BBQ, Italian food and fried chicken are top perennial menu favorites in 2015

Following the latest food and menu trends is important to planning menus strategically, but that doesn't mean that popular staples should be ignored. According to the National Restaurant Association's What’s Hot in 2015 culinary forecast, barbecue, Italian cuisine and fried chicken top the list of perennial menu favorites for the coming year.

"Just because something isn't considered trendy doesn't mean it's not popular," said Annika Stensson, the National Restaurant Association's senior manager of research communications. "The general themes we're seeing in the top perennial favorites are items that many would consider to be in the comfort foods category. And there's a reason these foods are tenured menu favorites - they have appeal with a wide range of diners and occasions. Many are also quite versatile and can fit into different restaurant concepts, menu themes and dayparts."

Rounding out the top 10 perennial favorite items are French toast, frying, oatmeal, comfort foods, fruit desserts, pulled pork, and chicken wings. 

Further down the list of favorites to spots 11 through 20 are milkshakes, hot tea, Eggs Benedict, Mexican cuisine, zucchini, waffles, bacon, macaroni and cheese, doughnuts, and bread baskets.

Additional items that registered as long-time favorites include kids' pizza, French cuisine, grilled vegetables, grits, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, smoothies, and Mediterranean cuisine.

The NRA surveyed nearly 1,300 professional chefs – members of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) – to identify trends on restaurant menus in 2015. The survey asked the chefs to rate 230+ items as a hot trend, yesterday's news, or perennial favorite. 

Chefs grow lukewarm to insects, foam and gazpacho

Nothing lasts forever, including food trends. What was hot yesterday might now be yesterday's news. The National Restaurant Association's What's Hot in 2015 culinary forecast identifies food and drink items that are no longer trending on menus. For 2015, insects as an alternative protein, foam garnish, and chilled tomato soup top the list of yesterday's news.

Rounding out the top 10 list of things that were trendy at one time, but professional chefs now believe are not anymore, are bacon-flavored chocolate, popovers, mini-burgers/sliders, molecular gastronomy, edible flowers, flavored water, and tater tots. Further, sweet-potato fries, fun-shaped kids' items and liquid-nitrogen freezing also ranked high on the yesterday's news list.

"When an item is losing ground as a hot trend, it can go one of three ways. It can move toward becoming a perennial favorite on menus - something that is timelessly popular. It can bounce back as trendy soon after dipping as a yo-yo trend that hasn't quite found its place yet. Or it can fade away further to become a fondly remembered thing of the past," said Annika Stensson, the National Restaurant Association's senior manager of research communications. "Only time will tell which way this year's yesterday's news items will go."

In addition to identifying yesterday's news items, What's Hot in 2015 chef survey also analyzes items that have lost the most momentum as hot trends since the previous year's survey. Some of those items still show up toward the top of the hot trends list, but fewer chefs now rate them as a hot trend, indicating that they are cooling off. For 2015, bruschetta, kale salads and nose-to-tail cooking each lost 10 percentage points in their hot-trend rating. In addition, hybrid desserts, house-made soft drinks and gluten-free cuisine lost ground. 

In the What's Hot in 2014 survey, nose-to-tail cooking had gained 16 percent as a hot trend, making this year's drop less severe. However, Greek yogurt lost 11 percent in its hot-rating in last year's survey, and another 6 percent this year.

The NRA surveyed nearly 1,300 professional chefs – members of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) – to identify trends on restaurant menus in 2015. The survey asked the chefs to rate 230+ culinary items as a hot trend, yesterday's news, or perennial favorite. 

Technology on the front burner, culinary survey says

Professional chefs see tablets and smartphones as the hottest tech trends for next year, the National Restaurant Association’s 2015 What’s Hot culinary forecast has found.

The food trends survey, conducted with approximately 1,300 professional chef-members from the American Culinary Federation, mirrors what restaurant operators and consumers say about restaurant technology – it can facilitate customer service, enhance order speed and accuracy, and promote back-of-the-house efficiencies. When asked about the hottest technology trends for 2015, here’s what chefs said: 

• 29 percent of respondents said tablet computers, such as iPads, would be used to showcase menus, wine lists and facilitate ordering
• 26 percent indicated that smartphone and tablet apps for consumers, especially those featuring menus, daily deals and facilitate menu ordering
• 22 percent agreed that smartphone and tablet apps for chef/restaurateur use would be helpful in tracking recipes, table management and POS data, and
• 21 percent said mobile and/or wireless payment options would factor in as a key trend.

“With technology becoming a daily part of our lives, consumers are increasingly building their tech expectations into the dining experience,” said Annika Stensson, the NRA’s senior manager of research communications. “iPad menus and smartphone apps have been around for several years now, but as consumer acceptance and understanding of those tools grow, so is the chef’s attention to them as service enhancers.”

Respondents were generally upbeat about consumers’ increased use of social media, especially regarding the posting of restaurant food photographs. The survey found:

• 57 percent of chefs said social-media postings of food photographs is free advertising and should be encouraged
• 32 percent said it’s fine as long as guests are discreet as they post photos, and
• 9 percent said the practice is disruptive and should be discouraged.

“We’ve all seen them – fellow diners who snap pictures of their food and drink and upload them to Instagram, Twitter or Facebook,” Stensson said. “Chefs have noticed this too. It turns out chefs generally think it’s a good thing that guests share their food experiences in the social-media universe. Only about one in 10 said it doesn’t belong in their dining rooms.”

For more information on the What’s Hot culinary trends forecast, go here.

