Cuisine Canada Scene

By Dana McCauley

Quite often food trends trickle down from the foodservice world to the grocery realm. Consider balsamic vinegar. In the 1980s when Cal-Ital restaurants become popular, this was a new and exotic ingredient that home cooks quickly started asking for at the grocery store. Today balsamic vinegar is a kitchen staple and sold in even well-stocked convenience stores. The modern equivalent is black garlic, which as 2009 dawned was brand new to most chefs but is now, less than 18 months later, available at chain grocers such as Longo’s and Metro.

As the black garlic example shows, restaurants are still an important progenitor of trends. However, today many current restaurant trends are consumer driven and spring from our societal concerns about health and wellness.

Portion Control
US chains such as TGI Friday’s have been successful with their ‘Right Portion, Right Price’ options and other restaurants such as California Pizza Kitchen hope to duplicate this success by launching ‘Small Cravings’ menu items that focus on bold flavours delivered small portions at small prices. Here in Canada, this trend is flourishing as well as restaurants such as Oliver-Bonacini offer small dessert offerings such as their ‘couple of squares.’

Calorie Counts
While Quick Serve Restaurants (QSR’s) have offered calorie and nutrient info about their menu items on line or in store for many years, sit down restaurants have long been exempt from this kind of disclosure. However, today more sit-down chains and higher end eateries are attempting to appeal to dieters by showcasing menus and menu items that are limited in calorie. For instance, at SIR corps Four, all menu items are under 650 calories and Jack Astor’s is promoting their 415 calorie chicken salad in ads on restroom doors in health club chains.

Satiety
Satiety is of growing interest among consumers who want to be fit and slim but don’t want to suffer with hunger pangs. At the foodservice level, restaurateurs are addressing this need by creating menu items that feature more whole grains. Ontario upscale pizzeria chain Il Fornello’s whole wheat pizza crust is one great example, while Starbuck’s oatmeal success is soon to be challenged by McDonald’s who has announced that they’ll be launching $1.99 cups of oatmeal on their new breakfast menu. Likewise, brown rice is offered at many more sushi restaurants than it was even a year ago.

Lower Sodium
While there aren’t a lot of restaurants or chains that are actively reducing salt levels in their menu items, you can be sure that chefs have a growing awareness of this issue and are asking their suppliers for lower sodium semi-prepared ingredient options. Likewise, restaurants that prepare items from scratch and use few processed items in their menu offering are being recognized and chosen by consumers as better choices than chains that use more manufactured ingredients.

In the near future look for more restaurants to substitute extra herbs, garlic, spices, citrus and other high flavour ingredients for bottled marinades, sauces and salty condiments such as mustard, ketchup and soy sauce.

Allergies
With food allergy awareness now elevated in schools and child-centered businesses, restaurants are beginning to realize that adult food allergy sufferers are an unfulfilled group. From gluten-free options on mainstream menus to exclusively allergy free venues there are more safe dining options for people with food allergies than every before. A prime example is Zero8, a Montreal restaurant, where the menu excludes the eight most common allergens (fish and seafood, peanuts, nuts, sesame seeds, milk, soybeans, eggs, wheat/gluten).

What other healthful living changes and concepts would you like to see on Canadian restaurant menus?

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Dana McCauley is a food trend expert who uses her insights to write cookbooks, magazine articles and recipes for food companies.