Eating locally gains support

The Nation's Restaurant News polled a number of chefs on what they thought were trends in the industry, and the good news is that many of them cited the increased use of local produce, meats and seafood as the top two trends. The other 18 top trends:

3. Sustainability
4. Bite-size/mini desserts
5. Locally produced wine and beer
6. Nutritionally balanced children's dishes
7. Half-portions/smaller portion for a smaller price
8. Farm/estate-branded ingredients
9. Gluten-free/food allergy conscious
10. Sustainable seafood
11. Superfruits (e.g. acai, goji berry, mangosteen, purslane)
12. Organic produce
13. Culinary cocktails (e.g. savory, fresh ingredients)
14. Micro-distilled/artisan liquor
15. Nutrition/health
16. Simplicity/back to basics
17. Regional ethnic cuisine
18. Non-traditional fish (e.g. branzino, Arctic char, barramundi)
19. Newly fabricated cuts of meat (e.g. Denver steak, pork flat iron, Petite Tender)
20. Fruit/vegetable children's side items
Source: The National Restaurant Association's What's Hot in 2010 chef survey

I'm not too wild about the newly fabricated cuts of meat - I like to know what part of the animal I'm eating, not some marketer's idea of what will sell me on eating it - but bring on more Arctic char! It's delicious.

Back to the earth

As restaurants begin to report a slight uptick in visits, it's awful to hear of ones that didn't make it through the tough economic times. I'm sad to report that Organic To Go, the first fast-casual restaurant chain to be certified organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has shuttered most of its West Coast stores to focus on its wholesale and catering business.

Founded in 2004 and based in Seattle, Organic To Go operated 33 cafes in Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego and Washington, D.C., and the company supplied wholesale organic fare to more than 170 locations, including 15 universities and nine outlets at Los Angeles International Airport.

In March, however, Organic To Go — a public company since 2007 — also announced that it was terminating the registration of common stock with the Securities and Exchange Commission to eliminate the expense of reporting as a public company, according to the Seattle Times.

One of the complaints we heard at the health-care reform forum we attended last night was that too many restaurants rely on corn syrup and other flavor enhancers that add calories without nutrition, adding to the cost of health care for everyone. It's disappointing when restaurants that focus on providing good food can't make a go of it.

O, that's what 'organic' stands for

With "Food Inc." opening, a food safety overhaul being discussed by Congress and food costs soaring beyond many strapped budgets, you might be wondering if organic foods are something only the rich can afford. I think it's a matter of priorities; if we're truly committed to economic justice, we do need to pay more for food. That said, we also need to shop smarter so that our food dollars help out farmers directly. Packaged foods are convenient, but they also come at a cost, and often benefit corporations that do not have our best interests at heart.

Just what does "organic" mean on packaging?

• When it says "100% organic," a product must display an ingredient list, the name and address of the handler of the finished product, and the name and seal of the organic certifier. Chemicals, additives, synthetics, pesticides or genetically engineered substances are not permitted in these products.
• Foods labeled "USDA organic" must contain at least 95% organic ingredients. The remaining 5% nonorganic ingredients could include additives or synthetics if they are on an approved list. The label must bear the name of the organic certifier and a list that identifies the organic, as well as the nonorganic, ingredients the product contains.
• Products labeled "Made with Organic" must contain at least 70% organic ingredients, and a list identifying both organic and nonorganic ingredients must appear on the label. Also, the name of the organic certifier must be included. When products have less than 70 percent organic ingredients, the word "organic" may not appear on the packaging or the display panel. However, an organic claim is permitted on the ingredient label.

Getting to the nut of the matter

Like a lot of folks who prefer scientific curiosity to spreading alarm or sticking one's head in the sand, I've been reading a lot on salmonella lately. The Internet is indeed a boon and a curse. Some of the most popular hits contain the most appalling ignorance, such as calling salmonella a virus; one top hit is the Yahoo Answers, where someone asked if a pizza oven can kill salmonella and the answer voted "best answer" was "no..."

As far as the sites go, there's a lot of good info on salmonella.org, although the two San Diego State researchers who work on it emphasize that they are not medical doctors and to go see one if you have symptoms.

As Margie Lee, a microbiologist at UGA's College of Veterinary Medicine, was quoted in a University of Georgia Research Magazine article a while back:

Salmonella infections also have been associated with vegetables. "Because of organic gardening, people use manure," she said, "And a lot of it hasn't been composted," which kills most types of salmonellae.
Each year, there are 23 million reported cases of illness caused by all food-borne bacteria, and of these, 9,000 are fatal. Of those, salmonella is the least threatening, Lee said.
Even though people become sick from salmonella poisoning, it rarely becomes deadly. "[Salmonella] doesn't merit the public's fear. Car accidents kill more people," Lee said. "You have to look at what is really lost, and on the whole, it's seldom life."
But since the genetic markers that indicate the deadly strain of the bacteria are not even visible under a microscope, people should play it safe. "Cook your chicken and eggs well," Lee said. "That's the bottom line."

Food trends from abroad

Yesterday, I posted the 2009 trends from foodchannel.com; today, we check out what the Europeans foresee, courtesy of thefoodpeople.com.

Among the mega trends expected to continue into next year, are “comfort food, nostalgia, scratch cooking and home baking, as consumers want to save money as well as feel good about the food they serve.”
Overall, the amount of protein on plates will shrink. But where meat is served, consumers will aim to make it go as far as possible through “head-to-tail” eating – including offal.
And considering the stiff markup of alcoholic beverages in restaurants and bars, more people will have that drink at home, either with their meal there, or before going out.
Thefoodpeople sees less reliance on packaged food. The group also predicts an uptick in fishing and growing your own vegetables.
Also emerging will be ‘freeganism’ – that is, the practice of living off discarded, yet perfectly edible food that has been thrown out. To date the freegan movement has been driven by green crusaders who object to unnecessarily wasted food clogging up landfill sites. Now it may catch on with people trying to decrease household spending.
People may start to club together and produce food by committee, and begin community food projects.
Sustainability will “remain high on the agenda”. This includes sustainable fish sourcing, and investigating little consumed varieties that are not endangered, such as rockfish and flounder.
Organic foods, because of their expense, may well drop back in importance.
Desserts are likely to contain less sugar and derive more flavors from the ingredients themselves, and also cross the line into savory sensations.