Better kids' meals top trends list

If you think pizza, hot dogs and hamburgers are the only choices offered on children’s menus today, think again. Now you might find dishes adapted from adult menu items with more adventurous flavor profiles than traditional kids’ fare, and more healthful, too, new National Restaurant Association research finds.

Some of the restaurant industry’s hottest trends involve children’s items, according to the NRA’s 2015 What’s Hot culinary forecast. Topping the list: Increasingly sophisticated foods and flavors in kids meals, along with more healthful ingredients, such as whole grains, vegetables, oven-baked items and entrée salads. The survey was conducted with approximately 1,300 professional chef-members from the American Culinary Federation.

Joy Dubost, the NRA’s senior director of nutrition and healthy living, said the restaurant industry is making big strides in providing children with balanced choices. She cited the success of the NRA’s Kids LiveWell nutrition program, which now includes more than 150 brands at approximately 42,000 locations.

“The industry is committed to offering an array of nutritious and delicious options for children,” Dubost said. “That’s a top priority among many chefs and restaurant operators.”

Healthful kids’ meals ranked fourth among the survey’s top 20 food trends. Whole grains in kids’ meals came in 14^th and fruits and vegetables as kids’ side items ranked 19^th. Three-quarters of respondents rated healthful kids’ meals a hot trend. Among the other items ranked as “hot” for 2015: whole grains in kids’ menu items (cited as a hot trend by 68 percent of respondents), fruits and vegetables as kids’ meal side items (cited by 65 percent), and entrée salads as kids’ meals (cited by 61 percent).

“Though pizza, hamburgers and other kids’ menu staples aren’t going anywhere, we are seeing increasingly sophisticated dishes being offered to our youngest diners,” said Annika Stensson, the NRA's senior manager of research communications. “Children are more ‘food-experienced’ than ever before because they see parents satisfying their own more adventurous palates. At every age, we’re seeing an increased willingness to try new things.

“The restaurant industry is starting to commit itself to serving kid customers in the same way they do their adult patrons: by appealing to their taste buds while providing more nutritious options.”

Sustainability tops trends on 2015 What's Hot survey

Environmental sustainability, sustainable seafood and food-waste reduction are among the top trends at restaurants in 2015, according to the National Restaurant Association’s (NRA) annual What’s Hot culinary forecast.

The NRA, as it does every year, surveyed approximately 1,300 professional chefs – all members of the American Culinary Federation – to determine the industry’s hottest trends, and in 2015 sustainability is going to be center of the plate, the respondents said.

“We’ve been seeing strong trends toward sustainability in the food space for several years now and that’s going to continue to grow,” said Annika Stensson, the NRA's senior manager of research communications. “Chefs and restaurateurs are realizing the benefits and cost savings that conservation and food-waste reduction bring, in addition to doing what’s good for the environment.”

Among the survey’s top 20 trends, environmental sustainability came in third, sustainable seafood eighth and food waste reduction/management ninth. Food waste reduction and management also ranks as a new top trend for 2015, while environmental sustainability and sustainable seafood retained their status as steady, top food trends for the sixth consecutive year.

“Managing food waste is gaining momentum right now as wholesale food costs are, again, on the rise and a top challenge cited by operators,” Stensson said. “This year alone, food prices have risen more than 5 percent, so minimizing waste and maximizing ingredient yield is top of mind for the industry.”

Further, chefs and restaurateurs recognize more customers are incorporating sustainability practices into their daily lives and want to extend that into the food space as well ‑ particularly when dining out.

“Diners want to learn as much as possible about what they’re eating,” said Jeff Clark, director of the NRA’s Conserve sustainability program. “They want to know why something tastes a certain way, how a farmer planted it and how far it traveled to get to a restaurant. Chefs and operators know this and are embracing it. They understand their guests are seeking foods that are good for them, flavorful, and minimally impact the environment.”

Stensson added that NRA research found 55 percent of consumers are more likely to choose restaurants that serve food grown or raised in an environmentally friendly way. She said that number is expected to grow.

The survey also found 42 percent of respondents thought environmental sustainability would be the hottest menu trend 10 years from now.

Visit Conserve for more information on sustainable practices for the restaurant industry. For information on the What’s Hot culinary trends forecast, go here.

What's Hot in 2015? Discover new menu trends

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 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 in 2015.

“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 National Restaurant Association. “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.”   

“Chefs are committed to supporting their communities and helping make responsible food choices,” said Thomas Macrina, CEC, CCA, AAC, national president of the American Culinary Federation. “I am pleased that members of the American Culinary Federation continue to support local sourcing and sustainable food practices as an annual trend and are paving the way for these values to become part of everyday American cooking.”

In addition, the What’s Hot in 2015 survey found that the top five alcohol and cocktail trends will be micro-distilled/artisan spirits, locally produced beer/wine/spirits, onsite barrel-aged drinks, regional signature cocktails, and culinary cocktails.

Items that gained most in trendiness since last year in the annual survey included underutilized fish, doughnuts, ethnic condiments, grass-fed beef, brown/wild rice, and grilled vegetables. Items with the largest drop in “hot trend” rating included bruschetta, kale salads, nose-to-tail cooking, hybrid dessertss, and house-made soft drinks. 

When asked which current food trend will be the hottest menu trends 10 years from now, environmental sustainability topped the list, followed by local sourcing, nutrition and ethnic cuisines and flavors.

The chefs were also asked how they feel about customers taking photos of their food and posting on social media during their meals. Nearly three in five chefs said it's free advertising and should be encouraged, and about a third said it's fine as long as they're discrete. Only one in 10 chefs said it's disruptive and should be discouraged.

Get the full results at Restaurant.org/FoodTrends.