Professor/Chef Adria; Pancake preferers; Gluten-free intolerance; Pigeon pastrami; Kombucha boom

A compendium of food, dining and beverage trend information from the U.S. and the world

Reported by the Associated Press:

Acclaimed Spanish chef Ferran Adria who concocted treats such as ravioli made from squid and freeze-dried foie gras will teach an undergraduate course in culinary physics this fall at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The course willuse cooking to introduce students to soft matter physics, which involves the study of suspensions and gels.

Reported in Restaurants & Institutions:

R&I’s 2010 New Diner Study offers insights into customers’ habits and what they want from restaurants at breakfast. Breakfast sandwiches (52.5%) by far are the most popular food choice for weekday breakfasts at restaurants, in particular among Gen Y diners, blacks, Southerners, single diners and diners with children. Pancakes, preferred especially by matures, blacks and Hispanics, rank second at 30.9%. Muffins, doughnuts and other sweet baked goods are a top choice for only 15.9% of consumers.

Reported by foodnavigator-usa.com:

The mainstream adoption of gluten-free diets is a movement on the way out, according to trends forecaster Suzy Badaracco, president of Culinary Tides. Gluten-free foods have rapidly increased in popularity over the past few years – partly as a result of better diagnosis of celiac disease. However, there has also been a mass movement toward gluten-free products by those who have self-diagnosed wheat or gluten intolerance or who believe gluten-free to be a healthier way of eating. And the gluten-free market has boomed, with an average annual growth rate of 28 percent since 2004, according to market research organization Packaged Facts. However, Badaracco told FoodNavigator-USA.com that people who have tried adhering to a gluten-free diet for reasons other than celiac disease are drifting back to gluten-containing foods, and that this drift is likely to pick up pace. “This is a house of cards just waiting to fall,” she said. “It’s a medical diet, right? It’s hard to stick to.” As well as her trend forecasting business for the food industry, Badaracco is also a qualified dietitian, and she said that those who choose to avoid gluten-containing foods often end up with poorly balanced diets. However, wider availability of better, tastier gluten-free products could be one of the longer lasting consequences of the gluten-free movement, as food manufacturers have worked hard to formulate better quality products.

Reported by www.jamesbeard.org:

“Though it probably won’t catch on anytime soon at Carnegie Deli, pigeon pastrami might be one of the most interesting dishes we serve at the Beard House all year. “

Reported by the New York Times:

Naomi Most, a devoted brewer of a fermented tea called kombucha, keeps her “big momma” in the garage. The big momma in question is a 20-pound pancake of gelatinous and, well, rather gross-looking bacteria and yeast floating atop a vat of kombucha, a drink that enthusiasts tout as a tonic for digestion, haor loss, and all manner of bodily ailments. It’s not for everyone. “I live with my boyfriend and he finds it really weird,” said Ms. Most, 30, a manager for a nonprofit group in Palo Alto, Calif. “He doesn’t like the smell.” Looks and aroma notwithstanding, kombucha is gaining popularity among those who favor organic beverages, and it is showing signs of turning into a gold mine for some companies. While the poor economy and worries about health and the environment have diminished the national thirst for soda and bottled water, sales of kombucha and other “functional” juices in the United States topped $295 million last year, up 25 percent over a two-year period, according to SPINS Inc., a market researcher.

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(For an inside look at the booming American kombucha industry:  The Kombucha Report: http://www.teareport.com)

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FOOD TRENDS: Colorado, kombucha and pupusas

This column originally appeared in the February issue of Yellow Scene magazine in Colorado

By JOHN LEHNDORFF

As a lifelong food geek, I jumped at the opportunity in 2009 to work on Eat In Eat Out, a new report focused on U.S. food and beverage trends. Here are some predictions and how they are manifesting in the Colorado market:

- Affordable remains the mantra. Discounts abound at supermarkets as well as better private label brands. Health food prices will get chopped with newcomer Sprouts joining the crowded fray. Expect continued deals (and smaller portions) from independent eateries fighting to outlive the recession as well as a bevy of Colorado-born fast casuals (think Quizno’s, Chipotle, Noodles & Company).

- Local rules for green, food safety and financial reasons. This should be a good year for artisanal cheese makers (Windsor Dairy), pork producers (Long Farms), bread bakers (Breadworks), chocolatiers (Robin Chocolates), and distillers (Leopold Bros.). Bistro menus will prominently detail ingredients’ points of origin.

- Gardening at home continues to boom using local seed (and home canning), chefs tilling their own gardens and farms (Black Cat, Colterra), and more farmers’ markets and stands. Cooking classes will fill as kitchen neophytes realize they don’t know how to cook.   

Other hot trends include:
Street food: Look for more mobile fare from the traditional taco and pupusa wagons to the chef-driven, Twitter-linked Green Gringo truck.

Kombucha: The Denver metro area is the rising epicenter for this tart fermented tea beverage. Kombucha fills store shelves locally, is on tap at Whole Foods and will be bottled soon by Boulder’s Celestial Seasonings.

Plus: anything gluten-free; upscale burger joints; lardo and salumi; and Sechuan buttons.

- Eat In Eat Out: Food trend forecast 2010: http://americanforecaster.com/

FOOD TRENDS: Kiwi meat pie pizza? Burgers with figs? Beer and bones

… From naturalfoodsmerchandiser.com: Grocery retailers could increase annual food sales by 3.2 percent as a result of consumers choosing to eat at home more, according to a new report from Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council of North America. The economy has caused frugal customers to shift away from dining out in favor of cooking at home. The study showed that the top five motivations driving dinnertime consumer food and beverage choices are taste (44.9 percent of dinner occasions), ease of preparation (41.6 percent), hunger satisfaction (39.8 percent) and pleasing to everyone (34.2 percent).

… In 2007, Domino’s Pizza in Australia and New Zealand released a meat pie pizza, consisting of minced beef, peas, diced fresh tomato, onions, gravy, thick pastry and tomato sauce. There are no reports of the meat pie pizza being served in the U.S. yet.

^{… Rimag.com reports: “At Le Gourmet Burger in Montreal, nontraditional burger condiments offered range from hummus, pesto and pickled beets to caramelized figs, truffle oil and foie gras.”}

^{Also: “At Blind Faith Café in Evanston, Ill., gluten-free items are prepped on a designated table, with gloved chefs using sanitized utensils and bowls. The café’s gluten-free baked goods are prepared 24 hours after gluten-containing items, to give the air time to clear. In addition, the bakery and dining room have separate air systems, enabling gluten-intolerant guests to dine fear-free.”}

^{- Reuters reports some good beer news: “Scientists from the Department of Food Science & Technology at the University of California have issued a report touting beer as a good source of silicon, an important element for supporting bone density and preventing osteoporosis. The study showed pale ales topped the charts with up to 56.5 milligrams of silicon per liter and concluded that varieties rich in malted barley and hops contain the highest levels of the mineral.”}

JohnLehndorff.com
Eat In Eat Out: Food trend forecast 2010: http://americanforecaster.com/