Jan 15, 2016
By Cameron Jacobs
ARLINGTON, VA – Every year the National Restaurant Association surveys professional chefs to determine what the hot trends will be on restaurant menus across the country, and right now nothing is hotter than local food grown under environmentally friendly, sustainable conditions.
“U.S.-grown rice has a great story to tell when it comes to food sourcing and sustainability,” says Katie Maher, USA Rice’s director of domestic promotion. “This new survey says that chefs are creating dishes inspired by flavors from across the globe but they still want to source their food locally, and U.S.-grown rice is a perfect fit for their menus.”
Hand-in-hand with locally grown is the “know your food” trend and also food that’s free from processing. Maher says, “This is another opportunity to shine the spotlight on U.S. rice and promote our family farmers and the nutritious goodness of their crop, while reminding consumers of the U.S. rice industry’s sustainability story.”
Other top 2016 food trends involve health. An overwhelming number of restaurant patrons are looking for gluten-free food with no GMOs. Again, U.S. rice is the obvious answer! Consequently 58 percent of chefs surveyed said they see the role of bowl-style dining expanding as customers appreciate being able to customize meals, based on dietary needs, with a combination of rice, vegetables, and lean protein.
Finally, at the top of the survey’s list of “Items to Try in 2016” – red rice. Maher concluded, “People have embraced brown rice as a healthful whole grain and now they’re looking at other options like black rice, red rice, and wild rice blends. Today’s consumer is showing an increased willingness to try foods that are new and different, and finding that the many types of U.S. rice offer a wealth of choices when creating innovative, nutritious dishes.”
When asked about this year’s survey results, Fred Zaunbrecher, a Louisiana rice farmer and chair of the USA Rice Domestic Promotion Committee, said, “It’s always interesting to learn what people think is the next ‘new’ thing. The fact that folks are actively looking for more bold, exotic flavors is definitely food for thought for our industry.”