Top 10 trends at Canadian full-service restaurants

Bob Krummert

The Canadian restaurant market isn’t an exact parallel to its U.S. counterpart. But it’s close enough that the collective wisdom of the 300-plus chefs surveyed by the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA) tells you plenty about the trends driving the full-service segment there now.

Keep this in mind as you read the survey results below: The Canadian economy has been on a roll of late: unemployment is low, there was no mortgage crisis and no major banks have failed. Factor in the ongoing Canadian energy boom and the result is a financially robust clientele more willing to pay for higher-end meals. The same can’t be said for the U.S. right now.

Here are what working chefs tabbed as the Top 10 Hot Trends in CRFA’s 2012 Canadian Chef Survey:

1. Locally produced and locally inspired dishes

2. Sustainability

3. Gluten-free/food allergy conscious

4. Farm-/estate-branded ingredients

5. Simplicity/back-to-basics

6. Nutrition/health (e.g., low-fat, reduced-sodium, antioxidants, high-fiber)

7. Ethnic/street food-inspired appetizers (e.g., tempura, taquitos)

8. Food trucks/street food

9. Artisanal cheeses

10. Bite-size/ mini desserts

These trends won’t break much new conceptual ground for most U.S. chefs, but some of the items on the survey’s Top 10 Up and Comers list might. Here are the items Canadian chefs say are emerging right now.

1. African cuisine

2. Black garlic

3. Gluten-free beer

4. Red rice

5. Peruvian cuisine

6. Vegetable ceviche

7. Micro-distilled/artisan liquor

8. Goat

9. Game bird appetizers (e.g., duck, quail)

10. Savory ice creams

Another list generated by the CRFA survey was dubbed “Yesterday’s News.” It ranks “menu items that have declined in popularity as customers are less interested in these items now.” The results:

1. Foams

2. Kobe beef (Wagyu)

3. Mini-burgers

4. Cupcakes

5. Gazpacho/cold soups

6. Tilapia

7. Cajun

8. Sea bass

9. Flavored/enhanced water

10. Energy drink cocktails

You’ll have to judge for yourself whether the items on this last list have lost as much favor with U.S. customers as the chefs say they have in Canada (although we agree that foam should be number one with a bullet). Many of the other choices still have strong menu power in the U.S. But we like the idea of asking working chefs to specify what’s losing favor when survey takers query them about the latest trends. Let’s hope some of the many trend forecasts that come out late each calendar year follow this survey’s lead.

This survey was conducted for CRFA by independent market research firm BrandSpark International in February and March 2012. If you would like to take a midyear peek at some of the other Top Trends list Restaurant Hospitality has published recently, clink on the links below.