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Local and sustainable foods to be hottest menu trends in 2012: chefs

A Brooklyn hotel sells leather goods made from animals served at its restaurant in an example of nose to hide consumption

When it comes to restaurant menu trends next year, it’s all going to be about location, location, location. That’s according to the National Restaurant Association's annual chef survey which polled 1,800 professionals in the US asking them to predict the hottest menu trends to take over 2012.

Released Thursday, the survey found that locally sourced meats and seafood as well as locally grown produce topped the list, followed by healthy kids’ meals, ‘hyper-local’ items and sustainability as a culinary theme.

Not only will chefs be seeking out locally sourced proteins and vegetables, the principle of supporting the local economy, reducing food miles, and using seasonal ingredients will extend to alcohol, wine and local distilleries, says the NRA.

Sourcing suppliers close to home also dovetails into another trend chefs foresee will play a dominant role in menu development next year: "sustainability as a culinary theme."

Perhaps one of the best examples of sustainable dining comes from chef Dan Barber’s Blue Hill restaurant in New York City, which sources local ingredients from nearby farms to create dishes like Stone Barns Berkshire Pig with bio char apples, savoy cabbage and bacon; Hudson Valley Chicken with black dirt carrots and shiitake mushrooms; and cauliflower steak au poivre with parsnips, pine nuts and capers.

The best-known West Coast champion of sustainable dining, meanwhile, is Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, who has been described as a trailblazer for pioneering the notion of sustainable eating 40 years ago.

And after a year in which McDonald’s Happy Meals and calorie-laden kids’ meals grabbed headlines, chefs also predict that restaurants will turn their focus to creating more healthy meal options for children in 2012, coming in the No. 3 spot on the report.

"The top menu trends we’re seeing in our What’s Hot in 2012 survey reflect the macro-trends we have seen grow over the last several years," said Joy Dubost, nutrition director for the NRA. "Nutrition – especially when it comes to children – is becoming a major focus for the nation’s nearly one million restaurants, in tune with consumers’ increasing interest in healthful eating."

Here are the 10 hottest menu trends for 2012, as predicted by 1,800 US chefs:

1. Locally sourced meats and seafood
2. Locally grown produce
3. Healthful kids' meals
4. Hyper-local items
5. Sustainability as a culinary theme
6. Children's nutrition as a culinary theme
7. Gluten-free/food allergy-conscious items
8. Locally produced wine and beer
9. Sustainable seafood
10. Whole grain items in kids' meals