Food Trends

Top 10 Autumn & Winter Food Trends

  Trending Foods To Keep an Eye On This Autumn/Winter 2013 2013 started out with a bang in food revolution and consumers thinking outside of the box in the way they normally eat.  A few of the biggest trends to hit the restaurant scene in the beginning of the year were tasting menus, fermenting, food trucks, sustainable seafood, restaurant gardens, molecular gastronomy and charcuterie everything just to name a few.  With only a few months remaining in the year Local Roots Food Tours has been asked what else is there to look forward to in the upcoming months in the food arena?  We have picked out the top trends we are seeing right now or are on the forefront of trending in the beginning of 2014. What's Ahead......Top 10 Trends: 1.  Move over Kale....the new green on menus is Collard Greens. Collard greens are loaded with vitamins A and K, cancer-fighting antioxidants, and fiber.  This is a staple in the south with most any meat dish but the trend is moving nationwide and soon to hit menus in restaurants jumping on board the collard green movement. 2.  Prep for a crudite’ awakening as raw vegetables get posh.  In their most natural state is where the greatest flavors and health benefits come in to play - watch farmers getting creative with varietal colors in carrots, cauliflowers and potatoes but keeping it raw when they find themselves on the plated salads and sides. 3.  Customers want in on exclusive ticketed dining events (hence the reason Sacramento’s Farm to Fork Tower Bridge Dinner sold out within 48 hours once tickets were available!) so get ready for more local chefs continuing to collaborate with local farmers in some creative barn dinners, food and wine pairing symposiums and delicious themed dinners....but be ready to pay a hefty price.  The more exclusive the event, the higher the price tag......which results in bragging rights with your friends on which exclusive dinners you attended this fall. 4.  Smacarons - with cheese!  Forget the sweet, saccharine macarons you thought you knew, this savory sensation is on our list for snacking and will be replacing all desserts and cheeseboards this autumn so keep your eyes peeled at local bakeries such as Estelle’s Patisserie and Ettore's Bakery and get ready for a tasting of Smacarons! 5.  Can I get a Drum(roll) with that Rum!  Rum is back — and it's not just for pirates anymore. People are even distilling it in New England, as they did almost two centuries ago. Supposedly, rum is enjoying a "big resurgence" across this land of ours. The best part? This means it is finally cool to order daiquiris. "It’s such a simple drink and it’s delicious and there are just three ingredients: white rum, lime juice and simple syrup," a San Francisco bartender told Food and Wine. And who are we to argue? 6.  Ramen Burger Revenge!  Move over Cronuts.......there is a new food craze starting to sweep the nation whether it be thru a food truck window or a casual restaurant who “gets it” that ramen noodles are not just for poor college students anymore! The Ramen Burger is an all-beef patty, sandwiched between two ramen noodle “buns.” It’s garnished with a secret Shoyu sauce, arugula and green onions. The flavor is a salty-sweet combination, but the texture of the buns is what makes this burger so enticing.  Who will be the first on the food scene to announce their Ramen Burger Creation? Click to Continue on with more Trends!

Chef Symposiums and Restaurant Gardens Top 10 Trends

We tour all around different cities looking for what might be a winner and hot topic to talk about with our food tour participants.  Trying to stay ahead of the kitchen mallet as to what is trending compared to what is here to stay in the culinary arena has its perks and challenges.  Local Roots Food Tours has compiled their top finds on what you might experience in 2013 while on your "foodie adventures." Top 10 Culinary Trends For 2013: 1.  Chef’s behind closed curtains is a thing of the past.  2013 will continue to bring celebrity (as well as local chefs) front and center hosting special themed culinary events, symposiums and contribute to hands-on cooking classes.  No more hiding behind the frying pan - their talents and passion will continue to be exposed with many culinary events.  We are looking forward to seeing more of our local executive chefs come out and support Sacramento’s Farm to Fork Capital of America efforts by offering some pretty awesome cooking events in and out of their kitchens in 2013. 2.  Restaurant gardens - Whether it be in back alley gutters or a transformed back lot, gardens are popping up all over the nation.  Chefs cite many logical reasons why restaurant gardens are a good idea: cost, convenience, control, sustainability. The concept of in-house farming is hardly new and the trend has hit far and wide—there are countless restaurants tilling their own soil and planting the seeds for vegetables that will eventually appear on a customer’s plate.  A small farm adjacent to an eating establishment keeps that path from farm to table about as short as it can get.  One example we love is share is Mineral Restaurant in Murphys, CA.  Executive Chef Steve Rinauro and partner/co-owner Maya Rinauro have been busy planting, weeding, watering and harvesting their restaurant garden in 2012.  Their farm to table philosophy is lived vivaciously every day in their vegetarian menu.  For those restaurants who don’t have the option of a garden out their back door, buying plots of land in local farms creates a great option.  One local farm in Sacramento, Feeding Crane Farms offers such plots to local Sacramento chefs.....the next best thing to offer local farm ingredients. 3. Nordic food is out - Peruvian and Korean food is in for 2013. Click to continue!

Bull’s Blood Making It On To Sacramento Menus!

Microgreens . . . take them or leaf them! It is only natural that California would pioneer the latest microgreen trend in the food world.  These flavorful Lilliputian members of the greens community have been appearing with increasing frequency on today's restaurant menus.  They are appearing in upscale markets and restaurants and locally command a luxury item price of up to $3 to $5 per ounce. Many chefs in the Sacramento restaurant scene are now incorporating microgreens into a variety of dishes.  One common microgreen that is being found on local menus in California restaurants is Bulls Blood.  Read that twice when you see it on a menu and wonder to yourself;  “really?”.   Do you take it literally or have you already been exposed to one of the newest local farm trends to hit many restaurants menus? Bulls Blood is a popular microgreen that stems from the 1840’s bulls blood beet. Bull’s blood leaves have been used in folk medicine to treat a wide variety of ailments. This Microgreen's beet-like flavor and vivid red color enhances mixed green salads but also finding its way on top of raw meats, seafood and pork belly sandwiches! Click to learn more!