and has created a brilliant concept at her restaurant and catering company in OSFM.

Vanja was golfing in Palm Dessert. Mom and Dad were in Vegas. I was dog sitting my baby sister, Penny. Did I need a night out, or what? Karlynn felt the same, so lucky me! I had a date for a night out to investigate Brittany Watt’s newest brain child: her Market Dinners featuring the food and producers of Old Strathcona’s Farmer’s Market.

The cafe at the market has been a Saturday morning institution there, and a great gathering place where people usually didn’t buy the cafe food, but enjoyed a visit over coffee. It was a glaring juxtaposition to what the market offers in fresh regional produce, as the cafe food was not from the market and not worth discussing.

However, it is now! Brittany Watt, the Harvest Chef, has taken over the restaurant there and breathed life back into it. The ripple that started throughout the early market coffee drinkers about the incredible breakfast and lunch offerings there now has become a tsunami! People that don’t usually shop at the market are turning up for the food at the little humble cafe restaurant at the end of the market. Business is booming on Saturday mornings, and if you haven’t been over to sample the fare there, you are truly missing an authentic Northern Alberta taste experience. Get thee to the market!

Now, that she has had time to get that up and running, she has implemented phase two of her plan: Market Dinners. Kevin Kossowan wrote about her first one. This is her second. She hosts 16 people in a surprisingly intimate setting considering the vastness of the space and offers a Northern Alberta Food Experience. She creates a meal with the food of the market and you enjoy the flavours on the plate while partaking of the meal and the experience with the food producers. The conversation is warm and casual. The food is thoughtful and carefully prepared. The produce used is top notch.

This would be a great setting for company parties, tourist visits and on and on. Suffice it to say that Karlynn and I had a lovely evening and I will be back. The following five photos are sadly, much better than my own and are Karlynn’s. (Thank you!)

An assortment of market tapas

Platters of Irving Charcuterie and pates with accompaniments

Steve and Dan’s Hazelnuts in a scrumptious Harvest Chef Pesto

Steve and Dan’s pears with Brittany’s Berkshire Boar Heart (from Irving’s Farm) Parfait topped with the pesto on a cracker was my favourite paired taste of the evening!

Braised pork tongue

Sylvan Star Grizzly with the apple chutney (below) was Karlynn’s favourite.

Smoky Valley mountain tomme with quince jelly which is sadly, not photographed. The cheese was softer than usual and deadly! The quince jelly was a lovely compliment to the tang of the goat cheese.

The Cheesiry Rustico cheese with shaved cucumber, apple, basil, pear and micro radish greens tossed in a hazelnut cider dressing with a beet granite was brilliant. The granite was clean and bright and sweet and the icy cold texture supported the crunch of the sweet basil and bitter radish greens. The clean cucumber and creamy texture of the cheese coupled with its depth of flavour made this salad addictive. Such a refreshing plate after the rich cheeses and unctuous meat bites.

Braised pork shoulder with winter mushrooms and kale in a brandy cream sauce with walnut gnocchi and topped with the Cheesiry Pecorino

The poached pink lady apples were extremely tart but the sweetness in the rooibos tea ice cream and pumpkin bread paired perfectly with them and the caramel garnish could have been completely shattered over mine and I would have still said, “More, more!” It added a delightful sparkle to the plate and palate.

The salad and dessert photo are Karlynn’s too.

Thank you for a lovely evening and for elevating the real food opportunities in our city, Brittany.

All Tickets can be purchased from the concession stand on Saturdays, located in the Old Strathcona Farmer’s Market at the North Side of the building.

Finally! French Macaron cooking classes have arrived in Edmonton! I have been trying to woo everyone I knew who could make this precious dainties to teach classes in Edmonton. If you want to learn how to make these shells, this is the class for you. Connie, owner of Mirabelle Macarons, will inspire success and provide you with some really concrete skills and knowledge that will enable future success. Yes, she IS that good!

I love being hostess. Coffee, juice, buttermilk biscuits with homemade jams and homemade granola with Bles Wold yogurt were served (not homemade, this time). The participants that come are always so positive and warm and eager to learn. Meeting each of them is such a pleasure. I later found I had met one of the gals earlier at Blair Lebsack’s Farm to Table Dinner and photographed them and didn’t realize it until the sausage making class two weeks after this one!

Beavie was delighted to meet Marlow Moo. Kind of. He gets his nose out of joint a bit when someone else steals his lime light, and he wasn’t too sure Marlow had properly washed his hooves before sitting on the counter!

The eight participants were paired into couples and actively listening to instructions.

When it became apparent the goodies were ready for tasting, Beavie decided to be a more welcoming host. Everyone made two batches of shells and there were buttercream flavours made for each: zesty lemon and macha tea. YUM!

It was so gratifying to find people as tickled as I am when seeing their shells rise in the oven and develop feet. There is something about this “Diva cookie” (phrase coined by Connie) that just has me hooked. It isn’t just about eating it. It is about the magic of the making, too.

Everyone succeeded. Even if some cookies had nipples, the participants left understanding why. And they were still delicious, and exuded a very perky little personality all on their own.

The next class is this weekend. It is also sold out. If you are interested in getting your name on the waiting list, let me know in the comments section below.

Mr. Marlow Moo wrote about his experience this day, here.

Have you ever heard a cow ask for MORE in French? Trust me, it is annoying. It sounded like; "MOO"! to me.

Vanja and I finally made it to CharCut the night before New Year’s Eve. What an unforgettable meal. I followed Chef and owner Connie DeSousa throughout Top Chef Canada where she was a finalist. I knew she was good… but had no frame of reference for how good. Connie is a Local Food Hero. She is a Canadian Food Hero. Her food is basic and brilliant. She walks her talk in the most humble shoes. We sat at the bar watching her pirouette through her kitchen and her evening performance was seamless and unmistakably delicious.

One of the many tasty morsels we were served that evening was her preserved sour cherries. There were a few on the Chef’s Charcuterie Platter and again in the luscious cheesecake dessert. Dense, tart, delectable with an inexplicable je ne sais quoi. I asked Connie what kind of cherry this was having no idea about the process it had gone through. Whenever you ask her a question, she has a story to tell. i love that.

Her cherries came from he neighbour’s yard. She had preserved them by covering them with vinegar for one week, straining them; covering them with sugar for the next week which becomes wet and liquidy. That mixture is heated until the sugar dissolves and then brought to a low boil for a bit until the syrup has cooked down to a nice consistency.

Then, they are strained. The syrup is used in their bar and the cherries paired with the charcuterie or in desserts. I was mesmerized. I had a deep freeze full of pitted Evan’s Cherries from the summer waiting for a little magic. Immediately upon arriving home on New Year’s Sunday, out of the freezer came two bags of pitted and frozen cherries. I covered them with vinegar and let them sit in the cold for a week.

I lost a little faith in my memory of Connie’s “recipe” when I saw how they looked after a week: orange-brown and when strained, limp and withered and lifeless. Oh, yes. I did taste one. No words. However, I had faith in Connie, and decided to stick with the plan. I could succeed, or I could fail. Either way, I would learn something.

So, I covered the bottom of the dish with white sugar, added the first layer of cherries and covered it completely with white sugar, added the remaining layer and covered it completely with white sugar. I left it in a cold place for another week. Meanwhile, I had a lot of cherry vinegar. I hadn’t asked her what she had done with this. I tasted it. Oooooh, baby! No! There was a lot of cherry flavour and colour, but I had to add sugar so decided to make a sweet and sour type of sauce and see what happened.

I added less sugar than the amount of cherry vinegar, and kept it at a steady low boil for quite some time until I liked the flavour and the colour and the consistency. I have to tell you, it is delicious. I will use it with meats and many things. It would also be delectable with Ming’s Deep Fried Wontons!

After three or four days, the sugar was turning pink, and I helped it along every day after that by stirring it once or twice a day.

This is the mixture after 7 days in the sugar. I decided to heat it slowly, melt the sugar, and then simmer for a bit before bringing it to a boil as I was so concerned about the cherry colour recalling how much red had leached into the vinegar and now into the sugar, I was wondering if my cherries would have the gorgeous red colour Connie’s had. And the answer to that question? Yes! Yes! Yes, they did! Oh, how exciting. I love new discoveries in the kitchen and taking risks that seem sensible when combined with what you already know. Oh, how delighted I was.

This syrup was also very flavourful. How much flavour are in these little sour jewels? It was sweeter and lighter and without the tangy acid that the sweet and sour cherry sauce had that I made with the vinegar, but there was still a lively little tang here.

And the cherries?

I dried them for a couple of days on parchment paper. They are still sticky, but not wet sticky. And powerful.

Each little morsel is dense and tart and chewy and sticky singing an operetta and hitting a multitude of high cherry notes throughout. You taste one and salivate immediately. They are addictive.

But, too labour intensive to be eaten recklessly one after the other.

That is my challenge because these are the best things I have ever eaten all year! I have put them in a jar to crown a special little something now and then.

I cannot wait!

This am I received a press release which I am copying almost verbatim for you. This is actually the first one I have ever supported or cared deeply about and I am happy to pass on this information to my readers today! Join their Facebook page and get connected to learn more about eating and preparing sustainable fish!

From coast to coast, eight North American ocean conservation organizations have teamed up to launch Be Happy, an online community for seafood-loving families to put their best fish faces forward, while learning more about sustainable seafood. When fish are caught or farmed in ways that protect the ocean, that’s something everyone can “Be Happy” about.

“We found that our partners all over North America had the same message – your seafood choices matter and can make a positive difference in the world’s oceans. Be Happy was an ideal
opportunity to unite with fellow conservation leaders and share information with each other and families in a fun way,” said Kassia Perpich, Sustainable Seafood Manager at the Shedd Aquarium.
Be Happy is a collaboration of eight North American ocean conservation organizations, including:

• Blue Ocean Institute (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.)
• David Suzuki Foundation (Vancouver, British Columbia)
• FishWise (Santa Cruz, Calif.)
• Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch (Monterey, Calif.)
• New England Aquarium (Boston)
• Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise (Canada)
• SeaChoice (Canada)
• Shedd Aquarium (Chicago)

“We want people to Be Happy about their seafood choices,” said Lana Gunnlaugson, National Manager for SeaChoice. “Choosing ocean-friendly seafood is an easy way to ensure we have healthy oceans for generations to come. We’re hoping that people across North America will have fun trying new seafood, while finding creative ways to inspire their friends to make a difference, too.”
To learn more about Be Happy, please visit here. And, of course, Be Happy!

