In 2009 the restaurant business in the U.S. and California saw a continued dip in sales, with some recent uptick in the past few months.
Here’s what’ hot this year:
- Hottest trends on 2009 restaurant menus: nutrition and philosophy-driven food choices.
- The top 10 trends: locally grown produce, bite-size desserts, organics, healthy kids’ meals, new/fabricated meat cuts, kids’ vegetable/fruit side dishes, superfruits such as acai and mangosteen, small plates, tapas, mezze, dim sum, artisanal liquor, sustainable seafood.
- The top alcohol trends: micro-distilled liquor, culinary cocktails and organic wine. Top non-alcoholic beverage trends: specialty iced tea, organic coffee and flavored water.
- Leading culinary trend themes: nutrition, gluten-free, allergy-conscious and food-alcohol pairings.
What will we see in 2010? The top trend in restaurant kitchens next year will be environmentally friendly equipment and practices.
- Survey from National Restaurant Association - American Culinary Federation chefs forecast.
