Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/769179
In addition to consumers seek- ing new ways to save time, have you noticed new trends in eat- ing patterns? Our research is showing that Americans are eating alone more than ever before. This used to be something we weren't very excited about as a culture. Now we enjoy it unapolo- getically. As one focus-group participant said, "I love it when my boyfriend is on a work trip and I can eat whatever I want." Eating alone is not about catering to the other person, or meeting in the middle. It's starting to become this "me" time rather than sad time. No one is going to infringe on us. It's another area where consumers are seeking greater custom- ization in the food culture. THE FUTURE OF FOODSERVICE Q&A WITH CAROLINE POTTER, OPENTABLE, INC. Restaurants are taking on more engaged and creative roles that are establishing vibrant neigh- borhood connections for diners, says Caroline Potter, chief dining officer for San Francisco's OpenTable, Inc., a provider of online restaurant reservations. "Ten years ago, and it still continues, you saw chefs trying to create these splashy, fine dining restaurants, whereas today being people's local is going to be the goal of most chefs and restaurants," says Potter, who taps into OpenTable data from more than 37,000 restau- rants worldwide and regularly speaks with diners, restaurant clients, and local experts in all regions of the country. "There is so much happening in cities in the south: Raleigh, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., which has a crazy number of Michelin-starred restaurants, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Austin. Not every city will develop a thriving restaurant scene, but it's reasonable to believe every city could have a restaurant like Red Rooster in Harlem, where it's a salon-restaurant that's really tied to the community." THREE PREDICTIONS FROM CAROLINE POTTER 1. More locally focused and hybrid restaurants. Splashy, fine dining restaurants are being replaced with local go-to spots, many taking a cue from the rise of food halls and offering different experiences in one restaurant. 2. Vegetables getting an even greater spotlight on menus. From heirlooms to specialty produce to hybrids, consumers are discovering how complex, flavorful, and seemingly limitless vegetable- centric dishes can be. 3. Consumers using technology to allow for more personalization with less personal interaction. There is a demand for quality food that is quick, even automated. The modern return of the automat may not be far behind. PHOTO: CAROLINE POTTER POTTER 44 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com