How much fish do you eat a week and do you ensure it is sustainable? CHIME IN!

A new year is here and we know it will be another delicious one for all.  Sunjeeta kk from Lite Bite organized this wonderful virtual party #Welcome2012 and I am late, late, late! But, I have arrived! And boy do I have a impressive recipe to share with each of you to kick of 2012. More importantly, a story of friendship all wrapped up in a wonton!

I met Ming last year when she enrolled in one of my Taste Tripping Cooking Classes with her friend Edyta. This was the first time I met someone that I didn’t know that really reads my posts carefully and thoughtfully. It was so vitalizing. And, then, she is such a lovely person. It is rare to meet someone so like-minded and so attention-to-detail oriented. Guess what happened next? She came to another class! At this class she and my mom got visiting and I got wind of an offer from her to teach us how to make Wonton Soup.  Due to our busy schedules, the invitation was issued for a day during the holidays, and what an inspiration it was.

Ming also invited her dear friend, Edyta, and then took us on a fieldtrip to TNT at West Edmonton Mall to shop for ingredients. That was also an eye-opener for me, even though LeQuan had taken me for a full day tour in Edmonton’s China Town; that day, we weren’t shopping for a specific recipe. This was very helpful as I am now fully confident that I can shop for the ingredients and make this recipe again completely on my own: maybe not as delicious as Ming, but certainly, yummy!

Ming then volunteered to “be me” at Eat Alberta (an event that I founded and am chairing for the first three years) as I needed someone to shadow me and possibly take over my responsibilities due to the severity of my asthma at the time. I had full confidence in Ming by then. I hadn’t spent much time with her, but I knew her well (as a teacher knows a student). Ming was tenacious and possessed an insatiable appetite for knowledge. Her attention to detail was second to none, and to top it all off, she was kind. She would be perfect (far better than any “me”)! I was truly blessed. I found through my time with her at this event that I had actually underestimated her capacity to take initiative and to understand what needed to be done. She surpassed my fervid expectations. She provided a calming influence and a clear head. She was a gift. And, as every unforgettable student does, she taught her teacher so much.

Ming is the quintessential team player. She carefully considers any responsibility she accepts and then takes each very seriously. She will be there. Her work will be done. It will be exceptional. The more I got to know Ming, the more I found there was to know and appreciate and learn. When Ming invited my mom and I to her home to learn how to make Wonton Soup, I knew it would be an exceptional experience, yet it was more than that.

Arriving back at Ming’s house, groceries in hand, we began slicing and dicing: each of us given a different task. Ming even had a package of Nature’s Green Acres ground pork to contribute to our shared belief: buy locally. It cannot always be achieved, particularly when making an ethnic dish; however, even here, she had this special locally farmed pork. The BBQ pork that we had just picked up at TNT was really delicious. Pick up the duck and the pork fresh from the barbeque first thing in the morning. (Well, around ten am when they get it all out of where they cook it.) There is no comparison in the flavour and texture of the meat purchased at this time of day: tender perfection!

Once the scallions, ginger, shrimp and pork were in the bowl, Ming began combining the mixture with the most appropriate tool for this task: chopsticks!

And, instead of a shot of Sherry in the traditional Wonton filling, Ming adds her own zing: tequila! And, the aroma, once added, was unquestionably and irrevocably scrumpdillyicious! Actually, the tequila added a significant, yet subtle depth to the surprisingly fresh aromatic scent in the bowl. Corn starch was added to bind all together and then more mixing until the concoction combined completely and becomes light and loose and fluffy, or as the Chinese would say: “fa”.

The broth was made another day. That is the only way to make homemade stock or broth. This was a delicate, subtle broth with a light burst of flavour. Ming made hers from this site though wasn’t happy with the fact that hers was somewhat cloudy. I thought it was beautiful, but she says that the best Wonton soup is made with a clear broth. I’m not sure mine will ever be clear, but it is good to know.

Do you remember seeing these old Tupperware utensils? Somewhere deep in my memory archives there was a flicker of recall. Ming had three and proclaimed them to be the best utensil for wonton making. Can you imagine coveting a Tupperware utensil? You can use the end of a spoon or anything similar, really. She made it look so easy that it actually was easy! The hardest part was not putting too much filling into each wrapper.

I completely understand the grandmothers of old who used to get together at one house, then the next, and the next, to prepare food for the winter. We had ours done in less than an hour and enjoyed such frivolity in the process: so unlike making these at home, alone, for hours. They freeze beautifully, too, so you can make enough for the entire season and have a delicious, nutritious and economical meal in minutes on a cold night when you don’t want to cook!

It was really hard to monitor the size of the wontons without a standard sample. Ming’s advice was “about 1/2 teaspoon full, or a little less.” You can clearly see that I started making mine far too big.

Ming had a couple surprises up her sleeve, and one was that she was now going to teach us another way to make wontons: deep frying them! To do this, in Ming’s words, “They need to be pretty.” Each of these wontons is shaped to look like an ancient Chinese coin called a Yuan which is a symbol of good luck! Each looked like a hat or a little boat. Gorgeous.

We still had quite a bit of filling left because the package of wrappers we had purchased had less in it than usual. It would have been perfect for two of those packages, or one of the more common wrapper packages at the grocery store.

Ming had reconstituted only two large dried shitake mushrooms. I have never seen such lovely ones. She had them sliced and ready for the soup along with a carrot, a bit of broccoli, and some slices of barbecue pork. At this point, the vegetables went into the broth to cook or blanch, but for only a few minutes: there is to be a bit of a crunch left along with the vivid colour. The water the mushrooms were reconstituted in was also added to the broth sans the grit.

At the same time, we started deep frying our won tons.

The pork was already divided into each bowl; the cooked vegetables were divided into the bowls and the wontons replaced them in the broth.

When they float to the top, they are done. It doesn’t take long! The wontons were also divided into each bowl, too!

We certainly had very generous servings of pork, vegetables and wontons! I was not complaining. There is nothing like fresh homemade wonton soup! The steamy fragrant broth was gently ladled over each bowl that was finally topped with slivered scallions. The colours, aroma and pillowy visual appeal had us each sink into a chair without invitation, big spoon in hand.

Kai Fun! (or Bon Appetite)

MMMM! MMMM!

My friendship with Ming is wrapped up in a wonton. What a wonderful place for it to be! I will, forever more, think of Ming whenever I make or eat wonton soup. What a gift. I certainly hope we will enjoy many more culinary adventures together, but for now, this was a deliciously unconditional labour of love bundled in little pillows of joy!

Thank you, Ming! xox

Following my Personal Reflection about Food Trends for 2012, I invited various groups of knowledgeable food people to offer their insights and views regarding food trends for 2012. I have posted this series in the following order and hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have!

1. Food Trends 2012: Part 1: My Personal Reflections
2. Food Trends 2012: Part 2 :Food Bloggers and Part 3: Food Bloggers
3. Food Trends 2012: Part 4: Local Edmonton Food Focused People
4. Food Trends 2012: Part 5: Dana McCauley, Sinclair Phillips, Mara Jernigan, Letizia Mattiacci, Anne Robichaud, Martina Kuhnert and Maribel
5. Food Trends 2012: Part 6:Local and Not So Local Chefs and Bakers I know
   
6. Food Trends 2012: Part 7:Local Farmers this is the last one (see my happy dance!)

For this post, asked a number of my favourite Farmers to provide their personal perspectives regarding food trends for 2012.

Please feel free to ask each individual questions in the comments section here, as they come to mind. Certainly, as I was reading and preparing this post, questions came to mind that I will post in the comments section, too!

After reading these insights, please do take time to explore each of these websites; each has held my fascination for a very long time for varying reasons!

1. Major local trend in your region?
2. Trends throughout Canada or the US or your own country?
3. Hopes and Wishes?
4. Comments?

John Schneider from Gold Forest Grains

I buy John’s grains and his flours and I love it! You can find him at the City Market and at Old Strathcona Farmer’s Market and you should really make an effort to seek him out!

1. I think the trend that I see is perhaps that there is no trend either locally or regionally. I think that the front lines of food have become entrenched. There is the local food group, the organic foodies, and then the people that could care less as long as they can afford their boat payments. I would like to think that the local/organic movement was gaining momentum, but for my specific operation any of those gains are often offset by fad diets like Atkins and Gluten Free that seem to come and go.

1) Our locality is Edmonton and surrounding area – Our region is Alberta, Canada.

Major food trends seen from our retail customers:

• foods free from major allergens – especially gluten
• foods that are easy to prepare, easy to store and package
• foods that are healthier i.e. lower in salt and fat
• foods that actually have some flavour
• awareness of where the food comes from, how the animals are looked after.

Major food trends seen from our foodservice customers:

• fashionable dishes featuring pulled pork shoulder and pork belly
• use of cheaper, less appealing cuts i.e. pork hocks, feet, head, offal etc.
• food trucks – where did they all suddenly come from??
• local food use – either on regular menus, or just in special feature menus.
• move away from traditional dishes -  featuring more ethnic style foods
• more offering gluten free menu items
• identifying specific breed of pig – i.e. Berkshire – it stands for superior quality and taste.

2) Major trends in Canada and US

• Homestyle cooked food – not necessarily cooked at home, but in independant restaurants / food outlets.
• Food Trucks – many offering healthy and unique styles of food
• Local Food – a need to know where and how food is produced
• Allergen Free Food – in particular gluten free.
• Quick and easy to prepare meals – healthier meals and snacks - for busy on-the-go families.
• Ethnic Foods

3) Sincere hope for a food trend in 2012: is to see a move away from large scale factory farming, both animal and crop, where the only emphasis is on financial gain for the large corporations that control it, and very little thought is given to consumer health, sustainability, or animal welfare.

