TrendWatch
Kara's CULINARY TRENDS BLOGI take my job as CCD's Trendologist to heart and make sure to visit the latest culinary hotspots, specialty stores, and food and beverage industry events to stay abreast of emerging trends. NEW! Follow my
january 2009 - spotting trends at fancy food show The NASFT invited me to be one of their Trendspotters to determine the top trends at the winter show. Since I comb the shows for trends anyway, it was fun to compare notes with other Trendspotters. Collectively we concluded the following as trends at this show:
To elaborate….
Coconut was in everything from Harney & Sons organic green teas to World Foods Malaysian simmer sauces to a variety of chocolate confections. Expect the popularity of coconut water and Southeast Asian cuisine to keep this trend humming.
Gluten-free foods continue to grow in the specialty food sector as natural food products start overlapping and savvy producers realize they can expand their audiences. One good example is Porta Mangiara Meatball mix; of the various flavors, one was gluten-free. In the baked goods realm, my favorite cookie was from WOW (With Out Wheat). Since they aren’t trying to be vegan or even really healthful, the cookies tasted great!
Exotic citrus took the form of yuzu, Clementine, grapefruit, Meyer lemon and more. I was especially excited to see several yuzu products including The Yuzu Sco, a yuzu-flavored chili sauce used like a certain hot pepper sauce from Louisiana. Nostalgia foods are always big at the show, especially in the sweets category. I love Amella’s Cocoa Butter Caramels in Carrot Cake, Black Forest Cake and Passionfruit (ok, that’s not very nostalgic) flavors.
Other sightings and fun finds: Sukhi’s Gourmet Indian Food frozen entrées and sauces
Chocolate O.D. In the Kitchen with Lisa
Dining at Frances Bay Area diners have been anxiously awaiting the opening of Melissa Perello’s very personal restaurant Frances, named for her grandmother, for months. Perello is the much celebrated former chef of Fifth Floor where she earned a Michelin star before taking a break to conceive of her own place.
At Frances, she “serves modern California cuisine in a relaxed neighborhood setting.” The intimate dining room felt festive the night I was there, full of enthusiastic diners along a banquette the length of the cozy room. Although the Bay Area is full of charming eateries of this nature, Frances stands out for the quality and care that makes the food shine, as well as great service and an accessible wine list. With a nod to the omnipresent bacon and doughtnut trend, the menu kicks off with Applewood Smoked Bacon Beignets with Crème Fraîche & Chive in a section called Bouchées, (French for mouthfuls or bites). Appetizers include Chestnut Soup and a salad dubbed County Line Mixed Chicories with Fuyu Persimmon, Almond and Pecorino. The chicories were gorgeous, small, curled salad leaves all freckly and tender, their faint bitterness nicely balanced with the persimmon and a haunting vinaigrette. I enjoyed the Alaskan Black Cod with Artichoke and Mushroom Barigoule. Other entrée choices include Pan-Roasted Chicken with Savory Bread Pudding and Lacinato Kale and Crêpe Cannelloni. My favorite side dish was Crisp Fingerling Potatoes “Sarladaise,” or cooked in duck fat as they do in Sarlat, a charming medieval town in Gascony France. The fitting finale was a delicate panna cotta in the now-trendy small canning jar, topped with perfectly cooked gooey orange peel. The French press pots of Blue Bottle coffee looked inviting and illustrated the care and quality of this delicious new restaurant. Frances Gather in Berkeley Gather is the all-day restaurant, café and bar in the new David Brower Center in downtown Berkeley, a “new home for environmental and social action.” Fittingly, Ari Derfel and Eric Fenster, founders of Back to Earth, the nation’s first organic catering company, run the restaurant. Reclaimed wood and other found building materials have been “gathered” to create a sustainably oriented, but totally up-to-date, eating space with organic bar and a menu driven by local products.
Chef Sean Baker, formerly of the vegan fine dining restaurant Millennium in San Francisco, has prepared an intriguing menu, covering all the current trendy California cuisine bases, but with a refreshing embrace of vegetables and tempting vegan fare. Small Plates include Fried Mushrooms with pickled sunchokes and citrus aioli as well as Cinnamon-Braised Lamb with marinated chicories, apples, yogurt and mint. The Artisanal Plates include both traditional house-cured charcuterie and vegan “charcuterie,” a seasonal collection of vegetable preparations, both served with Acme bread. The night I dined at Gather with Deputy Trendologist D, almost every table was adorned with the vegan charcuterie, served on a rustic wood plank. The brightly colored mélange of salads and crostini looked enticing, but we thoroughly enjoyed a unique appetizer special of mussels in a broccoli rabe-garlic broth. Salads show off what great produce Gather is sourcing: The Shaved Radish Salad featured Watermelon radishes, Baby Doll turnips and Sekel pears along with toasted walnuts and aged Jack cheese. Of course, there are pizzas, including a vegan offering with cashew purée, tomato sauce and chopped olives. Large Plates feature the “Lucky Dog Ranch” burger, with Sierra Nevada cheddar, aioli, caramelized shallot-tomato sauce, arugula and house-made pickles. You can’t get any more on-trend than that! Heirloom Bean Ragout and Red Quinoa “Risotto” cover the vegetarian bases while Braised Pork Cheeks, Chicken Under a Brick and a daily fish round out the menu for omnivores. Although Gather is only open for dinner at the moment, I look forward to creative, fresh and local breakfast and lunch dishes from this new spot embracing a 21st century credo. It doesn’t hurt, either, that Gather indicates which dishes are or could be gluten-free. See, so on trend! Gather
Don't miss the next big food or beverage trend! Subscribe to our Side Dish Email today: |
Kara Nielsen On The Food Front 
WHAT IS A TRENDOLOGIST?One who studies hot and happening food and beverage trends. As the CCD trendologist, I track and translate culinary trends by immersing myself in a plethora of food-centric media, that is when I'm not off visiting markets, specialty stores, cafes, hot new restaurants and off-beat food happenings. The purpose of my work is to inter-weave my findings with influential consumer trends as a way to help create on-trend successes for CCD clients. Visit monthly to stay on top of the latest culinary trends! CCD Trend publications
|
