The National Restaurant Association’s (NRA) annual “What’s Hot?” culinary forecast, predicts the culinary trends for 2014. This year, sustainability dominated the list of trends with locally sourced meat and produce at the top of the list. Not far behind were environmental sustainability, healthful meals for kids, and gluten-free foods. Hyper-local sourcing, and sustainable seafood also took top honors, rounding out the top ten trends of 2014.
According to Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the National Restaurant Association’s research and knowledge group, “today’s consumers are more interested than ever in what they eat and where their food comes from, and that is reflected in our menu trends research.”
Chefs were asked to predict the top menu trends of the next decade and proclaimed environmental sustainability as their first pick. Riehle says, “true trends—as opposed to temporary fads—show the evolution of the wider shifts of our modern society over time, and focus on the provenance of various food and beverage items, unique aspects of how they are prepared and presented, as well as the dietary profiles of those meals.” The culinary forecast of 2014 reveals promising trends in the rise of local, nutritious, and sustainable food. Consumers are looking forward to seeing these trends enacted in 2014 and beyond.