 

Jerry Kitt from First Nature Farms

 

 

 

 

Jerry lives and farms in Northern Alberta, yet travels to Edmonton to sell his extraordinary bison. He is at the Old Strathcona Farmer’s Market. I love the bison flank steak. If you buy some, I will tell you how I cook it! Delish!

I’m not sure how qualified I am to be responding to your questions since I have only been to 12 markets since the last year.

As a vendor at the OSFM in Edmonton we feed a local population of mostly urban dwellers.  If I was to notice any trends from the past year I would say that the number of young males (late teens, early twenties) has increased.  Some are purchasing organic meats as a supplement for body building but most just seem to have an awareness of the conventional food system which conflicts with their values.

I may also have noticed a reduction in the number of seniors who switch to organics in an attempt to alleviate or cure a physical disease (cancer).

No idea what happens beyond in the country or in the US.

Sincere hope? I wish the growth of local food trends is enough to cause a reversal in the number of farms disappearing

from the city and region.  Much more awareness is needed to slow the flow from Mexico and the US and bring our farmers back to the land.

I also (for the sake of the animals) would like to see a wider promotion of the work the BC SPCA is doing.  The cruelty inflicted on animals should have to occur simply because we demand cheap food.

Danny and Shannon Ruzicka from Nature’s Green Acres

I got to know Danny and Shannon when I went to their farm near Viking last summer for Blair Lebsack’s Farm to Table Dinner! Wowsers! Incredible fun! They sell the best beef! It is young nuveau beef (their name for it). They butcher it before or at 9 months old so it is between veal and beef, ultra tender and full of wonderful flavour as it is grass fed and I tasted that grass: beautiful, flavourful alfalfa! They sell at City Market Downtown and you must taste their beef. Vanja loves their pork and pork steaks, too and their chickens are incredibly flavourful. Sunworks chickens are much bigger, so if you want a smaller chicken, theirs are perfect. I bought 30 last fall for the Winter, with no regrets!

1. What do you see as the major food trends locally (name your locality), and regionally (your region) 2012 ?

Locally (Edmonton)
I think the major local food trends will continue focusing on  grassfed meats raised on small farms. People in 2012 will want a firmer, almost family connection with their food and it’s producers, ensuring its humane treatment.
Regionally (Alberta as a whole)
I think regionally the trend will have farm location being center stage

2. What do you see as major trends throughout Canada and or the US?
I think the North American trends will be very similar to the regional trends but with more emphasis on proving the humane treatment of animals raised “locally”, regardless of farm or corporation size.

3. What would your most sincere hope, wish, or desire be to see as a food trend in 2012?

I hope everyone buys grass raised meats, produced by farmers who care about the land, the animals, and the food they produce above the almighty dollar; don’t get me wrong, we all have to make a living and we’d all like to make as much money as we can, but not at the expense of our world.

Beyond farming I think the food trend will be far more focused on fast, locally made, healthy, family convenience foods. I think we’ll see a lot more farmers selling value added products to the working mothers and fathers.

Rhonda Headon from The Cheesiry

Rhonda lives so far East, yet is at The Edmonton City Market every Saturday. Talk about young Pecorino: YUM! I was so delighted when I found I could buy this locally. It is so delicious and Rhonda (new mom of twins) is a Master Cheese maker. She also sells it at Everything Cheese. Make sure you try it!

1. Here in Lloydmnister, there is an interesting trend of providing food experiences.  Until last month the dining options were only chain restaurants or frozen food from Sysco types of restaurants.  About a month ago opened a gorgeous restaurant that is making great efforts to truly use as much local food as possible.  It has a small fresh menu. Besides the local food, it also showcases local artists and offers a variety of classes such as cooking, dance and knitting!  As well, there is a local food grocery store in town opened by a local farmer that offers food to go, cooking classes and has a dining room. This opened a year ago.

2. Food Trucks Seem to be on the rise

3. I wish upon a star that people want to seek out local made cheese and that they want to taste all of them!

As a small scale producer for what seems to be a movement towards local food, I see a lot of places say they are interested in local food, but not really embracing it.  (That is sad, adds Valerie)

Patty Milligan from Lola Canola Honey: A few things that I think we’ll see gain momentum (if not take off!) in 2012

• The land of milk and….grain

Demand will increase exponentially for local, direct-marketed grain and dairy products, which are still usually considered large-scale commodities in Alberta. I’m thinking along the lines of what Gold Forest Grains, Mighty Trio Organics, and Johnston’s Dairy are doing. In the next year or two, other, similar farms will likely pop up in other parts of the province. BTW not only will the demand for LOCAL milk products grow, the demands for non-cow milk products will grow (sheep and goat). So will the demand for raw milk. I think we’ll see additional challenges to the law prohibiting the sale of raw milk in Alberta in 2012.

• Farmers make beer (instead of just drinking it)

A few years ago Alberta fruit-growers won the right to make and sell their own wine. Beekeepers followed suit a couple of years later with locally produced mead. They can both now sell their products in Alberta Approved Farmers’ Markets. (I’d see a couple more wineries and meaderies launch in Alberta in 2012). But what I’m really hoping for in 2012 is that at least one small-scale, possibly organic, grain farmer will lobby for the right to brew beer from his/her own grain! Who wouldn’t want to pick up local microbrewery beer at the friendly neighbourhood farmers’ market?

• Urban flocks and hives about to thrive!

Urban chickens and bees will move closer to being legalized in Edmonton and other municipalities across the country (where they are not already). We’ll see some really successful pilot projects kick off in Edmonton. The push for urban bees will be spearheaded by a public institution—perhaps a gallery or a conference centre will lobby to have beehives on its rooftop or terrace. Whatever way people feel about backyard bees, the idea of rooftop hives is irresistible to most.

• Hyperlocal Honey

As more beekeepers spring up inside and outside the city, you can expect to see hyperlocal honeys at farmers’ markets. The floral sources may not be identified but the exact location will be—you’ll see honey labels like these soon: “Mill Creek Ravine Gold” or “Bonnie Doon’s Best,” “The pride of 104^th Street,” or “Range Road 234’s Finest.” Honey is moving into the realm of wine, coffee, and chocolate—a complex food whose subtle differences in taste are sought after and savored! Hives will be named, vintages will be recorded. I’d like to see a shop dedicated to honey open up but that may take a couple more years.

• Consumers and producers do-si-do

While the local food movement has primarily been about urban consumers and rural producers, we’ll see evidence of a “reverse” trend in 2012: More urban producers will be growing and selling their produce (via farmgate, CSA, or farmers’ markets) and, at least in the areas around larger cities, we’ll see a renaissance of the smaller (but often long-running) rural farmers’ markets catering to more rural consumers who are also now seeking out local foods.

• First restaurants, then food trucks, next…..

In 2011, food trucks sprang up, providing a way to enjoy local food outside of high-end restaurants. We’ve seen at least one non-mobile concession get on board (Harvest Chef at the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market). I think this movement—marrying skilled chefs, concessions in “ordinary” public spaces, and local food—will continue. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it will spill over into rural areas especially given the success of events like Sturgeon County Bounty and Dine Kalyna. Maybe we’ll start seeing some fantastic local food at rural venues and events. This also forms part of the movement towards local, fresh, home-made food at cafeterias in schools, hospitals and other institutions.

• More farmers who are spring chickens

Looking around farmers’ markets these days, you’ll notice a lot more young faces serving you. There’s a boom, it seems, in young farmers and their families making a go of growing and direct selling local food. They are joining family businesses or they are starting out on their own. This trend will continue. Maybe we’ll bring that average age of farmers (51) down in 2012? The businesses that will thrive are those that have a strong partnership at their core—between friends, siblings, cousins, parents/children, or spouses. Those individuals going it alone will struggle—best find someone to partner with ASAP! And what will these folks be producing? Hmmmm…..

• Growing demands

Demands for several other foods will grow in 2012 including the aforementioned grain products and dairy products. I predict a surge in demand for local lamb and goat and wild game. In terms of value-added products, I think simple, traditional foods will be sought after—but with a twist. Foods like ketchup, mayonnaise, and pickles will be undergoing “local food makeovers”. I bet that soon you’ll be able to find these “exotic” products locally. Gwen Simpson’s move to BC leaves a big gap for local herbs and edible flowers; maybe someone will step in and fill her big boots? I’d love to see a couple new small-scale greenhouse growers emerge with cukes, tomatoes, and peppers. I’m hoping someone will soon attempt to grow and market local mushrooms on a small-scale. And the demand for local sprouts will also grow.

• Focus on fruit

We’re now pretty familiar with local protein and local vegetables. But, for urban folks especially, local fruits and berries (including wild ones) are still a bit of an unknown. Judging from the summer of 2011, expect the local fruit phenom to explode this summer in Edmonton in some wonderful ways: we’ll be buying, planting, grafting, harvesting more fruit trees in both private and public spaces; we’ll be doing more “foraging” (aka “berry-picking”), canning, pie-baking, wine-making, and jellying whether in groups (like OFRE or Slow Food Edmonton), classes, workshops, or on our own. We’ll seek out u-picks and presses especially for apples (think Sprout Farms). We may see more Alberta-grown fruit at Alberta Farmers’ Markets (think Thean Pheh, of Fruit Trees and More, who sells apples, pears, and plums from his own backyard at the Downtown Farmers Market). Value-added products will follow; we’ve got a few already (jellies and jams) but hopefully locally produced juices, leathers, dried fruits, and maybe some hard cider will debut soon.

• Wanted: A couple more CSAs and farmers’ markets

My guess is there is still probably room in the Edmonton area for a couple more weekday farmers’ markets as well as for a few more CSAs. We may see one or two debut in 2012. While it may seem that there’s a glut, not all of the areas of the city are served; plus they will provide outlets for the up and coming growers who are just putting their toes in.

Following my Personal Reflection about Food Trends for 2012, I invited various groups of knowledgeable food people to offer their insights and views regarding food trends for 2012. I have posted this series in the following order and hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have!

