Chefs predict top culinary trends for 2014

[Robin Garr]

Interesting article, but I would have said most of these things have been trending for a few years. What do you think?

Chefs predict top culinary trends for 2014
National Restaurant Association releases "What’s Hot in 2014" forecast
Dec. 4, 2013
Bret Thorn
Nation's Restaurant News

The results of the National Restaurant Association’s annual survey of chefs are in: Foam and bacon-flavored chocolate are out; fried chicken, barbecue, Italian cuisine and eggs Benedict are still in; and ramen, pickles and Southeast Asian cuisine are getting there.

For its “What’s Hot in 2014” forecast, the NRA surveyed nearly 1,300 members of the American Culinary Federation in October and November and asked them to rate 258 items as a “hot trend,” “yesterday’s news,” or a “perennial favorite” for 2014.

Read full article in Nation's Restaurant News:
http://nrn.com/food-trends/chefs-predic ... =article_1

[Robin Garr]

Here are the top ten trends (in image format). No disrespect intended, but I would have said these ideas have already entered the mainstream. What say you?

As one of the chefs surveyed, none taken
However, the list you have shown is the broad stroke of a much more detailed report. There were well over 200 ingredients, preparations and methods listed in this years survey. But the fact of the matter is locally , we have been on the forefront of local sourcing and sustainability for quite some time. One of the few things the local culinary scene was well ahead of the curve on before most of the rest of the country. Maybe that's why this seems like old news.

Also, many of the ACF chef members who are surveyed are culinary instructors & corporate chefs who are just now adapting to the concerns of consumers, who are educating themselves about how the food they eat is produced more than ever before, into the curriculums of culinary education programs and menu development at larger chains and managed foodservice operations. Realizing how intertwined and important the issues of sustainability, carbon footprints and nutrition are to all of us, as well as being very consumer driven, the new National ACF officers have put this issue at the forefront of all of the educational seminars at this years regional and national conferences.
Personally, I'm curious to see how this major shift will play out with the likes of Tyson, Unilever and other producers who have been major sponsors of the ACF and shell out some pretty substantial funds to make these conferences possible.

Here's a link to the results of the full survey....

http://www.restaurant.org/Downloads/PDF ... t-2014.pdf

I think that you'll find this interesting with our conversation about savory pancakes.
You'll see that Ethnic Breakfast items(ie pancakes like Maylasian
Rotitisu, Chinese Scallion Pancakes, Korean Buchujeon, and Japanese Okonomiyaki) were at the top of the list in the breakfast category. Instead, I think they should have had them listed as an appetizer or a side dish on the survey, but they were only listed in breakfast on the survey I completed.

[Robin Garr]

Here's a link to the results of the full survey....

http://www.restaurant.org/Downloads/PDF ... t-2014.pdf

I think that you'll find this interesting with our conversation about savory pancakes.
You'll see that Ethnic Breakfast items(ie pancakes like Maylasian
Rotitisu, Chinese Scallion Pancakes, Korean Buchujeon, and Japanese Okonomiyaki) were at the top of the list in the breakfast category. Instead, I think they should have had them listed as an appetizer or a side dish on the survey, but they were only listed in breakfast on the survey I completed.

Excellent! Thanks, Dan.

I'm not smart enough to understand how 1 & 2 differ from 6 and 10, how 4 & 7 differ, how 3 differs from 9.

I'm sure there are minute differentiations, but for a list for general consumption this seems repetitive.


And yes, all of these seem like they are already in play.