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.”  

15^th-annual report highlights top tastes driving the future of flavor and menu innovation.

Sparks, Md.-based McCormick & Company releases its McCormick® Flavor Forecast® 2015, highlighting eight enticing trends that will shape the future of flavor. Now in its 15^th year, the much-anticipated report drives flavor innovation and exploration throughout the food industry and in professional kitchens everywhere.

Reflecting the rapidly increasing demand for bolder, more intense flavor experiences, the McCormick Flavor Forecast 2015 pinpoints adventurous global tastes on the rise. The report also showcases new ways to elevate pantry essentials to starring roles.

AI Pittsburgh instructor Culp helped Culinary Team USA place third overall in Luxembourg, while U.S. chef-educators in individual competition represented their nation well.

Shawn Culp, CEC, department chair of culinary arts, baking/pastry and HRM at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Bridgeville, Pa., was part of the outstanding performance of ACF Culinary Team USA at the 12^th-annual Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup 2014 in Luxembourg, Nov. 22-26. Garnering two gold medals and the highest score in the cold-food competition, the ACF team representing the United States placed third overall in one of the largest international culinary competitions in the world.

Culp (pictured) and five other chefs comprising ACF Culinary Team USA competed in the hot-food kitchen Nov. 22, where they prepared a three-course dinner for 110 people in six hours. On Nov. 25, the team competed in the cold-food portion of the competition, where they presented finger foods, a cold buffet platter, starters, a three-course vegetarian menu and a pastry-arts menu and showpiece.

An award-winning pastry chef and talented baker and cake artist bring their seasonally inspired, artisanal confections to life at this Parisian-style Rhode Island bakery.

As a young teen Melissa Denmark, CC, was constantly reading cookbooks and applying what she learned in the kitchen. An avid baker, she joined a mentorship program at a French restaurant during her final year of high school. That early training led her to the pastry-arts program at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., where she graduated summa cum laude.

After working at a Ritz-Carlton property in Florida, Denmark went on to work with a cake decorator in Maryland and for Bobolink Dairy Farm and Bakeyard in New Jersey. It was during her latter stint that she came to appreciate the importance of sustainability and using farm-raised foods.

’Tis the season, says Chef Weiner, who among other things suggests a “Build a Gingerbread House” station to raise needed funds for programs.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

My article on teaching Thanksgiving side dishes was so well received by “Gold Medal Classroom” readers that Mary Petersen, president of CAFÉ, suggested I consider writing how to make gingerbread houses.

I toyed with this sweet suggestion (pun intended) and decided to twist it a bit. Instead of writing about how to make gingerbread houses, I am going to write how you can have fun with them, as well as possibly make some money.

First, let’s make gingerbread houses for fun.

1.Have your class make their own gingerbread houses. This is a multi-task activity that includes, among other things, baking and decorating. The easiest way to do this is to make the gingerbread pieces on one class day and assemble on the next.