1. Food Trends 2012: Part 1: My Personal Reflections
2. Food Trends 2012: Part 2 :Food Bloggers and Part 3: Food Bloggers
3. Food Trends 2012: Part 4: Local Edmonton Food Focused People
4. Food Trends 2012: Part 5: Dana McCauley, Sinclair Phillips, Mara Jernigan, Letizia Mattiacci, Anne Robichaud, Martina Kuhnert and Maribel
5. Food Trends 2012: Part 6:Local and Not So Local Chefs and Bakers I know – this one
6. Food Trends 2012: Part 7:Local Farmers

I asked a number of my favourite Chefs and Bakers to provide their personal perspectives regarding food trends for 2012. I should not be amazed by their level of commitment and passionate responses, but I was!

Please feel free to ask each individual questions in the comments section here, as they come to mind. Certainly, as I was reading and preparing this post, questions came to mind that I will post in the comments section, too!

After reading these insights, please do take time to explore each of these websites; each has held my fascination for a very long time for varying reasons!

1. Major local trend in your region?
2. Trends throughout Canada or the US or your own country?
3. Hopes and Wishes?
4. Comments?

Richard Bertinet from The Bertinet Cookery School in Bath, UK

Richard Bertinet remains one of my food heros. The profound affect that attending his bread baking class in Bath two years ago had on my life, the way I bake bread and the way I think about it when I make it is forever changed. I long to go back and plan to take a group there for a week long cooking experience some day in the next year or two. Richard Bertinet is a master baker, and even if you think you know how to bake bread, you should take a beginning bread baking class from him. I was honoured that he responded again this year!

I think this is a bit difficult this year with the financial situation in that I would have expected to be writing to you about hope and new ingredients but I fear the trends for 2012 are more of the same as last year. This applies to our locality (Bath) as much as our region (South West) and the UK as a whole.  The recession has affected almost everyone and most people have less money to spend.  It is not that they are not shopping (at least for food) but most people are using a slightly cheaper supermarket or buying the basics as opposed to fancier things.

• austerity/using cheaper and unusual cuts of meat
• making the most out of your ingredients with several meals

Bread and baking has certainly taken off in the last year with more television coverage so to that extent I think our hopes for 2011 have been granted.

• I think for 2012 we would ask for a little more optimism – otherwise eternal recession may become a self fulfilling prophecy.

We may all not have much money to spend but an occasional small treat is good for the soul! Twitter: @BertinetKitchen

Sophie Browne from Sophie’s Baked Delights and on Facebook

I met Sophie at Richard Bertinet’s bread baking class and cannot wait to visit her one day in the Cotswolds! She is so much fun!

1. What do you see as the major food trends locally (name your locality), and regionally (your region) 2012 ?

• A return to buying direct from local producers at the “gate” or through farmers markets and foodie events.
• As a baker, I am receiving more requests for Gluten and Dairy Free cakes. Unsure as to what is causing the increase in the prevalence of these conditions and the Nutritionists I have spoken to think this is only the tip of the iceburg…..

2. What do you see as major trends throughout Canada and or the US and or the UK?

Blair is a local food hero. He has begun a series of Farm to Table dinners in farmer’s fields in and around Edmonton last summer with great success. The dinner I participated in at Danny and Shannon’s farm was another of my culinary highlights this year. I am still inspired by it. He was a Slow Food Terra Madre delegate in 2010 and has accepted the responsibility as Executive Chef for the Slow Food National Conference in May of 2012. He walks his talk and we are so proud of the work he is doing in our city and with his students at NAIT. Watch for more great things from this chef in the future. Twitter: @blebsack

1. Major Food Trends in Edmonton / Alberta

• Farm Dinners (many too come this upcoming year)
• Food Trucks
• House made charcuterie and fresh cheese
• Thin crust pizza
• Italian food renaissance

• Cooking with real fire (charcoal and wood: oak wine barrels, grape vines, fruit wood)
• Beer and food pairings (micro brew restaurants)
• Whole hog menu items
• Maltodextrin use in molecular cuisine: making edible soil, sand and other landscapes
• Independent cooking schools/classes

I had the privilege of meeting Paul at the CHG’s Top Chef Challenge last Spring which was one of the highlights of my culinary year. What incredible work Paul has accomplished in our city with his group of restaurants. He inspires his chefs and his patrons alike with his passion for really delicious Alberta food. He never fails to deliver on that promise and has his finger on the pulse of everything that is happening in our city food wise. This is one chef who really has it goin’ on! Watch for more motivating events to come from him and his team this year! Twitter: @chefpshoey

I have never been all that fond of following the next big trend coming our way, rather, I like to focus on what is relevant to me, and most importantly, to our customers at the time.

1. Local Trends:

• Given the growth of the food truck movement this year, I would think that this trend will continue to grow, featuring a more diverse mix of street food options, that will stretch far beyond the classic hot dogs of the past. Having said that, I worry that this food trend bubble will burst eventually because as a chef who is also an entrepreneur, I have a hard time wrapping my head around the challenges of the short season in Edmonton, and the high cost of keeping a food truck going. Prove me wrong guys, as I love the tasty treats you provide!
• I also look forward to the continued growth of local Farmer’s Markets, from the classic Strathcona Market, to the new year round City Centre Market, and my new neighbourhood favourite, the Terwillegar Farmer’s Market. These are fantastic places to source out an abundance of local fare.
• I think we might even see the pop-up restaurant making its way to Edmonton in a big way this year. I am already hearing rumblings of a pop-up dinner in the works. Anxious to get the ball rolling on this, as it could be really fun!

2. National and International Trends:

• I also see the wave continuing to swell when it comes to traceability of the food we eat, and what impact the food choices we make has on ourselves, our bodies, our health and our environment. I feel this trend will begin to broaden from being a small minority of our demographic, to a much larger portion. This will not happen overnight, and will be something that grows in the years to come. From sustainably farmed fish, to naturally raised beef, and locally grown vegetables, I believe people will want to know more about the food they consume, how it is handled, and whose hands it is in before it makes it to their table. In doing so, I believe the farmer, fisherman, etc, will have their moment in spotlight, and rightfully so. The real challenge here is, as the population continues to grow, it will become increasingly more difficult for the world to be able to sustain our ever-growing hunger for food. This is a huge obstacle that, not only the foodies of the world, but the world as a whole, will have to face.
• With the continued economic uncertainty the world over, I feel that chefs will continue to be pushed further to reach for more value cuts of meat, fish and poultry, flexing their creative muscles to create incredible dishes full of flavour, and value. Whether that’s creating their own charcuterie, pates, terrines, to skilfully preparing braised items such as pulled pork and osso bucco, the true measure of a chef will be tested in order to continue to provide guests with a meal they feel provides value, while managing to maintain a modest profit.

3. My greatest hope:

• is that the population of Edmonton foodies continues to grow exponentially, and that they continue to demand more of us, asking the hard questions about the places they eat, the food they are served, and the manner in which it is prepared. It’s time for people to take a harder look at the chain restaurants they frequent so often and question how the food is so cheap, what corners are cut, and what quality of food they are actually receiving. Value is not simply in the size of a portion, true value is in the quality of the product used, combined with the degree of skill and care used in the preparation, and the warmth and hospitality of the environment in which it is served. Expect more Edmonton, and look beyond the size of the plate you were given, to see what you’re really paying for.
• One trend that can’t die soon enough for me, is the molecular gastronomy bubble. Basil spheres, and bacon dust, and all of the other crazy concoctions are cute and all, but let’s just focus on food tasting like food, rather than anything but.

To learn more about food, and the Edmonton food scene, pick up the Edmonton Sun every Wednesday to read my weekly article, From My Kitchen (example here), or head to our website: Century Hospitality.

Chef Brittany Watt Chef at The Old Strathcona Farmer’s Market Cafe and Harvest Catering

1. What do you see as the major food trends locally (Edmonton, Alberta), and regionally (Alberta) 2012 ?

• • • Something that have been happening for some time now, due to education and awareness, is people questioning where their food is coming from and how it is grown.  I believe that people will continue along this road and maybe even take it a step further by:
      • creating their own gardens,
      • taking more part in co op farms and
      • by meeting the people that supply them with their food.
    • Chefs use to be the rock stars of the culinary world but I think you are going to see our suppliers surpass the chef’s celebrity status.  I personally think that it is about time.

2. What do you see as major trends throughout Canada and or the US?

• On an international level, people are going to start using their voice more with regards to the legislation that is imposed on food.
• With regards to the free trade between Canada and the US, you may see people demanding the same requirements with regard to organic regulations.  This is already starting to happen with independent organizations that people trust but people are becoming more concerned about the actual governments and their involvement in the system.
• Maybe even a couple protests  Hopefully McDonalds gets a little grief as well.

3. What would your most sincere hope, wish, or desire be to see as a food trend in 2012?

• I would like to see people use food more as a community tool.  I would like us to start thinking about how we can help one another instead of how we can benefit off of someone else and do this through the relationships we create through food.
• I would like to see secret pot luck dinners, mass organising of celebrating food, more involvement learning about food.
• I would also like to see people reach out to their farmer more.  There is a lot of produce that is wasted every year because farmers do not have the labour or time to harvest their crops.  I would like to see people take the initiative and involve themselves in using those crops.  Stop the waste.
• I also think people need to understand the amount of time it takes to grow the food and create the dishes.  Maybe if they did it a little themselves, they might be a little more patient and a little less demanding.

I love watching and being part of this giant wave that has reached our little neck of the woods.  It is so wonderful teaching people about mushrooms, wild foods and even something so simple and beautiful as a quince.  To watch peoples eyes light up when they learn that sun chokes, hazelnuts, and even ginger grow in our back yards.  You see them start to appreciate and acknowledge what this earth offers us everyday.  It is a beautiful idea and I feel blessed to watch it evolve. Twitter: @harvest_chef

We are awakening and I love it!

