FEBRUARY 2015

FoodBytes

FRESH STEP FORWARD

SPRING/SUMMER FLAVOR PREVIEW A TOPICAL TREND REPORT FROM

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FEBRUARY 2015

FoodBytes

Marinated Beets and Burrata with pickled strawberry, local Sausalito Springs watercress, and beet meringue from RN 74 in San Francisco, CA.

LOOKING AHEAD: SPRING/ SUMMER TRENDSPOTTING What are the trends you should be looking for on this year’s spring and summer restaurant menus? With the wide variety of fruits and vegetables that peak in flavor and availability in the warm seasons, it probably comes as no surprise that freshness will continue to reign supreme on menus in the months ahead. According to Datassential’s MenuTrends INSIDER, which tracks new menu items and LTOs at major chains, the descriptor “fresh” appeared twice as often on spring and summer menus compared with the rest of the year. In this month’s FoodBytes report, we showcase warm-weather food trends from past seasons, take a look at perennial spring/summer favorites, and forecast what’s on tap for the months ahead – including a handful of on-trend, fleeting ingredients that are only available for short periods of time – nature’s LTOs, if you will – including morel mushrooms, white asparagus, ramps, and fiddlehead ferns. We also highlight how seasonal fruits are used in a spring and summer menu mainstay – iced beverages. Whether it’s light, low-alcohol cocktails, lychee-flavored ice teas, or premium iced coffee, there’s no doubt that the cool beverage trend heats up as the temperature rises. And we continue to follow another warm-weather appetizer trend as it moves through the Menu Adoption Cycle – raw protein preparations. We look at dishes such as ceviche, tartare, carpaccio, and crudo. In fact, crudo, the Italian word for “raw,” appears on 233% more menus than it did four years ago, according to Datassential’s MenuTrends. And finally, we dive deep into our growing series of MenuTrends Keynote Reports – launched last year – to find actionable, season-specific ingredients for top menu categories such as dessert, pizza, and sandwiches. As always, Datassential’s complete line of TrendSpotting Reports keep you ahead of the game, painting a complete picture of today’s trend landscape. Pictured on cover: Seasonal Vegetarian Salad at Melisse Restaurant in Los Angeles, CA.

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FRESH INNOVATION

A look at how various operators create innovative dishes with some of the spring and summer’s most elusive, next-level ingredients.

FEBRUARY 2015

FoodBytes The morel mushroom can be foraged during a brief window of time between April and May. Morels are often simply sautéed, pan-fried, or stuffed. The Duo of Squab at left, from Restaurant Daniel in NYC, features a roasted squab breast with foie gras-stuffed morels and glazed legs with English peas and tarragon jus.

MOREL MUSHROOMS

Another spring specialty with a small window of availability, white asparagus, is achieved by growing stalks completely submerged in dirt, away from sunlight. This produces a milder asparagus flavor, which is often shaved into salads, like the white asparagus and lobster salad from Talavera in Scottsdale, AZ, at left.

WHITE ASPARAGUS

RAMPS

Ramps, or wild leeks, can be difficult to find – the fleeting ingredient can typically be found only for a few weeks from April to May. Ramps’ flavor profile combines garlic and onion with a fresher, grassier taste. They are often pickled for future use. Here, 42 Grams in Chicago pairs ramps with spring onion and yolk.

FIDDLEHEADS

Fiddleheads, the coiled tips of ferns, are typically foraged in early spring. The fleeting fiddlehead tastes vaguely of asparagus, and should be cooked prior to consuming to prevent illness. Here, Boston’s Harvest Restaurant pairs fresh fiddleheads with spring garlic in their Maine Farms Hanger Steak dish.

SUMMER GRILLING Grilling isn’t just for meat – grilled vegetables and fruits amp up these warm-weather flavors. In fact, terms like “wood grilled” and “fire griled” have each increased 10% on menus in the past four years, according to Datassential’s MenuTrends. At the far left: Grilled beets, pimenton cheese, and herbs from ABC Cocina in NYC. At left: Grilled Watermelon Wedge Salad with goat cheese from Longhorn Steakhouse.

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IN SEASON: FRUIT

FEBRUARY 2015

A variety of colorful fruits peak in freshness during the spring and summer. Strawberries, apricots, and lychee are among the fruits peaking in the springtime, with summer berries and the other fruits below shining brightest in the summer.

