Chef Favorites for 2008 Restaurant Menu Items

Chefs Rank Food and Beverage Items in 2008 Trends Survey

Event planners are always trying to incorporate the hottest food and drink items into their selections from restaurant and hotel catering menus. But if you want to know the latest event planning catering trends, ask a chef.

And that’s exactly what the National Restaurant Association and the American Culinary Federation surveyed in October, 2007.

According to 1,282 chefs who participated in the National Restaurant Association 2008 Chef Survey, the following ranked as the top 20 “hot” items out of a total of 194 food and beverage items:

1. Bite-size desserts
2. Locally grown produce
3. Organic produce
4. Small plates/tapas/mezze
5. Specialty sandwiches
6. Craft/artisan/microbrew beer
7. Sustainable seafood
8. Grass-fed items
9. Energy drink cocktails
10. Salts (e.g., sea, smoked, colored, kosher)
11. Ethnic fusion cuisine
12. Flatbreads
13. Martinis/flavored martinis
14. Mojito
15. Asian entrée salad
16. Pomegranates
17. Asian appetizers
18. Microdistilled/artisanal liquors
19. Organic wine
20. Specialty beer (e.g., season, fruit, spice/herb, beer cocktails)