US market a hotbed of trends and technology

Nose-to-tail and root-to-stalk cooking, pickling, ramen, dark greens and South East Asian cuisine were identified as the top five trends in the US, highlighted in a recent survey by The National Restaurant Association (NRA).

When it comes to technology, chefs ranked menus on tablet computers as the top trend, followed by smartphone apps for consumers (ordering, reservations, etc), smartphone apps for chefs (recipes, table management, POS tracking, etc), mobile payment and social media marketing.

The NRA surveyed nearly 1,300 professional chefs, all members of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) and produced its annual report, What's Hot in 2014.

With US restaurant industry sales reaching $1.8b (£1.1b) on a typical day in 2013, the market is a hotbed of new trends, technologies and breakthrough innovations.

The five items with the highest ranking as a diminishing trend for 2014 were foam/froth/air, bacon-flavoured chocolate, fish offal, gazpacho, and fun-shaped children's items. The five items 
with the largest drop were Greek yogurt, sweet potato fries, new 
cuts of meat, grass-fed beef, and organic coffee.

These and many other restaurant industry trends will be showcased at the 2014 National Restaurant Association Show, which will be held on 17-20 May at Chicago's McCormick Place.

For more details go to www.restaurant.org/show