The following came from the NORTH AMERICAN MEAT ASSOCIATION Lean Trimmings Newsletter and is an important read for North Coast producers doing direct marketing.
TOP 2013 RESTAURANT MENU TRENDS
The National Restaurant Association (NRA) released its “What’s Hot” culinary forecast of menu trends for 2013. The NRA surveyed more than 1,800 professional chefs, members of the American Culinary Federation (ACF), to find that children’s nutrition and local sourcing will continue to be the hottest trends on restaurant menus for the upcoming year.
The top 10 menu trends for 2013 include:
1. Locally-sourced meats and seafood
2. Locally-grown produce
3. Healthful kids’ meals
4. Environmental sustainability as a culinary theme
5. Children’s nutrition as a culinary theme
6. New cuts of meat (e.g., Denver steak, pork flat iron, teres major)
7. Hyper-local sourcing (e.g., restaurant gardens)
8. Gluten-free cuisine
9. Sustainable seafood
10. Whole grain items in kids' meals
Not making the top 10 but in the top 13 was Farm/Ranch/Estate branding.
Also included in the surveys were questions about other restaurant trends. More than half (55 percent) of the chefs surveyed said they always make efforts to adjust dishes and recipes to be more healthful, while 37 percent said they cook with nutrition in mind, but that not all recipes are easily adjusted. When asked how to best handle the increasing cost of ingredients, 32 percent of the chefs said changing menus, 25 percent said adjusting plate composition, and 24 percent said exploring new sourcing options. Only four percent said that raising menu prices is the best strategy. The survey can be viewed at http://www.restaurant.org/pdfs/research/WhatsHotFood2013.pdf.