Fair Trade News

December 28, 2006 | Epicurious.com


Food and Drink Predictions for 2007
Dateline: Our crystal ball

With 2006 coming to a close, we polled a panel of Epicurious editors and contributors, plus top chefs and others in the food and drink industry, about the year's best and worst food trends, as well as their predictions and resolutions for the New Year. Today we bring you the predictions - check back tomorrow for the resolutions.

1. Black Market Bites: Foie gras was banned this year in Chicago, and other cities are looking at making it illegal - but that doesn't mean diners won't be indulging in it, according to many chefs and foodies. "Foie gras speakeasies" will soon be developing, says Kevin McCarthy, executive chef of the Point in Saranac Lake, New York: "I see private clubs having secret dinners, feasting on the forbidden fattened duck liver, possibly even cooking it sous vide. The sales of foie gras will rise to record levels. If you ban cookies from children, they will crave them and eat more of them - it's the same with foie gras connoisseurs; ban it and they want more of it." (Read our Daily Dish on Outlaw Eats.)

2. Pigging Out: On the flipside of the legal system, now that USDA restrictions forbidding its importation into the U.S. have been lifted, Spain's Iberico ham will become popular in the U.S., according to José Andrés and many others. We predict you'll agree after one taste of these nutty, succulent products. (Read more about Iberico ham in the Bon Appétit blog. You can preorder Iberico products from www.tienda.com)

3. Homing Instinct: With recent contamination scares linked to produce grown on huge farms and then shipped cross-country, we expect more and more people to start shopping at local farmers' markets and maybe even growing their own lettuce.

4. Global Gourmet: David Myers, the chef-owner of Sona in Los Angeles, says that in 2007 "more ethnic food will become fine-dining oriented." Drew Nieporent, who just happens to have recently opened the high-end Vietnamese restaurant Mai House in New York, agrees, while Cliff Wharton, executive chef de cuisine at TenPenh in Washington, D.C., says, "I would like to see the rise of more American-Asian upscale cuisine."

5. Fair Game: We're watching for fair trade to follow in the footsteps of organic and sustainable as a buzzword for conscientious consumers. According to the Consumers Union Web site www.eco-labels.org, "The Fair Trade Certified™ standards aim to ensure that farmers and farm workers in developing nations receive a fair price for their product; have direct trade relations with buyers and access to credit; and encourage sustainable farming methods, without the use of a dozen of the most harmful pesticides, and forced child labor." (Find out more at www.transfairusa.org.)

6. On a Roll: With bread back in our collective good graces, expect to see more quality baked goods being produced by home cooks and at restaurants. And chef Alexandra Guarnaschelli of New York's Butter is predicting "the reappearance of a true Parker House roll." (See our review of Baking Books and The Best Cookbooks of 2006, which includes a book about whole-grain baking.)

7. Drinks with a Kick: Frank Proto, chef de cuisine at New York's Landmarc and Ditch Plains, thinks "spicy cocktails" will be big in 2007. Epi editors second that - we recently enjoyed a "Margarita Picante" made with habañero and have seen various spicy drinks on menus, including the Caipirissima de Piña y Jalapeño (made with rum, muddled pineapple, and jalapeño) at New York's Maya.

8. Doggone It: Charlie Palmer says, "Hot dogs will take the burger's spot in 2007."

9. Coffee Talk: Palmer is also expecting a rise in interest in small coffee producers and roasters and small-batch roasting. We agree: One Epi editor's favorite new place to buy beans is Oslo, a coffee shop in the hipster haven of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which meticulously sources and roasts its beans.

10. An End to Super-Sizing: "I feel that consumers will start to care more about purchasing quality foods than quantity," says Kristy Choo, the owner of Jin Patisserie, based in Venice, California. While her prediction may have just a little to do with the fact that she makes high-end and fairly high-priced chocolates and pastries, we agree with the sentiment. (Read about the star of Super Size Me and get some of the recipes that helped him slim down after his fast-food binge.)

- The Editors