Chef Stefan Czapalay with Culinary Design Solutions

I came across Stefan’s site a few year’s ago. It is a beautiful site, but he posts far too little on it. That’s what happens when one is busy. I have definitely enjoyed following some of his experiences the past few years, and was delighted when he responded to my request this year to see what he would come up with. He did the totally unexpected, as he usually does, and provided us with a research bit that he had undertaken to investigate the trend that sauces were taking for 2012. I find the specifics of it interesting and as a home cook, am definitely aware of the power of paired foods and complimentary sauces. (I am learning how to make small portions to not waste so much.) When I eat out, a good sauce can carry me to the moon!

Here’s a collection of research outlining specific trends affecting not only our cooking sauce category , but sauces in general for 2012.  Most of the information is from US sources (Canadian-specific research is very rare) but given the power of social media and media in general, the time line between the identification of a US trend and a corresponding Canadian reaction has become much more compact.

• Restaurant-focused trends discussed here include the twisting of traditional “everyday flavours” such as tomato and barbecue sauces and mayonnaise to incorporate ethnic elements.  Mojo, Thai Chile, Yuzu, Miso, Sweet Chili Ancho Chile, Lemongrass (yeah!) and Creole Mustard are mentioned as popular augmenting flavours.  The importance of authenticity is mentioned also.  There is a ”top 10″ sauces list here which is cool with mayonnaise being #1.
• This is one of the better overviews of CPG flavour and product trends.  Interesting comments on the preferences of the dominant Gen Y’ers (16-33 years old) for “gourmet, ethnic and spicy food” and also exploring “performance-based eating, driving demand for fresh, all natural, organic, and naturally fortified foods”.  Interesting comment on top 10 search terms input to food and recipe websites which included Chili (#3) and Slow Cooker (#4) which speaks to the brilliance of our focus on “comfort cooking sauces”.  In addition, the fastest growing restaurant flavours noted are ”spicy/hot”, “American barbecue” “Pacific Northwest fare” and “Southwestern”.  Lets be careful not to take these too literally as they seem very American trends, but barbecue is everywhere and should be part of our discussions only as a base flavour profile for traditional cooking/slow cooking sauces.  Top Chef trends noted are “ethnic fusion, Southeast Asian, Peruvian, and Latino”.
• Here is a bit of a “fluffy” piece from ABC News naming 2012 as “The Year of the Potato” and mentions mix-ins for mashed potatoes (ooh, I like this idea).  Also mentioned are growing popularity of noodles and specialty peppers.
• This is a quick piece by one of my favourite commentators, Nancy Kruse with a call out on ”authenticity”, “”creative comfort” and “disruptive innovation” as trends for 2012.
• This one speaks specifically to Latin American Sauce Inspirations which may not just yet be what Canadians are looking for (but it’s certainly coming as evidenced by the popularity of the growing Herdez line); however, I do like the mention of Caribbean which I see as a growing cuisine in Canada.
• Great commentary from Food Product Design called “Getting Sauced”.  I like the comment “It appears that these days, not only must the food taste good, it must taste interesting”.  Again, as above, the concept of adding “twists” to traditional sauces (mayo, tomato, barbecue and marinara) is discussed with current trends leaning toward both spicy and ethnic flavours (Sririacha is mentioned several times).  Interesting also is the comment that caramelized flavours are a growing trend in all types of sauces.  I like very much the idea of incorporating caramelized onions, shallots, garlic, apples as elements in future sauces.
• An informative piece on trends/demographics by something called “The Association for Dressings & Sauces” (really) focuses on ethnic with big growth estimates for the future.  It’s an American perspective, so Latino leads the charge, but the point is made clearly that the trend is becoming mainstream, even in rural settings.  Outside of Latino, drivers of ethnic interest are cited as Asian and Indian.  Very interesting is the discussion on the importance of sampling programs when introducing new ethnic products.
• Prognostication by a hospitality consultant that “Modern takes on Thai cuisine and street-style Indian food will be the hot restaurant trends for 2012″.
• Main theme here is authentic ethnic, and the term “the whole world on a plate” is used which I like. This is a thinly disguised ad for McCain, but it covers a lot of associated trends mentioned elsewhere including Middle Eastern, Japanese, Latino/Mexican.

Okay, so with all of this said, I summarize that there is a dual focus on:

1. Ethnic cooking sauces with a highlight on Asian, but keep an eye on the growing interest in Latin flavours (including Caribbean).
2. Comfort cooking sauces which are to be used for weeknight meals and may even strike a cord as a slow cooker solution.

Twitter: @chefzap

Following my Personal Reflection about Food Trends for 2012, I invited five groups of knowledgeable food people to offer their insights and point of view regarding food trends for 2012. I have posted this series in the following order and hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have!

1. Food Trends 2012: Part 1: My Personal Reflections
2. Food Trends 2012: Part 2 :Food Bloggers and Part 3: Food Bloggers
3. Food Trends 2012: Part 4: Local Edmonton Food Focused People
4. Food Trends 2012: Part 5:National and International Food Focused People - this post
5. Food Trends 2012: Part 6:Local Farmers
6. Food Trends 2012: Part 7:Local and Not So Local Chefs and Bakers I know

I asked a number of my favourite food focused to provide their personal perspectives regarding food trends for 2012. I was thrilled each took the time to respond to my request.

Please feel free to ask each individual questions in the comments section here, as they come to mind. Certainly, as I was reading and preparing this post, questions came to mind that I will post in the comments section, too!

After reading these insights, please do take time to explore each of these websites; each has held my fascination for a very long time for varying reasons!

1. Major local trend in your region?
2. Trends throughout Canada or the US or your own country?
3. Hopes and Wishes?
4. Comments?

Dana McCauley: Food Trends and Innovation Expert

I started to follow Dana on Twitter last year when she was announced as one of the judges for the now defunct Canadian Food Blog Awards. Not too many people interest me on Twitter. I follow them to keep up and to learn, but Dana is different. In that mere 140 characters she is funny, compelling and a darn good read. I have found myself grinning more than a few times. The links she refers her followers to are also carefully considered. How does she do that? In any case, I enjoy her views, her humor and respect her knowledge about Canadian food. And a trend expert? Who better to ask… then what happened? She said YES! Oh, and did I mention that she then became my favourite judge on Recipe to Riches? I often enjoy Laura Caulder’s food show, but Dana won me over on this one! She is currently the Culinary Director at Jane’s Family Foods.

1. What do you see as the major food trends locally (Toronto), and regionally (Ontario) 2012 ?

• Toronto is an interesting place. We have some of the best chefs and most avid and affluent restaurant diners in the country; however, some of the local laws and by-laws prevent the city from joining in on some of the more interesting food and drink trends that are dominant in other markets. Specifically, Toronto is way behind in terms of food truck development compared to Canadian cities such as Vancouver and American cities like L.A., NYC and Austin.
• While local sourcing of ingredients is now mainstream for many Toronto and Ontario chefs (and an increasing number of home cooks), I think more independent restaurant chefs will continue to experiment with becoming artisans themselves by making cheese, charcuterie, preserves and other farmhouse foods of the past. On the other hand, the rising minimum wage and worries about food safety and efficiencies will see more chain owned restaurants buying fully cooked processed foods that are consistent and can be prepared by relatively unskilled cooks.

• Dining is becoming increasingly casual and increasingly influenced by global flavours. Instead of white table cloths and fresh flowers, new restaurant concepts will feature eclectic decor and exciting experiences by offering all on one menu everything from Vietnamese Bahn Mi to Foie Gras pate with the entire meal set to a sound track of indy rock music. The key words will be: fun, inclusive and easy.
• Molecular gastronomy is moving from science lab snobbery to smart and approachable thanks to the work of Nathan Myrhvold and his team who demystify in Modernist Cuisine the science behind sous vide and centrifuges to help chefs to highlight the natural flavours in common foods like peas and preserve the textures and tastes of delicate foods like fish. This book may well prove to be the bridge between molecular gastronomy and the local/artisan food movements.
• A move toward offering sustainable seafood choices at every level of the food business is afoot. While fine dining restaurants spearheaded this trend several years ago, now grocers and fast casual restaurants in both Canada and the US are starting to catch on and make these choices more accessible for all people.

Sinclair is an avid forager of wild mushrooms as well as his many other accomplishments. I met him at the National Slow Food Conference in Quebec last Spring and was an instant fan of his passion for really good food.

I just talked to Pino Posteraro, the excellent Italian chef  from Vancouver , who told me that expenditures on food by Italian families is down 30% this year due to the recession.

• The dominant food trends in Victoria this year seem to be bigger portions, a proliferation of restaurants specializing in fancy hamburgers costing from $10 to $15 , very large portions of pork and beef ribs, coleslaw , and French fried potatoes.
• The demand for low quality cupcakes, fancy pizzas, and for gluten free foods is also increasing.
• At the same time, there has  been a  big decline in alcohol consumption in restaurants due to more stringent liquor laws and a decline in dining out in general as a result of these laws and the growing recession and a lack of tourism.
• There is a rapid decline in the availability of local meats on Vancouver Island for economic reasons but also as a result of a lack of slaughter facilities due to recent provincial regulations.
• There is also a decrease in in the variety of seafoods available due to stock depletion and shellfish such as crab has increased in price due to demand in China.

There are new winter outdoor food markets supported by Slow Food in Victoria and several local farms increasingly offer meat and produce to the public throughout the winter. An increasing number of individuals are raising back yard chickens on Vancouver Island and providing their own eggs. A few excellent bakeries and a new salumaria using local meats seem to be doing well. Here a Sooke Harbour House we have witnessed a big increase in the demand for local, wild mushrooms which are available fresh for about nine months of the year as well  as commercially available wild deer . Fresh seaweed is also gaining in popularity. We raise many of our own pigs for the hotel and locally cured meats continue to be very popular here and exotic vegetables such as tuberous nasturtiums, crosnes, and fuki from our certified organic gardens remain very popular with our hotel guests.

