortar restaurants will begin to have food trucks to spread their fare beyond their walls.
• Speaking of restaurants, more small restaurants will be opened on a shoestring budget by couples and friends who are passionate about food.  These folks will do everything--cooking, hosting, bookkeeping--to make their place survive.
• Pie.  I love pie.  And apparently, many think that in the coming year, pie is the new cupcake.  Savory, sweet, traditional, deep-fried, hot, cold--you name it.  
• Restaurants will feature fried veggies that we're not used to being fried: cauliflower, Brussels sprout chips and turnip chips.  Hey, if it gets people to eat them...
• South American, Japanese and especially Korean cuisines are on the rise.  Look for blends of cuisines, too.  Things like Korean tacos.
• People are tired of penny-pinching, so there will be more splurging on food-related activities, be it on ingredients or high end restaurants.
• With the popularity of pork belly (and things like bacon, that come from it) the price has gone up.  So chefs are looking for a cheaper alternative--such as goat and lamb belly.  
• Technology will take a bigger role in the food industry--from on-line features to the use of technology in restaurants.
• I don't know if you'd call healthy eating a trend, but more and more people are working to eat better. Not the goofy food trends that show up now and then--simply eating well-balanced meals; more fruits and veggies; limiting sugar and processed food. Now there's a trend that needs to stick around.
• Specialty restaurants will show up more--those places that feature burgers or mac & cheese or some other item almost exclusive.

So at the end of 2011, we'll have to take a look back and see how many of these trends still are around.  Are there any trends that you'd like to see in the coming year?  Let's hear about them! 

Eat Like a Reindeer

We all know about chefs who like to use any and every part of an animal in their cooking.  But what about what goes into the animal?

According to a Wall Street Journal article, one of the newest (and strangest) ingredients in some gourmet restaurants is hay.

Yes, hay.  The same stuff we saw Santa's reindeer eating the other night at Christmas Candy Lane at HersheyPark.  They seemed to be enjoying it.

Dinner's ready!

Now, hay is just grass, after all.  But it's dried grass.  And that just doesn't sound all that appetizing to me.  In the article you can read how some hay-users use it for flavoring during smoking or things like that.  It also tells of those who use hay as a flavoring in creme brulee and whipped cream.  I don't know about that.

Hey (no pun intended), I'd try it.  I'm just saying that it isn't something that I think would taste that great.  But then Santa's reindeer eat it.  Can't be that bad, right?

Still Trendy?

I've written much about the positive trends of local food and sustainable farming--trends in the food world that revert us back to the days of yore--and give us better, healthier and community-friendly food.  Trends (whether regarding food or some other area) will always be there.  Who knows how they start and, in many cases, how they perpetuate themselves?  For the most part, though, at some point, these trends end--usually when another trend takes their place.

I just read an article called Cupcakes and 6 Other Food Trends That Have Lost Their Cool where the writer talks about 7 trends in the food world that she thinks have passed their prime.  As is usually the case with articles like this, I'm not in complete agreement with her, but find it interesting nonetheless.

In no apparent order, here are the trends she sees as being over:

1-Cupcakes: I see nothing wrong here, as long as they're tasty and moist.  I hate dry, overbaked cupcakes.  Portable and cute.  Like me.  (I don't know what that means).

2-Tuna Tartare: I must admit that I've never had this dish.  I'm not a big raw fish guy.  You be the judge.

3-Bubble Tea: I see this as a real trend--something out of the ordinary from a different culture (this one from Asia) that bursts on the scene and is huge for a while.  I've never had it and don't really see the appeal of it.

4-Truffle Salt: Another item I've not used.  I don't see why not, though.  Overuse is where something like this runs into trouble.

5-The Communal Table: If this is on the way out, I'm glad.  If I'm going out for a nice dinner, I want to make sure I'm not sitting with someone who is going to ruin it for me.  That's what blind dates are for.

6-Chipotle: It sure shows up in a lot of stuff, but I like it.  Smoky and spicy. 

7-Lava Cake: I made some of these for MB's birthday and they were really good.  See my previous post with the recipe.

What do you think?  Do you agree?  Are there any other food trends that you think (or hope) will be ending soon?  Let me know!