Consumer Trends
Time to scream for ice cream
July is National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday (July 22nd this year) is National Ice Cream Day, both officially designated by President Reagan back in 1984. From single scoop cones to drinkable desserts, operators are offering Americans many tempting ways to indulge this summer.
Not for women only
Micro-brewers may have originally tapped into seasonal fruit beers to tempt female patrons, but men are drinking them, too.
Operators and their customers who love meat are starting to fork over more money to put protein on the plate. The problem starts with the feed. Cattle are traditionally finished on grain, but farmers looking for larger profits are now growing corn for ethanol instead of animal feed. Cow/calf producers are currently bearing the brunt of higher feed prices.
As sushi continues its conquest of the mainstream, it’s becoming more and more clear that raw fish was only the first wave of a Japanese culinary invasion. Over the past two to three years, one Japanese concept after another has hit our shores with only a passing glance toward sushi—if there’s any recognition at all. They are authentic, specialized and high concept.
Greg Atkinson was buying and promoting local foods long before it became the routine thing to do for top chefs. The former chef of Seattle’s Canlis then took time off from cooking in restaurants to teach culinary arts and write about food. Now Atkinson is back at the stove in his newly opened Marché on Bainbridge Island in Winslow, Wash., where he’s again preparing the most indigenous ingredients he can get his hands on.