Bobby Gregoire: Chef and Interim President of Slow Food Canada

Bobby helped plan the Slow Food Canada Conference that I attended in Quebec last year. He touts himself as a Gastronomy Specialist, freelance journalist, speaker and truly has a multitude of talents. He is currently the President of Slow Food Montreal as well as the Interim President. If you are fluent in French, he writes regularly on his very thought provoking website. You will see he has his finger on the pulse of what is happening within the Quebec food scene when you read what he has to say, below.

Most Canadians, when they think of Quebec foods, think of raw milk cheese, Montreal bagels, smoked meat and poutine. So, what does make the Quebecois move on a culinary scene? What interests a society that spoke more about cuisine in the media than culture itself for the first time in 2011? Here is my forecast for 2012 Quebec consumer food trends in English. In French, please read it here.

Home brewing

Quebec is a big beer market. La Belle Province produced more than 400 commercialized beers from a few major breweries to hundreds of microbreweries. We drink mostly microbrewed beers that are available in every region of the province. But, as if it wasn’t enough with so much to offer and even acclaimed beers sommeliers, the typical male Quebecois tends to domesticate the art of home brewing. In the last five years alone we have seen the explosion of beer themed workshops, brewing classes and also the never increasing accessibility to quality and locally grown ingredients. In families across the province, it is becoming more and more common to have at least one or two members that do home brewing of quality beers. I foresee that this trend will continue to grow in the next years to come.

Natural and biodynamic wines

With more and more articles in the written press and online media and also with an ever-increasing popularity of private wine agencies in Quebec, the wine scene is switching its focus to small scale high quality wines importations. The wines available today to the Quebecois are more diverse. Where we saw mostly high production of common wines in the past, we are not only seeing a blossoming of diverse wines in taste profiles, but also in their production methods, arriving in Quebec. It’s through private agencies that we are finding most of natural and biodynamic wines that where discarded before by the SAQ (Société des alcools du Québec). This new trend is mostly forged by the fact that most restaurants now offer wines from private agencies that offer an increasing selection of natural wines every year. Private importation of wines are more accessible in restaurants, but also to consumers. I suspect a major change in the wine consumption of Quebeckers in the next few years.

Local wine tourism and wine literacy

With a world of wine in transformation, a big part of culinary media speaking about wines and star sommeliers as we see star chefs on food Channel, Quebeckers are beginning to care about local winemakers. Let’s face it, Quebec wines don’t have the prestige of our “cidres de glace”, except for our “vendanges tardives” wines. Though, with the help of international and local tasting events like Finger Lakes Wine Festival, All Canadian Wines Championship, “La Coupe des nations”, “Le jugement de Montréal” and other Wines competitions, some of our wines are seducing more and more people and sommeliers. With astounding white wines and a selection of surprisingly excellent red wines, critic’s columns have never talked so much of our own wines. Add to this equation several wine routes and the creation of two wine tour companies (Kava tours and Héli vino) and you have a trend that will grow in 2012: wine literacy through local wine tourism.

Dani Valent: Independent Writing and Editing Professional

Dani approached me to include one of my recipes in her newly published Thermomix Cookbook:  InTheMix. Making yogurt in the machine seemed to be difficult for people, so I did a really rough video of how to make it, and became the Thermomix Yogurt Overnight Diva. Thus, my homemade yogurt recipe is in there. It is my yogurt cheese, cheese balls and the spice=herb mix I make for them that I am most proud of. It is an incredible book and seeing the fruits of her labour, understanding her interest in food and cooking, I asked her to contribute her thoughts from the Melbourne Area in Australia which she kindly did.

1. What do you see as the major food trends locally (name your locality), and regionally (your region) 2012 ?

• I hope that mainstream restaurants start thinking more about sustainable seafood. On a lighter note, I’ve noticed that Korean-style kimchi pickles are appearing in lots of non-Korean restaurants. I hope that continues because I love kimchi!
• I think that Thermomix will continue its march into established and emerging markets, enabling thousands more people to cook with confidence and delight.

Letizia Mattiacci from Alla Madonna del Piatto and her blog at Madonna del Piatto

Vanja and I stayed at Letizia’s agriturismo this fall in Assisi and I attended a cooking class with her as well (again, post coming soon: don’t forget I just had a family wedding in November! ). Letizia is a doctor of entomology and has completely changed her life to celebrate her region and the food of it. She has lived all over the world and her global perspective is revealing. She is one passionate and learned gal. Meeting her was an honour and a privilege and I hope to visit again. Her blog is an excellent resource if you are interested in traditional Umbrian cuisine. (YUM!)

1. What do you see as the major food trends locally (Assisi), and regionally (Umbria) 2012 ?

• Ours is a rural area and people tend to be very conservative. They tend to stick to the wonderful products we have, olive oil, truffles, pecorino and cured meats like prosciutto di Norcia. Homemade fresh pasta is still the star of a Sunday meal.

2. What do you see as major trends throughout Canada and or the US and or Italy?

• In the US I see more attention to fresh organic ingredients and a return to the small distribution. In Italy I see a tendency to overuse ready made meals. World is global after all. I do find however that Italians are still very well informed about the quality of what they eat.

• I wish people to invest more on food. I wish them to look around and buy from small producers in their own area. I wish for people who go on holidays to appreciate local seasonal food and buy local products from small estates. It’s a form of social support for those who invest their life, work and passion in producing something special as well as something sustainable.

• Food intolerances are becoming rampant. This is related to the production of large scale mass produced food which I mentioned above. Too many toxic chemicals are added to industrial food. It’s time to re-think our philosophy of eating.

Martina Kuhnert from GolosaItalia and her partner Maribel from Taste of Italy

Vanja and I met Martina in Edmonton last summer and then stayed with her in Bologna in the fall. I plan to post our adventures with her in January. She is a maverick tour guide: second to none! She hails from Germany and has lived in Nanaimo, Canada for three years as well as Bologna.. Maribel taught me how to make Bolognese pasta by hand and this was one of the highlights of the entire trip as it was such an intimate culinary experience: a life changing day. They worked together to develop their answers to my questions for us.

1. What do you see as the major food trends locally (Bologna), and regionally (Emilia-Romangna, Italy) 2012 ?

• The food scene in Italy is very traditional, based on the indegrients of the area, here in Em-R. we have Torteloni, Tagliatelle, Mortadella, Parma-ham, Parmigiano cheese and Balsamico vinegar. In general, you cook from scratch, even buying the pasta from the supermarket counts like convienient food, lots of households do the pasta at home. You find countless specialized shops for meat, cheese, wine, vegetables to get fresh ingredients: the variety is huge: for example, you can find around 30 different kinds of Prosciutto.
• Even the single households who don´t cook, don´t buy frozen food; they buy daily fresh prepared but sealed meals from the fridge shelf, the freezers in the supermarked are very small sized compared to the fridge department.

3. What would your most sincere hope, wish, or desire be to see as a food trend in 2012?

• I really hope that the Italians keep paying attention to what they eat and that they´ll teach also the next generation to cook traditionally.

4. Any other comments…

• Compared to Germany and Canada, Italy is the paradise island for foodies when it comes to variety of ingredients and freshness, but the cooking is very traditional. Only some avantgarde chefs like Massimo Battura start to change the recipe, he´s using the same ingredients but prepares them in a different way.

Anne Robichaud from Anne’s Italy

Vanja and I had the privilege of attending a culinary tour with Anne through Assisi and Spello this fall, in Italy. She has lived there since 1975 and most definitely has a handle on what is happening food-wise from a global perspective.

I wish that the concept of Umbrian culinary historian Nadia Marconi would become more diffuse. I wrote about her and what she thinks here.

• Nadia says:  Frozen foods, no! Why unwrap, heat and serve a food? Food is a language, a way of communicating and enthusiasm must be added to its preparation and the serving to friends. You have to put your soul into food. Let us communicate over food. Aromas, flavors, colors all transmit messages – such a perfect form of communication! Let us educate our youth, our children to the flavors of food as communication.”
• Indicating her husband seated next to her, Nadia continued, “We are two simple spirits and lovers of la cucina tradizionale: from the garden to the table, food as a reflection of our relationship with nature.” Nadia indicated the paper plates and forks with disdain, grimacing “I do not even want to see these!” As she talked, friend Joan and I began to wish that we had had Nadia as a teacher! ” In school, I do not like written tests,” she said, “as I want my students to talk to me, taking the time they need to organize their thoughts, ideas. Each one’s natural rhythms should be respected. Just as in the preparation of foods”.

This post is a heady read. It is looong but so very interesting. If you get through it, please leave your thoughts in the comments section: Chime in!

Following my Personal Reflection about Food Trends for 2012, and those of Food Bloggers here and here,  I asked a number of local Edmonton Food Bloggers and Journalists to provide their personal perspectives regarding food trends for 2012. We hail from such a thriving local food community in Edmonton even though we live in a Winter city. Our agricultural land is the richest in the world and our farmers and producers are second to none. We don’t have the Canadian presence we deserve regarding our regional culinary culture, but we are working at getting the word out. Visiting the sites and reading the work and the books of these people to day will be a great place to start if you want to learn something about this country’s culinary food heritage that you don’t know.

Please feel free to ask each individual questions in the comments section here, as they come to mind.

Here are the questions each was asked:

1. Major local trend in your region?
2. Trends throughout Canada or the US or your own country?
3. Hopes and Wishes?
4. Comments?

Jessie Radies from Live Local Alberta and The Good Food Box

I met Jessie when I was volunteering at The Passionate Plate, sadly, no longer in business. She was dropping of some of her Buy Local posters and I knew that this was a woman who was walking her talk immediately. She is articulate, driven and a strategic thinker. As stated in my Food Trends 2012 Personal Response, she has made a powerful difference in our city by rethinking the economics of a local food economy and putting them very actively to practice in Edmonton. She is a gal that needs to be heard. She is a compelling and inspirational speaker. As co-owner of The Blue Pear restaurant with her husband and chef, Darcy Radies, she was personally involved in our local food community as a business owner, had a background in marketing and there has been no looking back when she began to put her ideas into practice which has led to her current position as CEO and founder of Live Local Alberta.