FoodBytes

STRAWBERRIES

APRICOT

LYCHEE

PEACHES

AVOCADO

MANGO

WATERMELON

MANDARINS

MELON

CHERRIES

Between the Fireflies, Nico, San Francisco, CA

Iced Tea, California Pizza Kitchen, Los Angeles, CA (HQ)

BERRIES

FIGS

Coconut Iced Coffee, Bruegger’s Bagels, Burling, VT (HQ)

ICED SUMMER BEVERAGES: LIGHT & REFRESHING As temperatures rise, so does the iced beverage trend. Last season, the country’s top chains added nearly 70 iced beverages as spring and summer LTOs and permanent menu items, according to Datassential’s INSIDER. Low-proof cocktails or “no-proof” mocktails are often marketed as a light beverage option in the warm seasons. The NY Daily News called these cocktails “perfect for summer” for consumers who want to “shy away from being bogged down by heavy hooch, but want something more satisfying than lemonade or beer.” These cocktails are often made with low-proof alcohols such as vermouth, amaro, sherry, and Aperol, and paired with fresh fruit juices, club soda, or house-brewed coffees and teas. Katsuya in Los Angeles, takes advantage of seasonal fruit with the Fresh Thyme Bellini, made with white peach puree, Prosecco, and peach bitters. Iced teas are an on-trend beverage vehicle for operators looking to showcase summer fruit flavors. Last season, operators released LTOs like the Blackberry Blues Iced Tea (Original Roadhouse Grill) and Gold Peak Passion Fruit Mango Iced Tea (Marie Callendar’s). Lychee, a fruit in the Inception stage of Datassential’s Menu Adoption Cycle, is just starting to appear as a flavoring for iced teas and cocktails. Iced coffee has increased nearly 10% over the past four years on U.S. menus, according to MenuTrends. An increasing number of menus have been marketing “premium iced coffee,” while “cold-brewed” coffee has increased 43% in the last year alone. And many operators are experimenting with tropical or indulgent iced coffee flavors like coconut or raspberry truffle, or going global with options like sweeter Thai Iced Coffee.

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SUMMER CITRUS

FEBRUARY 2015

FoodBytes

While many varieties of citrus peak in the cool winter season, a few are actually best during the spring and summer. With bright acids that “cook” proteins, citrus is especially important for raw protein preparations such as those to the right. WHITE GRAPEFRUIT A grapefruit variety with a pale yellow exterior; slightly more bitter than red grapefruit.

KEY LIME Thin-skinned limes with a tart, bitter flavor; used in everything from pies to cocktails. Beef Tartare (Yukhoe) from Gaonnuri in NYC. GOLDEN NUGGET MANDARINS Small, seedless oranges found from March through May.

FRESH HERBS BASIL Leafy herb of the mint family, available year round with peak harvest in summer. MINT Herb with minty flavor and aroma, used in teas, syrups, and desserts. CHIVE A cousin of leeks and garlic, with a subtle onion flavor. CHERVIL An herb similar to parsley, but with milder, more delicate leaves.

Tuna Crudo with grilled pineapple, jalapeno, and grapefruit from David Burke Fishtail in NYC.

COOLING IT DOWN Innovative operators often turn to refreshing, light, raw appetizers to combat scorching summer temperatures, particularly at fine dining restaurants – in fact, 47% of fine dining restaurants feature a raw appetizer option. You’ll find it on the menu in a variety of ways – ceviche, crudo, tartare, and carpaccio – joining more well-known sushi and sashimi raw fish preparations. Ceviche, a Central and South American dish of fresh raw fish or seafood cured in citrus, has increased 20% over the past four years, according to MenuTrends. Many of these raw protein dishes are served with a crispy, fried carrier such as tortilla chips or toast points – Havana Hideout in Lake Worth, FL puts a twist on fish and chips with its Fish Ceviche and Chips served with salsa fresca, guacamole, and tortilla chips. At Topolobampo, in Chicago, the Ceviche De Callos De Hacha cures scallops in lime and vanilla and combines them with pineapplehabanero salsa, onion, and farm radishes. Though “crudo,” meaning “raw,” is sometimes used to refer to any raw seafood or meat preparation, traditionally meats are sliced thinly in carpaccios, thicker in crudos, and finely diced in tartares. Overall, the term “crudo” has grown 233% on menus over the past four years, according to MenuTrends. And while Italian and fine dining segments are still the most likely to include raw protein dishes, casual restaurants such as Gordon Biersch are also experimenting with these preparations. Last season the brewery chain added an on-trend Ahi Tuna Carpaccio with garlic butter flatbread chips appetizer to the menu.

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TRENDSPOTTING

SEASONALITY

Arugula, mint, strawberry, plum tomatoes, vinaigrette, and zucchini.

