2011 FOOD TRENDS: Bao takes a bow; the new heirloom food artisans; ‘an unhealthy obsession’; Old World salumi;

Nibbles is a compendium of food, dining and beverage information and trends from the U.S. and the world edited by John Lehndorff (www.JohnLehndorff.com)

Reported by: http://www.csnews.com/top-story-food_and_beverage_trends_for_2010-57758.html:
Packaged Facts and the Center for Culinary Development (CCD) put together the “Culinary Trend Mapping Report,” a bi-monthly journal, on the overall food and beverage trends that shaped 2010. The overall themes included Back to Basics, Artisan Upgrades, Healthful Eating and Regional and Global Flavor Adventure. The following are 10 of the top food trends for 2010:
Gourmet-On-The-Go: Street food was on fire this year, made by cooks and chefs of all stripes.
-“Fine Fast” Sandwich Shops: These gourmet sandwich shops took the art of sandwich-making seriously.
-Boutique Booze : Boutique booze was all the rage in 2010, from bars that specialize in a single type of liquor to festivals that celebrate spirits made by independent producers.
-Condiments, Preserved Foods & Heirloom Produce : A rising number of passionate people took food back to its roots, literally. They grew produce from heirloom seeds, revived the art of home canning and made condiments and preserved products of all kinds. This resulted in new thriving DIY communities as this new wave of artisans found outlets for their products at craft and farmers markets, online and at specialty retail stores.
-Parisian Macarons : This delicious and multi-hued Parisian pastry, composed of two ground-almond meringue cookies bound with buttercream, ganache or jam filling, is like a couture Oreo.
Bahn Mi & Bao
-Butchery : Butchers stole the headlines this year, acting as unexpected emissaries of the heritage meat and artisan trends that came together to renew popular demand for handcut meat. With the upsurge in production and consumption of high-quality meat, young and aspiring foodies flocked to butchery demonstrations, ready to get their hands bloody (literally) to feel closer to the sources of their food.
-Agave Nectar
- Eggs All Day : More than ever, the egg is being placed front and center as a food that is inexpensive, healthful (protein-rich or low-fat if only egg whites), and adaptable, whether for a sandwich or wrap, to accompany a salad, on a pizza, mixed with pasta … and the list goes on.
- Better Burgers

Reported by: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/food/ct-live-1227-foodie-backlash-20101227,0,3814934,full.story:
“Every weekend now we have people in here who are photographing their food. I mean, it’s nuts. This whole foodie ideology where people are always talking about their food and worrying about food and where everything on their plate is from — I’m tired of it. I feel like an existential drag saying that. But going out with friends now means eating with picky people. Everyone likes good food. This is an unhealthy obsession.” – Chef Kim Dalton

Q&A with Kelly Liken, Top Chef contestant and chef/owner of eponymously named eatery in in Vail, Colorado, reported at:
http://www.findeatdrink.com/Index/Restaurants/Entries/2010/12/20_kelly_liken.html
“I just found this salumi maker in Denver, Il Mondo Vecchio. The guy’s name is Mark and he makes like 25 different kinds of salumi from pork and beef and lamb and all of his animals are sourced as locally as he can possibly get them. Most are Colorado or Rocky Mountain animals. He’s making the stuff in super Old World ways. I never tasted salumi like this. It’s amazing.”

Reported by: http://www.dailymail.co.uk:
“I can’t tell my Mrs what to do. She’s not interested if I see her chopping dodgily, probably because our relationship works is because she doesn’t see me as any kind of expert at cooking or anything like that. I tell her it’s great but to be honest it’s fairly hideous.” – Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver

Complaints, tirades, comments, critiques? lehndorffj@aol.com

John Lehndorff is co-author with Kim Long of the American Salumi Calendar 2011, the first calendar devoted to cured meat artisans in the U.S. Lehndorff is a former caterer, nationally distributed newspaper food columnist and restaurant critic, author of a restaurant guide book, and one of America’s foremost pie experts.

The 2011 American Salumi Calendar: www.americansalumi.com

2010 FOOD TRENDS: WHAT WE’LL BE EATING NEXT

THE NEWS: The Boulder, CO.-based Fresh Ideas Group just released its 2010 consumer trend forecast which focuses on driving ideas as much as hot entrees.

In trends in 2010 include: Nurturing, Practical, “Nonprecious” organic, Small bites, Vintage brands, Salad bar for school lunch, Agave or cane sugar, Gluten- free worth tasting, Wellness insurance, Slow recovery, and Resilience.

Out trends in 2010 include: Spending, Narcissism, Decadence, Brand-new, High fructose corn syrup, Spin doctoring, Virgin plastic, Quick turnaround, and Resistance to change.

WHAT IT MEANS: While noting that women might become the majority of workers in 2010 and that females makes about 85 percent of consumer purchases, the FIG forecast also reports that men now constitute 36 percent of the shoppers at natural foods stores. Frankly, it’s about time that guys like me were finally noticed. I’ve been doing the grocery shopping for 20 years or more but I can’t say I’ve ever shopped at a  particularly guy-friendly supermarket.

- Restaurant eaters will continue to trade down from pricey to pragmatic in their dining out choices which makes ethnic eateries the likely destinations as well as street food trucks.

- Food-savvy kids (regrettably labeled “Koodies”) will be changing menus at home, in restaurants and at school by asking for quality fare. Given the choice, they’ll pick sushi over chicken fingers.

- Supercharged foods will continue to be hot including salba, acai, yumberry and mangosteen

(For the complete Fresh Ideas Group forecast: http://www.freshideasgroup.com/work/focus_group.php?id=238)

For more food trend figures: Eat In, Eat Out, a new magazine-style business-to-business white paper on food, dining and beverage industry trends for 2010 and beyond. www.americanforecaster.com.