Barton Seaver is on a mission to restore our relationship with the ocean, the land, and with each other—through dinner. He has translated his illustrious career as a chef into his leadership in the area of sustainable seafood innovations. Barton is a firm believer that human health depends on the health of the ocean and that the best way to connect the two is at the dinner table. 

This year, Chef Gerry is taking a fresh approach to sharing his trend insights, with three rapidfire presentations made over the course of the conference. Each talk will highlight different trend-based menu-building opportunities based on his latest findings, which he will directly tie back to dishes that will be served in upcoming tasting sessions – allowing you to get the same firsthand tasting experience that Gerry and his Culinary R&D Team do during their extensive live research of carefully targeted new restaurants in the major U.S. cities.

This intuitive, high energy team covers a dozen trends worthy of consideration for menu growth in the near future, presented in a way that will highlight the opportunities in different segments, day parts, and across all the menu sections from drinks through desserts.

The who/what/why of consumers and operators embracing alternative proteins and other healthful alternatives, including menu trends (including predictive analytics) and implications for the Flavor audience

Consumer, food & beverage patterns all note a pull-back from extreme behaviors and preferences.  This shift to caution affects what goes on the plate and how consumers approach food.  The swings in behavior and desire are simultaneously wider and more extreme in nature.  It also paints a more complex landscape to have to navigate, but affords more freedom to focus in areas of interest or expertise for the industry.  Food industry players should understand the issues influencing food, flavor and beverage trends in order to successfully navigate them and uncover white space.  Influencers including consumer, health, and sustainability forces will be discussed as they pertain to the shaping of marketplace trends and how they impact the creation of new products and menu items.  The audience will be informed on current consumer drivers and resulting behavioral trends, health drivers and trends, and shown how they overlay to create and influence upcoming food and beverage trends.  Current food and beverage trends will be used to demonstrate connections between consumer drivers and resulting food and beverage outputs.

What are menu favorites, best sellers and comfort foods your customers crave often traced back to the flavor experiences and food memories as children? Nostalgia is a complex equation of innate preferences, cultural habits, flavor experiences, personal expression, and family values.  Food researcher and Curator of Cultures Robert Danhi will discuss how to take an idea from the past and turn it into a menu hit of the future. Find out which 10 Nostalgic Dishes are Ready for Makeover and see a few examples from industry leaders turning nostalgia into profitable menu opportunities.

This pattern of movement among boomers and millennials changing the dining scene and the trends which are arising from their different life stage needs i.e. Millennials needs value and speed and Boomers desire experiences – lifestyle centers have emerged (the next food hall), new independents, delivery demands, etc. This could tee up other speakers to follow focused on Delivery, Technology etc…as this is part of the major driving force of change.

With nutrition experts seeming to be at polar opposites, what is the consumer to think? Paleo adherents say it is meat that provides the benefits, while vegans say it is exactly the opposite, meat is the problem. The low fat diets propose that fat is the problem, while the keto diet are  fat friendly. And all these diets show health benefits. What is the answer? What if fat levels and  protein source are not the main issue? Dr. Painter will address how product manufacturers can position themselves to meet the needs of future consumers in the arenas of whole foods and added sugar.