1. Major local trend in your region?

Local (Edmonton) Trends are:

Kevin is a passionate urban homesteader whom has gained considerable local and national notoriety this past year through many mainstream media people. This CTV2 Alberta Primetime video is a great introduction to his world and prolific adorable young family. The latest feather in his cap is his 2011 win at ‘The Perennial Plate’ video competition for his highlight-reel of his ‘From Local Farms’ project. There is a steady stream of people knocking on Kevin’s door to interview him to see and understand what he is doing, how he is doing it, and to learn what exactly urban homesteading is. I met Kevin at my Taste Tripping Party a year ago June. I knew of him prior to that, but decided to host an event that would bring all local food bloggers and other like minded local people in our food community that I “knew” together. That was the beginning of our friendship.

1. What do you see as the major food trends locally (Edmonton), and regionally (Alberta) 2012 ?

1. What do you see as the major food trends locally (Edmonton, Alberta):

I met Liane when my middle school students participated in the Grilled Cheese Olympics a couple of years ago (and won!). She was a judge. Since then, I have met her at many local food events and consistently enjoy reading her articles in The Journal. On Wednesday, December 28, she wrote a fascinating piece reflecting on Food Trends for 2012.Here in Edmonton, we tend to catch on to trends a wee bit later than they do in, say, Vancouver, but once we set our minds to a food trend, we’re all over it. 

• Lo-cal top chefs and restaurateurs pay attention to what we care about and deliver (Andrew Fung, Deependra Singh)
• Our host of connected local food bloggers (Valerie Rodgers Lugonja, Kevin Kossowan, Twyla Campbell)  also follow the eating world, and bring it home.
• Street foods seem the hottest thing but are ever changing

In 2011, obvious trends emerged in Edmonton:

• house-made chutneys
• offbeat, fun jams
• a cooking craze in outdoor, wood-burning ovens, and
• the dining roulette inherent in communal restaurant tables

Here are three other dominant trends that have been spotted locally and elsewhere and trends that will continue to catch our attention in 2012:

• nose to tail and the growing interest in the farmers and ranchers who bring us these beasts
• nostalgia
• street food

Local foodies Sharon Yeo and Mack Male organized not one, but two What the Truck?! events downtown, designed to draw attention to local food vendors plying their product curbside. Read Liane’s complete article and enjoy her detailed reasoning here.

Sharon Yeo from Only Here for the Food

This year Sharon is the Vice Chair on the Eat Alberta Board and I have worked closely with her on this event and through Slow Food in the past. She is also a on the board of the 104th Street Community League and a well known volunteer. She, and her partner, Mack Male, double handedly, arranged two major food truck events in our city in 2011: What the Truck? She writes a local weekly food update every Tuesday that most of us cannot function without. Sharon never lets us down, either. Her attention to detail and well considered sharing of her weekly research is awe inspiring. We are so fortunate to have her in Edmonton!
1. What do you see as the major food trends locally (name your locality), and regionally (your region) 2012 ?

• I think the popularity of places like Corso 32 and Tres Carnales have really opened up the reception of Edmontonians to more authentic interpretations of ethnic, regional cuisine.
• The surge of vegetarian restaurants like Noorish, Veggie Garden (and Clever Rabbit, forthcoming in 2012) might herald the increased presence of vegetarian cuisine in Edmonton’s food scene. In Alberta though, I don’t think we’ll easily give up our meat entirely!

2. What do you see as major trends throughout Canada and or the US?

• This isn’t new in the US, but Canada will continue to see the rise of the “superchef” and restaurants propelled by television fame. “Top Chef Canada” saw its first season elevating the winner and finalists alike. And with “Eat St.” casting a spotlight on some Canadian food trucks, and Food Network Canada’s riff off of ”Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”, “You Gotta Eat Here”, debuting in January 2012, I think it will only help drive foodie tourism in our country.

3. What would your most sincere hope, wish, or desire be to see as a food trend in 2012? I’d love to see food trucks get wider recognition in Edmonton, to the point where it’s worth their while to run longer hours. And although the trend is on the out in places like New York, it’d be great if true pop-up restaurants (chefs that temporarily take over spaces that aren’t functionally restaurants), starts to happen in Edmonton in 2012.

Cathy Walsh from Walsh Cooks

I met Cathy at a Local Foodie meet up a few years ago, but had long been a fan. As a local food writer and tweeter, she is hilarious. I don’t just grin and giggle when reading her posts, I guffaw and belly laugh. This is one really funny writer who has a great knack of making the most mundane hilarious!

1. What do you see as the major food trends locally (name your locality), and regionally (your region) 2012?

• My locality is our apartment with limited storage space in Old Strathcona, a vibrant, open-minded community in the centre of Edmonton, found in Western Canada.
• For 2012 I believe, at the minimum, the trend towards awareness for eating local food will increase. Eating local has been a trend for a number of years. But eating local is expensive, and these are weird economic times.
• I love the idea of supporting our local food producers and the romantic notion that each of our meals sustains this industry. But the honest truth is, it’s expensive to eat local, and it takes meal planning and scheduling to visit a farmer’s markets or meet up with a farmer at the source.
• I’m hoping, as a compromise, to have at least one meal a week prepared at home from (at least mostly) fresh or frozen local ingredients.
• That’s how the Walsh home will trend in 2012. But I hope fellow Edmontonian’s at least stop to think about where their food comes from, and what it means to our local economy, the environment, and our health. For instance, I always feel naughty when I buy garlic at the supermarket that was grown in China. But the allure of buying something cheap and accessible after a busy workday cannot be denied, even if it is already green and sprouting into a new garlic plant, and you might be lucky to salvage at least one clove of edible garlic. Waiting for Saturday morning and elbowing my way through the happy crowds to get to local farmers and their gorgeous garlic (if they have any) and dish out, at minimum, $5.00 on a very good day, requires effort and planning. It’s frustrating too, when one farmer is selling their garlic for X dollars, and the other is selling for less at another stand, and you don’t find this out until after you called your bank and asked for a line of credit to purchase garlic, crying into the phone “But you don’t understand, this is REAL GARLIC”.

2. What do you see as major trends throughout Canada and or the US?

• Food trucks. This was introduced in a big way this past year to Edmonton with the two What the Truck events. I see this growing in popularity in Edmonton, and across the continent.

3. What would your most sincere hope, wish, or desire be to see as a food trend in 2012?

• I’m so cool with food trucks, and would love to see food-food trucks dominate more in downtown Edmonton in 2012. I love Eva Sweet Waffles and Fat Frank’s (who doesn’t)?  But when looking for lunch I would like something new, exciting and lunch-like. I would love the convenience to be able to walk to the little park across from my office building and have my choice of food like beef caldereta, coconut chicken curry, kung pao chicken, tacos, or duck confit. And of course, I want all these Trucks on Twitter, so I can check in advance and see a) where they are, and b) what the special is before I crawl out of my cubicle for the trek to find them.

4. Any other comments…

I discussed this topic with friends and family, and am pleased to share their thoughts on this topic:

• Mom says, “If a restaurant is offering a stir-fry, I really wish they wouldn’t drown it in sauce and give it more vegetables”.
• My sister says, “If your restaurant is called Boston Pizza, sell pizza. Do one thing right instead of trying to do everything”.
• My friend says, “The cupcake mania will pass in 2012.  Not really cupcakes anyways, they appear to have become copious icing delivery devices instead. People will want smaller treats like the Starbucks Whoopie Pies, convincing themselves that at only 200 calories per, they are a healthier choice.”

Teresa Spinelli owner of The Italian Centre Shops

I was so fortunate to be introduced to Teresa about twenty years ago through a mutual friend. I have had the pleasure of getting to know her over these years as she has carried on her father’s legacy in our local Italian community through her deep commitment to her Italian Centre Shops and our local community. Teresa is one of the rare women who lead from behind while placing others before her enabling them to shine. She does this within her business, her community and our city with grace and weaves this kind of service throughout each of her action packed working days.

• I think that people will continue to want to know where their food is coming from.
• People will read lables more and look for quality ingredients.
• Food will become more important in our lives.
• They will look more to simple healthy food.

Slav Heller, founder of ARSAN (definitely worth investigating: a brilliant endeavor)

I have had numerous heady conversations with Slav over e-mail through the years as a member of Slow Food and finally met him this past year when I took a fieldtrip out to the Viking, Alberta, area to visit ARSAN and understand its possibilities. Slav is a food activist like no other I have met. He walks his walk in firm strong pathways across the agricultural sector of our province. He in an inspirational speaker and a motivated doer. You will not an cannot understand even a fraction of what he has to offer you and our province unless you make the time to talk to him and visit ARSAN.

I don’t feel very competent or even much interested to comment on the food trends in the mainstream. Whatever they are, they will be faddish, coming and going. That equally applies to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, US: all more or less follow the same trend somehow shaped and fuelled by mass media. Most likely they will be looking for some new variations of foods, be this building interest in some more exotic cuisines, some new diet fads, etc. Such trends all seem to be going in circles – flavours of the month.

I think that there may be growing interest in learning about food preparation at home and that can be driven by both economics (people trying to be more frugal with harder times), health considerations and social reasons to impress friends. Yet, all these trends will be, in my opinion, quite shallow and not truly engaging people, not driven from a deeper level, just moving on the surface. The concept of what actually is a healthy food will stay in the mainstream the same (low fat, low salt, less chemicals in food, etc.).

Interest in what is called local foods should be growing but still in the mainstream local food is what the name implies: produced locally. This demand will be mostly driven by search for ever new eating experience since local foods provide more tasty/fresh ingredients. It will be seen mostly at restaurants as many chefs search for what is available locally; also, it is seems to be fashionable. That interest will continue to drive interest in local small restaurants, speciality food shops such as local, independent bakeries or delis. I believe that this trend that is mostly driven for taste in foods is very much vulnerable to any economic downturns. If the economy goes down, so may go interest and commitment to such foods represented by both consumers and restaurants.

