The culinary team at Benchmark Hospitality International, The Woodlands, Texas, have identified what it considers some of the top dining trends of 2013.
“There is nothing more personal than food,” says Executive Chef Victor Scargle of Bardessono Hotel and its restaurant, Lucy, in Napa Valley, California. “Consumers today have an amazing personal connection with what they put into their bodies. Fresh, local, in season – it’s what every informed consumer looks for.
“This really isn’t new – it’s what our grandmothers did day after day,” Chef Scargle continued. “They knew exactly what their family dined on as they had grown it in the garden and purchased it from the local butcher. It was fresh, in season, and bursting with flavor. Across the nation, this is what consumers want today – not much has changed from grandma’s table.”
Here are a look at the trends from Benchmark:
1. Chef crafted
It’s one of the hottest trends in the culinary world. Whether smoking, canning, putting up jams and relishes, pickling, or farming, chefs today are personally creating every component and ingredient in their kitchen for total control over quality and flavor with what they are serving each evening. Many learned these skills organically at the knee of their grandmothers and are taking these forward into the 21st century culinary experience.
2. Years of protein perfection
The gluten-free, superfood Quinoa is among the top ingredients chefs are using this year. It’s ideal for breakfast as a muesli, or for lunch and dinner as a side dish. The rich protein grain was first domesticated three millennia ago by the Andean peoples. The Incas considered the high protein food to be sacred.
3. Parental controls
Moms and dads are demanding healthier preparations for traditional children’s menu selections – grilled over fried for the perennial kids’ favorite, chicken fingers; baked over deep fried for potato “fries” of all varieties; hummus and fresh fruit dips over fat-laden sauces.
4. Smoke, anyone?
Smoking has been around as a preservative since the first fire was set. But it is only now that “smoked” has moved out of the smokehouse and into everything else. How about smoked cocktails, or smoked olive oils, or smoked heavy cream for sauces, or even smoked water? And the cooking with tea trend of the last few years – it has evolved to smoking with coffee and cocoa.
5. Tell me again specifically which boat was involved?
Guests are becoming increasingly more insistent on knowing about the specific origin of food they enjoy, including the waters where their salmon was fished, the name of boat and the name of captain. To say “wild caught” no longer suffices. In the same vein, guests want to know the history of a restaurant they are about to dine within, and even of the surrounding region.
Dining has become a comprehensive experience, much like a century ago when the oysters eaten for dinner were observed being gathered that morning in the harbor just beyond, and the restaurant reflected the character of its neighborhood. Dining today is interactive with guests peppering the wait staff and chef with questions about sustainability, responsible husbandry and local chef-prepared ingredients.