NEW YORK -- ’Tis the season for turkey, tryptophan and trends. Andrew Freeman & Co. last week published its annual report of industry trends for the year to come. According to the experts at this restaurant and hotel consultancy, 2012 will be another year of creature comforts, from french fries to ice cream and breakfast for dinner.
Following is a sampling of the firm’s forecast. Click here for the complete report (including examples for each trend). If you haven’t read our own semi-serious take on the future of foodservice at retail, you can view it here.
This Spud’s for You: 2012 will be the year of the potato. Watch for french-fry menus that let guests choose the cut, crispness and sauce; make-your-own mashers with mix-ins; or custom-cut chips with dusts and dips to order. Everyone’s chipping in.
31 Hundred Flavors: Everyone loves ice cream, and creative chefs are taking advantage of its blank canvas to entice people to try unfamiliar flavors of all sorts and styles.
Melt in Your Hands: Grilled cheese the new hamburger? Restaurants devote special evenings or entire menus to this childhood favorite loved by kids of all ages. From fast casual to high end, expect more restaurants to develop their own signature sandwiches.
Use Your Noodle: Noodles are nothing new, but innovative and exciting restaurants are highlighting this ancient art with glorified exhibition-style hand-pulled noodles. It’s dinner and a show.
Thai the Knot: Exciting, creative takes on modern Thai cuisine are becoming some of the hottest destinations in town as diners become more adventurous and love the evocative flavors. An increasingly savvy clientele will come to appreciate focus on regional Thai variations.
Produce-ing Desserts: Move over, carrot cake. Cutting-edge pastry chefs are turning vegetables into sweet finales. They’ll make you eat your veggies with sweet satisfaction.
Inspiring Mouths Want to Know: Chefs tell the story behind the dish by paying tribute to their inspiration on menus. Guests love to have the back story and it builds a personal connection or recommendation--even when it isn’t personal.
Eating Between the Lines: High-class food comes to a fast-casual setting as high-end chefs open fast-casual offshoots using premium ingredients in dressed-down settings. At the same time, fast-casual restaurants dress up the experience with more formal plateware and service.
Chaat Rooms: Indian street foods will gain popularity as fans flock to food trucks, pop-ups and quick-service restaurants selling fast, fresh, spicy Indian fare. Look for Kati Rolls, Puri with sauces and condiments, or “Pav” sandwiches with spiced vegetables.
Breakfast Club: Breakfast is the new dinner. Everyone loves brunch and breakfast foods. Restaurants are reinterpreting breakfast for lunch, dinner and late-night menus. Waffle sandwiches, savory turnovers, eggs in any manner of ways, pigs in a blanket, hollandaise
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Specialty chili peppers are heating things up. Middle Eastern Aleppo Pepper, African Piri Piri and the incendiary Indian Ghost Pepper are spicing up menus near and far.
Healthy Indulgences: Health-conscious diners will be satisfied with more nutritious meals and drinks that offer real appeal. Expect signature, whole-grain salads and sides, a selection of plates available in smaller sizes, menu items that appeal to particular dietary needs, and high-fructose-free sodas.
Let It Snow: First there was shaved ice, and now there is shaved ice cream as Snow Ice comes to America. Offering the flavor and creaminess of ice cream with unbelievably light texture, Snow Ice is sure to please.
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