Dining Trends for 2010: A Sarcastic Look at a Silly Report. “Zing” is in and WTF is Mood Food.

Each year, Joseph Baum & Michael Whiteman Co., a big-time restaurant consulting group in New York, releases their lists of foreseeable trends. It’s a fancy report that is meant to read like a technical survey, but, to me, it’s basically a round-up of what is going on now and a “prediction” that current big-city trends will spread. In short: it’s a lot of bull about pigs ears.
You can read the full report here. Below is a cheater’s sheet.

NEW PRIORITIES FOR BEATEN-UP CONSUMERS: “Too many restaurant and hotel execs are grappling with pre-recession consumer issues, while people today are expressing entirely new – and more complex — sets of concerns.” Yes, according to these guys, we (consumers) are “personal, emotional and ethical.” That throws me out of the equation, but for you this is very important. Are you familiar with your “hot buttons?” (Beat, beat.) “Hot buttons include: economic survival, reassurance, intimacy & friendship, feeding my knowledge, feeding my emotions, artisan, hand-made, neighborhood, local, authentic, real.” Cold, hard bitches need not apply to 2010. Look for this: “hotels and restaurants should be luring these hunkered down consumers from their psychological storm cellars (Cymbalta?) by replicating the “campfire experience” – building emotional ties and connecting to communities. OH GOODY, more S’MORES!

PUTTING FOCUS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE MENU: Have you ever read about the psychology of menu writing? I’ll bet you didn’t know that the left side of the menu is reserved for “emotional resonance.” In case you don’t watch In Treatment, that translates into creative snacky things, small plates, food sized for one, two, or for a crowd. Sharing is the key because we need comfort and safety for intimacy and friendship. (Hmm, I usually feel safer when I get the whole cake.)

Jump for more joy! (more…)