NRA’s Chef Survey Predicts “What’s Hot” in 2015
10 December 2014
The annual menu-trends survey of chefs conducted by the National Restaurant Association discovered that culinary cocktails, doughnuts and brown rice are gaining in popularity among customers, while kale salads, housemade sodas and hybrid desserts are cooling down.
Local sourcing, environmental sustainability and healthful kids’ meals keep gaining steam as the top trends on restaurant menus in 2015, according to the National Restaurant Association’s (NRA) annual What’s Hot culinary forecast.
The NRA surveyed nearly 1,300 professional chefs—members of the American Culinary Federation (ACF)—to find which foods, cuisines, beverages and culinary themes will be hot trends on restaurant menus next year.
“As consumers today increasingly incorporate restaurants into their daily lives, they want to be able to follow their personal preferences and philosophies no matter where or how they choose to dine,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of research for the NRA. “So, it’s only natural that culinary themes like local sourcing, sustainability and nutrition top our list of menu trends for 2015. Those concepts are wider lifestyle choices for many Americans in other aspects of their lives that also translate into the food space.”
In addition, the What’s Hot in 2015 survey found that the top five alcohol and cocktail trends will be micro-distilled/artisan spirits, locally produced beer/wine/spirits, onsite barrel-aged drinks, regional signature cocktails, and culinary cocktails.
Items that gained most in trendiness since last year in the annual survey included underutilized fish, doughnuts, ethnic condiments, grass-fed beef, brown/wild rice and grilled vegetables. Items with the largest drop in “hot trend” rating included bruschetta, kale salads, nose-to-tail cooking, hybrid desserts and housemade soft drinks.
When asked which current food trend will be the hottest menu trends 10 years from now, environmental sustainability topped the list, followed by local sourcing, nutrition and ethnic cuisines and flavors.
The chefs were also asked how they feel about customers taking photos of their food and posting on social media during their meals. Nearly three in five chefs said it’s free advertising and should be encouraged, and about a third said it’s fine as long as they’re discrete. Only one in 10 chefs said it’s disruptive and should be discouraged.
Get the full results at Restaurant.org/FoodTrends, where you can read up on the trend-meter status of gluten-free cuisine, Greek yogurt, cronuts and more going into 2015.
Photo:Wild rice is growing in popularity with diners according to the NRA’s What’s Hot survey for 2015, and not merely as a pilaf. These melt-in-your-mouth hushpuppies from Chef Michael Holleman make a Southern staple even tastier and more interesting—and healthier thanks to whole grain in the batter. View the recipe at www.inharvest.com/recipes/wild-rice/wild-rice-hushpuppies.