If anyone would know what consumers really care about when they go out to eat, it would be chefs, don’t you think? Or maybe it’s the media. Or maybe it’s research analysts. Well, I have a little secret I’ll share in a minute.
I just got the National Restaurant Association’s “What’s Hot in 2011” chefs survey. Like every year, the NRA gave more than 1,500 chef members of the American Culinary Federation a list of 226 food and beverage items, cuisines, culinary themes and preparation methods and asked them to rate each as a hot trend, yesterday’s news or perennial favorite. Based on their responses, the items were ranked by their “hotness” levels.
And so, according to all these chefs, for 2011, the top three hottest things are locally sourced meats and seafood, locally grown produce and sustainability. So, it’s all about where the food comes from and how it’s grown. Is anyone else as surprised as I am how quickly this whole way of thinking has soared into national consciousness? Just a few years ago in 2009, the top three hottest things were bite-size mini desserts, organic produce and nutritionally balanced children’s dishes. Now there’s a carbon footprint stamped on everyone’s brain. Or is there?
In October, 1725 consumers who had eaten out at a restaurant in the past month were asked in a Mintel survey which of a list of items they felt restaurants need to improve upon. Sustainability wasn’t No. 1. Low price was with 52% saying it was either very or somewhat important. Sustainability wasn’t No. 2 (it was higher quality food/ingredients at 28%). Here’s my secret. The sustainability choice (more locally sourced/local food options) ranked fifth with only 16% saying it was very or somewhat important. It actually tied with “cleaner bathrooms.” Te he.
I know that between the two surveys we aren’t comparing apples with apples. Both surveyed groups were looking at different lists answering a different question. But it seems clear to me that average consumers aren’t thinking too much about sustainability when they go out to eat.
And another thought from my produce industry editorial background. Some 10-15 years ago, organic produce really did start to enter the minds of consumers in a big way as concern over ingesting pesticides took hold. This put stress on the commercial produce industry as it realized it had to provide the solution to this. Many companies began transitioning part of their acreage to grow organic. It cost them a lot, but they recognized this desire for organics was real and it wasn’t going away. Add to that the organic certification standards that became law, and there was this huge industry movement to answer the loud call for more organics (at low prices).
And now look what’s happened. The conversation has moved away from organics to locally grown and sustainable, which really has no official definition. Growers went to all that trouble and expense to become certified so they could legally call their produce organic, and it turns out that all people really cared about was this feeling of knowing what is going on with their food. Had the industry known this would happen, it might have gone a different direction. Notice in the chart below that organic produce was ranked No. 2 in the 2009 chef survey. You can’t see it below, but for 2011, organic produce is No. 14. ... Tell me what you think.
Top five foods, beverages, cuisines and culinary themes over time per chefs
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2011 |
2010 |
2009 |
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Source: National Restaurant Association/What’s Hot in 2011 chef survey
Jody Shee
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