Each year comes its own unique, and often unexpected, trends in the food and beverage industry. Baum+Whiteman, the international food and restaurant consultants, recently released their 2015 Food & Beverage Forecast. In particular, they anticipate new flavors, products, and mash-ups popping up on menus across the country. Here are some of the food trends they expect to see in the upcoming year:
Oysters
Oysters will be a new go-to dish in coastal restaurants. These shellfish are cheap, and diner demand is very high. Oysters are versatile, and chefs are experimenting with dishes that incorporate everything from traditional cocktail sauce to kimchi to chorizo butter, increasing their appeal to a wide range of foodies.
Ugly Root Vegetables
Celery root, parsnips, and kohlrabi are all poised to take the place of potatoes on restaurant plates. Like potatoes, these veggies can be prepared in a seemingly endless number of ways—mashed, pureed, gratineed—and flavored to meet a variety of tastes.
Seaweed
Many chefs are now adding this sushi-staple to poaching broths, seafood sauces, and risotto for extra flavor. There are more than a dozen varieties cropping up in menus around the globe.
Sweet and Spicy Sauces
Widespread love of Sriracha has lead a number of chefs to experiment with spicy/sweet sauces, adding peppers and chilies to honey-based condiments to give their dishes an extra kick. Expect to also see this trend in butters, salad dressings, and even jams and jellies.
Outlandish Yogurts
Dan and David Barber of the restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown, N.Y., have developed a series of vegetable yogurts in flavors that include butternut squash, beet, carrot, and tomato. Other yogurt companies have taken notice, including industry giant Chobani, which is now offering yogurt topped with hummus or chickpeas, or with spinach and garlic dip.
Hummus
Hummus has out-trended salsa, the biggest condiment news since salsa outpaced ketchup. Expect to see a wide variety of different flavors, incorporating both traditional fresh and savory ingredients, as well as sweet ones like chocolate. Many chefs have also expanded the definition of hummus, basing the dip in untraditional foods such as lentils, white beans, and cauliflower.
Pork
The past few years have seen a bacon explosion, but now other pork dishes have a chance to shine. Guanciale, pancetta, fried ears, cheeks, and ‘ndjua (a spreadable sausage from Calabria) are all finding their place on restaurant menus.
See the full 2015 Food & Beverage Forecast here.
