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1.     Vegetables in all their Complexity

Earlier in the decade chefs made headlines by offering multicourse menus featuring vegetables exclusively. Charlie Trotter was one of the first to do this and other restaurants follow around the country. Although the multicourse vegetable menu trend hasn’t subsided it has been outpaced by restaurants offering a vegetable course as part of a broader non-vegetarian menu. Over the past year I noticed a growing number of restaurants offering one or two vegetable courses (other than a salad) as part of a prix fixe menu with some restaurants. Stella in New Orleans is a great example as is Manresa in Los Gatos, CA. Look for more restaurants offering interesting and, in some cases complex, vegetable courses on multicourse menus and broader vegetable offerings on a la carte menus.

Composition of Carrots, Stella Restaurant, New Orleans, LA

2.     Salumi and Charcuterie & Retro Garde Manger

If 2010 was the year of Salumi, 2011 will be the year of classic charcuterie. Across the country, charcuterie is making a resurgence with restaurants like Butcher in New Orleans and Sidney Street Café in St. Louis leading the way.  In 2011 chefs will return to offering charcuterie items like country style pate, rillets, liver mousse, foie gras torchon, and other classical preparations as they reconsider the lost art of garde manger in modern cuisine.

Pate & Charcuterie Plate, Sidney Street Cafe, St. Louis, MO

 3.     Eggs in all Forms

Eggs were everywhere in 2010. One of my favorite egg dishes was the pasta carbonara at Fruition restaurant in Denver. Chef Alex Seidel’s perfect sous vide egg was a sensual and delicious addition to the pork belly and pasta paired with it. I encountered egg front and center on menus in St. Louis, San Francisco, New Orleans, Boston, and New York. Look for more interpretations in 2011, the fun with eggs has just begun.

Pasta Carbonara, Fruition Restaurant, Denver, CO

4.      Gluten Free Professional Cooking

In 2011 restaurants and retail will take gluten free food preparation and service more seriously than ever. In response authors like Peter Reinhart of Johnson & Wales University and Richard Coppedge of the Culinary Institute of America plan to release new books on gluten free cooking in 2011 adding further momentum to the trend and providing deeper professional perspective on a food trends that, until now, has received greater attention at retail and in home kitchens. Professional chefs will pay more attention to the gluten free movement in 2011 than in years prior.

Gluten Free Apple Cinnamon Crisp, Chef Rick Coppedge, CIA, Hyde Park, NY

5.     Oysters are Back (did they ever go away?)

Over the past six months I have noticed a resurgence in oysters on fine dining menus across the country. Perhaps this is a counterpoint to the devastation to the fishery caused by the gulf oil spill; perhaps not. Either way, the trend is gaining momentum and I am noticing expansion on menus of east coast and west coast farmed oysters as well as select oysters from the gulf that have sound provenance. Look for oysters on menus in 2011.

Composed Oyster, Manresa Restaurant, Los Gatos, CA