Consumer Trends
Flavor trends go global in 2012
For the first time, the McCormick Flavor Forecast is taking a global view of trends in 2012. After a year of research conducted by an international group of chefs, sensory scientists, trend watchers and marketing experts, McCormick compiled a list of innovative and creative flavor combinations that are beginning to pop up around the world. Six relevant trends were identified, brought to life through 12 regional flavor combinations.
Street meats
Chefs continue to jump aboard food trucks, taking to the streets with moveable versions of their signature dishes. But the popularity of street foods is spawning a reverse trend, as restaurants adapt iconic items to tabletop dining. Grilled and spit-roasted meats seem to be leading the charge.
What will I do if a huge, highly successful restaurant from a national chain moves nearby? In many cities across the nation, restaurants have had to close their doors simply because they could not compete with the new neighborhood Goliath. The following are exciting promotional tactics that operators can use to instantly boost business. These strategies are designed for smaller businesses to continually outmaneuver their larger competitors.
Chef Cory Bahr passed his crown and the title of “King of Louisiana Seafood” to Chef Keith Frentz of LOLA in Covington, La. at the 5th Annual Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off. The cook-off, held by the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, was part of the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, an annual five-day festival.
The NRA Show draws quite an international list of attendees and one of the regulars is Peter Backman, managing director of Horizons, a foodservice research and consulting company based in London. Every year, we sit down for a quick meeting to compare notes about restaurant trends in America and Britain. Here are some of the things I learned during our May 6th chat.
Starting this weekend, thousands of couples will be donning their best attire, heading to their favorite restaurants and racking up hefty bills in celebration of Valentine’s Day. OpenTable, an online provider of free, real-time restaurant reservations, compiled a report on this year’s Valentine’s Day trends, keeping operators prepped and ready for the rush.