Epicurious Predicts Top 10 Food Trends for 2012


By Sara Bonisteel,
Epicurious.com

As 2011 sunsets into history, it's time to reflect on the major food trends we see emerging in 2012. As we've done for 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, our editors compiled culinary forecasts, divided into Front Burner (trends you'll likely see dominate) and Back Burner (those things whose popularity has peaked). Are we right? Wrong? Tell us what you think of our predictions and weigh in on what trends you foresee this coming year!

See also: The Best Cookbooks of 2011

RESTAURANTS

Front Burner: The Return of Hotel Dining
The big boys are back in the hotel kitchen, again. After years of chefs leaving large and often mediocre hotel dining rooms to open up small, casual standalone spaces, high-quality hotel dining has returned with a vengeance: José Andrés was among the heavyweights to head back with his BAZAAR at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills; April Bloomfield opened The Breslin at New York's Ace Hotel; and Heston Blumenthal followed with Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental in London. Dr. Miguel Sáchez Romera brought new luxury to Manhattan's Dream Downtown hotel. We expect more collaborations in the year to come from the likes of Daniel Humm, Charlie Palmer, and Daniel Boulud.

Back Burner: Pop-Up Restaurants
It seemed like everybody, including the James Beard Foundation, got into pop-up restaurants this year, but with Grant Achatz's NEXT taking the pop-up concept to a permanent space, we think this trend has peaked.

DISH

Front Burner: Fin-to-Tail Eating
If you really want to take snout-to-tail to the next level, look to the lakes and seas. More and more restaurants are adding whole fish entrees to their menu, and Zak Pelaccio and Marc Forgione are among the chefs who've taken to frying their fish bones and serving them to guests.

Back Burner: Lobster Rolls
Once the jewel of secret underground restaurants and New England vacations, the expensive lobster roll can now be found in food trucks off-season and sporting arenas. Let the crustacean backlash begin.

FOOD CITY

Front Burner: Singapore
One of the tastiest cities on Earth (thanks in large part to its food courts whose multiethnic offerings border on flavorful insanity), Singapore is the place to eat in 2012. The nation has more fine-dining restaurants per resident than any other country on earth, according to the Wall Street Journal, and Daniel Boulud is among the most recent chefs who've added their mark to the island's culinary map.

Back Burner: Brooklyn
New York's coolest borough will always hold a place in our heart, but it's attracting overpriced and overhyped restaurants along with its new higher-income residents.

LIQUOR

Front Burner: "Moonshine"
Drinking un-aged whiskey out of a label-less bottle seems so Boardwalk Empire cool. We love these burning white spirits, but if you have a liquor license and are paying taxes on the hooch you're distilling, please don't call it 'shine. It's White Dog or Corn Whiskey. Let's leave the moniker to those brave souls who make it illegally in a mountain still under the light of a silvery moon.

Back Burner: Celebrity Vodkas
When Kanye West's ex Amber Rose becomes the spokes-model for marshmallow-flavored vodka, and J Woww shills for Svedka, you know the traditional choice for impresarios and moguls is down on its luck.

DIET

Front Burner: Happy Diet
Eating healthy shouldn't make you sad. That's why we're excited about Dr. Drew Ramsey and Tyler Graham's Happiness Diet, which focuses on foods designed to boost your mood--and shrink your belly.

Back Burner: Wheat Belly
Cardiologist Dr. William Davis's best-selling diet book advocates a wheat-free approach to eating that's akin to gluten-free living. While those with celiac should always go gluten free, the remaining 97% of us who don't have this serious disease should remember avoiding wheat means a likely deficit of fiber, protein, and added vitamins in our daily diet.

See also: Our Favorite Christmas Cookie Recipes

CUISINE

Front Burner: High-End Indian
With Chef Hemant Mathur's Tulsi getting a Michelin star this year, haute Indian dining in America is finally getting some recognition. Look for more delicious things to come from top end Indian restaurants like Rasika in Washington D.C. and San Francisco's Amber India.

Back Burner: High-End Korean
We'll still splurge on fancy Korean barbecue and hot pots in hot rocks, but bulgogi was so 2011, and we don't need it to be fused with every other cuisine on the planet.

ESOTERIC INGREDIENT

Front Burner: Fennel Pollen
The latest in rare, must-have ingredients for chefs? An Italian favorite: fennel pollen. While Mario Batali extols its virtues, chefs far and wide are finding inventive uses for it, including Canlis in Seattle, where the powder dusts snapper sashimi. Where to get it? Try the Pollen Ranch.

Back Burner: Edible Dirt
Remember when edible dirt was just a crushed Oreo atop chocolate pudding and gummy worms? A few years ago this year's It chef, Rene Redzepi elevated edible dirt to a fine-dining centerpiece. It seems everyone is now calling coffee grounds, crushed cardamom, pulverized olives, and the like, dirt. It's time to relegate these crumbs back to where they belong: on grade-school birthday treats.

COOKING AT HOME

Front Burner: Homemade Dairy
You can gauge the next big homestead cooking project on the horizon by the how-to cookbooks that precede it. This year, a slew of homemade dairy books made their debut, meaning it's only a few more months till all your friends are trading homemade yogurts, fresh cheeses, and butters.

Back Burner: Pig Roasts
Everybody loves their whole-hog barbecue, their La Caja China Cuban roasters, and Hawaiian pig roasts, but it's just not practical to do it in your yard. Leave it to the professionals and go make some cheese.

DESSERT

Front Burner: Fried Sweet Dough
When you take something sweet and fry it, you'll always have a winner. We're not advocating for State Fair fare, mind you, but churros (preferably with cajeta on the side), beignets, and koeksisters are a killer ending for a meal.

Back Burner: Mini Desserts
This year saw the rise of the miniaturized cannoli, doughnut, popsicle, and macaron, but we quickly forget these tiny treats have long held sway at Dunkin' Donuts and Whole Foods. This trend should have vanished two bites ago.

CULINARY PROFESSION

Front Burner: Cheesemaker
Cheesemongers like Anne Saxelby have helped Americans understand why artisan cheese is a delicious, good-for-the-earth slow food. Heck, our pipe dream has always been to open a cheese farm in New England. It seems many new food professionals will beat us to it.

Back Burner: Mixologist
We'll always love our bespoke cocktillians, but they've saturated the bar market with esoteric and sometimes silly drinks.

Share your predictions in the comments below!

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