2010 Top Restaurant Trends include Locally Sourced Food & Drink!

I received this information via e-mail today and thought it was interesting enough to share. It's a Chef Survey from the National Restaurant Association, and shows the top 20 trends of 2010. The latest survey, conducted in 2009, was based on the input of more than 1,800 Chefs.Respondents ranked 214 items by how trendy they would be in 2010. What's interesting is that over 50% of the trends listed relate to locally sourced food & drink, sustainable sourcing and nutritionally healthy menu choices. It looks like local food producers will continue to see an upswing in consumer interest in their products. We hope this translates into higher business profits for you in 2010!

Here's the link to the entire list: http://www.restaurant.org/pdfs/research/whats_hot_2010.pdf

Top 20 trends:

1 Locally grown produce

2 Locally sourced meats and seafood

3 Sustainability

4 Bite-size/mini desserts

5 Locally-produced wine and beer

6 Nutritionally balanced children*s dishes

7 Half-portions/smaller portion for a smaller price

8 Farm/estate-branded ingredients

9 Gluten-free/food allergy conscious

10 Sustainable seafood

11 Superfruits (e.g. acai, goji berry, mangosteen, purslane)

12 Organic produce

13 Culinary cocktails (e.g. savory, fresh ingredients)

14 Micro-distilled/artisan liquor

15 Nutrition/health

16 Simplicity/back to basics

17 Regional ethnic cuisine

18 Non-traditional fish (e.g. branzino, Arctic char, barramundi)

19 Newly fabricated cuts of meat (e.g. Denver steak, pork flat iron, Petite Tender)

20 Fruit/vegetable children's side items

Top 5 Kids Trends:

1 Nutritionally balanced children's dishes

2 Fruit/vegetable children's side items

3 Kid cuisine/gourmet children's dishes

4 Children's entrée salads

5 Ethnic-inspired children's dishes