It looks like “keeping it local” is still considered hot in the restaurant world.
The National Restaurant Association surveyed 1,791 American Culinary Federation member chefs in October-November, asking them to rate 223 individual food items, beverages, cuisines and culinary themes as a “hot trend,” “yesterday’s news,” or “perennial favorite” on restaurant menus in 2012.
According to the survey the top 10 menu trends for next year 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
- Whole grain items in kids’ meals
I’ve posted about this annual survey a few times over the years. One interesting thing to note is that in 2008 and 2009 Organic Produce made the Top 10, now it’s not even in the Top 20 … down to #26. The focus really has become centered on local-sourcing of ingredients. Also, not surprisingly, there’s a stronger focus on children’s health, an issue which has received quite a bit of press in the past year.
I’ve never been trendy, I mean, you should just see some of my junior high school yearbook photos (yikes). So to me “local” is a perennial favorite.
Anyway, if you’re food dork like me, you’ll want to check out the entire survey results.
What do you think of the list?