FEBRUARY 2015

FoodBytes

MENUTRENDS KEYNOTES: SEASONAL FLAVORS

Datassential’s comprehensive MenuTrends Keynote Report series gives you an in-depth look at key industry topics, including seasonal flavor and ingredient trends that impact each topic. We looked at our four most recent reports – covering breakfast, desserts, sandwiches, and pizza/flatbreads – to see how flavors and ingredients changed with the seasons. In the summer, barbecued and roasted terms, such as caramelized, BBQ chicken, oven roasted, fire roasted, hickory, and applewood, were on-trend descriptors for sandwiches, pizza and flatbreads, as well as breakfast dishes. Vegetables dominated spring, with green onions, arugula, plum tomatoes, spinach, and cabbage trending in the savory keynote categories. On the sweet side, spring desserts mostly included chocolate ingredients, such as Oreo cookie, chocolate cookie, and “swirl”, with in-season summer fruits taking over the summer list. A number of spring and summer flavors are currently in the Inception stage of our MenuTrends MAC cycle, such as apricot on the breakfast menu.

S P R I N G S U M M E R

SANDWICHES

BREAKFAST

PIZZA

DESSERTS

Cabbage

Almonds

Arugula

Berry

Lemon

Hollandaise

Green Onions

Mint

Lobster

Strawberry

Plum Tomatoes

Strawberry

Applewood

Blueberry

BBQ Chicken

Frozen Yogurt

Basil Pesto

Peach

Pineapple

Key Lime

Vinaigrette

Turkey Sausage

Zucchini

Mango

To order MenuTrends Keynotes, contact Brian Darr at 312-655-0594 or [email protected]

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FEBRUARY 2015

FoodBytes TOPICS COVERED IN LAST MONTH’S

TRENDSPOTTING REPORTS ON THE MENU

DINE AROUND: BOULDER

In January’s On the Menu, we explored the rise of avocado toast and the Australian/New Zealandborn flat white coffee, delved into the characteristics of Sichuan peppercorn and Italian “cello” liqueurs, and looked into how operators are incorporating beignets and ricotta on menus. In our coverage of new menu items and LTOs, we highlighted winter flavors and new technology added to restaurants around the country.

In this edition of Dine Around, we traveled to Boulder, CO where a passion for health goes hand in hand with a passion for food. See how the restaurant landscape goes a step above farm-to-table, local, and organic menus to become a pioneer of detox diet dishes and 100% gluten-free kitchens. Take a note from Boulder and stay on the forefront of the next wave of healthy food trends. UPCOMING: We explore the revitalized food scene in Detroit, Michigan.

UPCOMING: We cover turmeric, peri-peri sauce, savory yogurt usage, and egg creams.

INTERNATIONAL CONCEPTS: INDIA

CREATIVE CONCEPTS: FOOD INCUBATORS

In International Concepts, we brought you to India, where a growing economy and middle class are attracting attention from international chains across the globe. We covered the country’s popular vada pav sandwich and kati roll chains, and took a look at how numerous U.S. and international chains adapt their menu to Indian tastes (such as focusing on vegetarian options).

In last month’s Creative Concepts: Food Incubators, we explored the business incubators that are nourishing culinary dreams. Whether an incubator offers the use of a shared commercial kitchen or guidance from inception to success, food incubators are helping produce the next generation of restaurants, artisanal products, and agricultural processes.

UPCOMING: We take a look at the major chain food concepts in South Korea.

UPCOMING: We profile wellknown operators who have launched offshoot brands.

NEVER MISS OUT ON A TREND!

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Contact Maeve Webster at 312-655-0596 to subscribe to Datassential’s entire TrendSpotting Report series.

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FEBRUARY 2015

FoodBytes

A MAJORITY OF CONSUMERS SAY THEIR TASTES ARE SHAPED BY THEIR RESTAURANT EXPERIENCES What’s happening on the menu today can be a leading indicator of tomorrow’s food trends. Datassential MenuTrends is the industry’s largest menu data set with the longest historic trend record, plus the ability to search millions of dishes from over 100,000 menus. Because the database is designed to mirror the US restaurant census by segment, region, and menu type, MenuTrends is the only system that offers true projectable data. All segments and cuisine types are tracked extensively – from food trucks to fine dining. MenuTrends INSIDER is also updated every month with Limited Time Offers (LTOs) and other new menu activity, with product photos that bring the listings to life. And with thousands of ready-to-use reports and simple trend detection tools, you can jump right into the database, identifying, measuring, and predicting the food and flavor trends that matter to your business. Call us today to begin using the food industry’s authoritative resource for flavor trends.

Call Jana Mann at 312-655-0595 or email [email protected].

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FoodBytes FEBRUARY 2015

FoodBytes

HUNGRY FOR MORE? This is just a small taste of the research and data we have collected in order to make accurate, data-backed trend identifications. Now let Datassential take you deeper into the implications of these trends and what they mean for your company. We can take you behind the data that shows how restaurant menus are shrinking and morphing, show you an in-depth look at the surprising demographic data on consumers (including Millennials) that informed these trends, and show you real-world examples of every trend covered. And it’s all backed by the industry’s most accurate and trusted menu database, MenuTrends, and the industry’s largest operator research panel, OPERA. To start putting these trends to work for you, contact Datassential today:

1-312-655-0596 [email protected]

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