What the pros want for 2006

Posted Dec 29th 2005 3:05PM by Nicole Weston
Filed under: Restaurants, Business, Organic, Books, Trends, Lists

Zagat doesn't survey only diners anymore. To see what industry insiders, including chefs and restaurant owners, wanted to see and wanted to stop seeing in food in the next year, Zagat went straight to the source.
From Anthony Bourdain to Rick Bayless, they want to see:

Artisanal cheeses and organic foods; more innovation and less repetition; authentic Vietnamese, tapas, Mexican and Japanese; customers who ask for advice; an increase in passion in both service and food

From Gordon Ramsey to Ming Tsai, they could do without:

Truffle oil; electronic distractions; overly detailed menus; "concept" and formula restaurants

On the fringes of the survey, Tony Bourdain is asking for more smoking sections and Mark Furstenberg (owner of BreadLine in DC) wants more butterscotch pudding, but it seems that at least some food trends are headed in the direction that chefs want. Organic foods are used more than ever and there is an increasing emphasis on regional, "authentic" cooking, but only time will tell what the New Year will bring.

Tags: 2006, anthony bourdain, AnthonyBourdain, eating out, food trends, gordon ramsey, list, ming tsai, restaurants, rick bayless, zagat

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

12-29-2005 @ 11:43PM

alps said...

I find it interesting that they said they want customers to ask for advice. That isn't something I typically think of doing, I always kinda thought that chefs liked to keep some things secret.

12-30-2005 @ 4:33AM

Jennifer said...

Ok so I didn't read this post in full (lazy? hmm yes.) but as I was scrolling through (rss feed) my eyes caught the sentence about wanting more butterscotch pudding. OMG I love butterscotch pudding but I haven't had it since I was a wee child and just the other day I was thinking how butterscotch pudding just doesn't get enough glory as it should. So yes, 2006 should be the year of Butterscotch Pudding.

.. ok now I'll go read the whole thing.

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