Much more interesting is the situation with foods that represent what may be generally called food counterculture. Mass media present it as a fringe part of the total food culture that colours it rather than representing its own. Interest in all these alternative food related concepts is driven, indeed, by a relatively small part of the society. It is small enough not to affect yet the mainstream food culture, but also big enough to be visible and making gains, if one cares and wants to see the changes. My estimate, based on some research ,is that there may be up to 8% – 10% of population actively involved in this food counter culture. The level of commitment to it is spread from full (which may be a few percent) to just budding and total (to be, maybe, 25% of the population). This is the part of the food scene which interests me deeply and where I can make more informed predictions.

This part of consumers may say that they are interested in local foods but actually they are interested in what we at ARSAN call sustainable foods (see our 17 Principles of Sustainable Foods) representing the wide range of food qualities, from the soil to the food culture. The interest in particular principles (food qualities) may vary from one person to another. There can be observed a very important distinction between sustainable and local. Sustainable foods must be local but local foods don’t have to be sustainable. Yet, people will still call what interests them local foods but they will mean and search for sustainable food qualities. This interest will be visibly growing but, again, only among this part of the society that loses interest and tries to distant themselves from industrial foods offered by the mainstream. This interest may not spread to involve other people but will rather grow in depth of the interest and commitment of those who are already are somehow interested in sustainable foods as these people will keep learning.

What drives the interest in sustainable foods? Actually, there are three main and different drivers which have been described by ARSAN and by me.

• One is Taste.

That covers the wide spectrum from grand cuisine through foodism and down to just people liking good food. In my opinion this is still the strongest driver supporting growth of sustainable foods but those seeking such foods may not call them sustainable. Yet, this is what brings more people every year to farmer markets, small city shops, etc.

• The second driver is the Ethics and Ecology of food production, processing and distribution.

Those who seek foods representing such qualities may include many young and idealistic people, many of whom may be flirting with vegetarianism an veganism. In general, this driver towards sustainable foods comes with fast growing concern about environment, effects of climate change, treatment of animals, etc. However, since this group is composed of a lot of young people who don’t have much money or run households, this driver may not have a big impact on the commercial food scene. Also, with the financial squeeze, many people may sacrifice their ideals for more pragmatic needs.

These two drivers may stay, more or less the same, I don’t see any real breakthrough in either of them as there will be growing demand for local, tasty, fresh and ethical foods. However, the most interesting is the third driver pushing demand for sustainable foods. This, I think, will strongly and steadily grow.

• The third driver is Health and, more precisely, the connections and effect of food and nutrition on our health.

This will be growing because of intensified health problems across the whole demographics but particularly because ever growing concerns about health of children and young people. Among many different health concerns related to food one may also be spilling into the main stream:

• problems with consumption of grains and particularly wheat.

More people will voluntary but also following advice of doctors may try to eliminate not only gluten from their diets but even refrain from other grains as people learn more that not only gluten but also other proteins and a host of anti-nutrients may be causing their serious health problems. The connection can also be increasingly made between fast spreading diabetics and consumption of carbohydrates. It is not clear how effectively the mainstream interests will counter act to play down that connection but all carbs and particularly grains and sugars may start gaining bad reputation that was so far restricted mostly to fats and salt.
I also see that the governments will intensify their regulatory efforts applied to small food entrepreneurs and farmers to put in or enforce various restrictions on more traditional foods, such as raw milk and unpasteurized dairy products and possibly other traditional processing/ preservation techniques in the name of food safety and consumer protection against themselves. This conflict may intensify as a growing number of consumers are interested and will seek and demand such foods.

Tara Zieminek’s Top 10 Local Trends

Tara is a Slow Food member and has her finger on the pulse of what is happening in food everywhere. I have learned so much from her! We’ll close with her TOP 10!

1. Higher prices: as developing nations become more affluent and develop a taste for meat, expect food prices to soar. Not to mention that the stupid idea of using food to make biofuels will further drive up prices. Also fertilizer, oil prices, and (here, at least) labour prices will continue to drive up food prices.
2. Lessetarian-ism: eating less meat to counter (1) above and to be healthier, therefore increasing in legume consumption.
3. Quinoa. (Especially around here.)
4. Bacon (I had some amazing bacon jam the other day.) It goes in everything, from lip balm to popcorn.
5. Bad trend: Icky food additives like microcrystalline cellulose. (Personally, this grosses me out.)
6. Trend away from “organic” foods and more towards fresh/tasty foods. Sometimes organic stuff travels from much further away so it doesn’t taste as good. Also, often organic processed foods have a lot of additives (i.e. organic jam often has far more sugar than non-organic jam, and “organic” microcrystalline cellulose can be added to organic food and it still counts as organic).
7. More “biodynamic” (aka hippie) foods.
8. Gluten-free: with the rise in diagnosis of celiacs and gluten intolerance, I think most restaurants will incorporate gluten-free options if they haven’t already.
9. More fisheries collapsing due to pollution, overfishing, and changing climate will result in decreases in fish consumption due to fears of radioactive or oil-contaminated oceans. (This won’t be enough to curb the overfishing though.)
10. Farm restaurants (actually on the farm) with fresh herbs and produce! And (for Alberta) boutique meats and cheeses.

Following my Personal Reflection about Food Trends for 2012, I asked a number of my favourite Food Bloggers to provide their personal perspectives regarding food trends for 2012. This is the second post that includes responses from my favourite food bloggers. I was thrilled each took the time to respond to my request and I trust you will find their answers revealing, passionate and insightful!

Today, we have El from New England, Jamie from the South of France, Faith from New York, Simone from the Netherlands and Vianney from Texas so you can imagine how varied their responses are, yet I am sure you will also be surprise by the global similarities.

Please feel free to ask each individual questions in the comments section here, as they come to mind.

After reading these insights, please do take time to explore each of these websites; each has held my fascination for a very long time for varying reasons!

El from Fresh

I discovered El quite a few years ago through the comments section on another site. (The way many of us discover one another!) When I popped over to her site I was mesmerized! She possesses a very special and rare gift: the ability to artistically edify you through her words and photography while reading and learning about her food. While I am with her, I am somehow transposed through time and space to a different place that she has created and I find a refuge there even when I didn’t know I needed one. By following her on twitter, I came to realize that we are very like-minded in a number of ways philosophically about food. Please take some time to meander through El’s site. You will leave rejuvenated.

I’m very excited about what’s happening with food here in New England. The New England area is developing into one of the strongest regions in the country for locally produced foods and it’s wonderful to watch it unfold. Here is what I see as our top 5 trends:

• A continued and strengthened interest in locally produced foods through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), our abundant local farms and our numerous farmer’s markets. People in New England are shifting away from the mega-farm and corporate-produced food and toward local, sustainable agriculture and locally owned businesses. Because of this I suspect that there will be increased demand for farm fresh, non-GMO products and other hand made items such as bread, cheese, wine, chocolate, ice cream etc. Perhaps eating locally is one of the reasons why the six New England states are considered among the healthiest in the US.
• We will see innovation in the ways in which local food is grown and distributed. For example, Boston, Massachusetts is planning to open a major marketplace to showcase Massachusetts grown foods. Vermont is using mobile flash freezing techniques to freeze vegetables immediately after picking and make them available year round. Fisherman in our coastal states are generating new ways to bring food directly to consumers and farmers will continue to search for ways to extend the growing season and make fresh food available even during frigid winter months.
• The shift from corporate-grown to freshly grown food will be reflected in restaurant menus around the region. Simply put, we will see a schism between chefs and owners who source their menus from New England farms, who believe in sustainable agriculture, who demand humane treatment of animals and who are generally responsive to their communities and those who are not.
• There will be an increase in home gardeners. Whether it be for sheer economics, the love of learning or the desire to be self-sufficient we can expect to see more vegetable gardens, backyard chickens and the like.
• Food banks will need our help. Despite the strong local food scene, there are many people still struggling to get their basic food needs met. We’ll need to step up and donate/volunteer to help our brothers and sisters in need.

What would your most sincere hope, wish, or desire be to see as a food trend in 2012?

• My most fervent desire is that we recognize our power as citizens. If we don’t want to see our land destroyed, our jobs outsourced, our climate changed, our children exposed to pesticides and targeted for mass marketing … if we want to preserve our health, our environment and our food supply, we need not wait around for politicians to make things better. We can vote with our wallets. Every time we make a purchase we tell a corporation that what they’re doing is just fine. Companies exist for profit and they would not survive without our money. After working hard all week, each of us can ask, “What am I supporting with my hard earned dollars?” “What am I investing in?” Imagine the power of 300 million people in the United States voting with their wallets and investing in the future of the world.

Faith from An Edible Mosaic

I met Faith the same way I met El. Faith is adventurous in the kitchen! She creates the most interesting recipes. She happens to love raw cookie dough and has developed some mighty tasty looking treats with various cookie doughs that she claims are addictive, and I do believe her as I have made a couple of her savory dishes that were straightforward to make and so delicious. This is one of them (try it!). She has travelled to the Middle East often as her husband’s family hails from there and captivates me through her travel tales and the food inspired by her travels. You will find more than a few dishes you will want to create after visiting her site! I always leave it drooling.

1 & 2.  Major local food trends and food trends throughout the US?  I think three of the major factors influencing current food trends in the US are:

• the condition of the economy,
• the push toward eating local, and
• the fact that people want to eat healthier.

The coupling effect of these factors has led to trends of eating the way people did half a century ago; things like:

• gardening, home cooking, and balanced diets based on whole foods have resurfaced, and I think will continue to grow in popularity.
• The prevalence of co-ops and farmers’ markets are increasing because in addition to helping local farmers, their produce is generally cheaper than what is available at grocery stores (and incidentally, is fresher and more nutrient-rich as well).
• Beyond that, many people are starting home gardens (even on their patios and/or windowsills!) or small, cooperative “community” gardens, which is leading to things like canning and preserving, which was common practice 50 years ago.

All of these constituents result in people cooking and preparing meals at home more frequently, which not only saves money, but is generally healthier than eating out (especially when we consider fast food!).  I think we’ve come full circle.

3.  Food trend hopes and wishes?

I love how people have started cooking more meals from scratch at home, and I hope this trend continues to grow.  Additionally, I would love to see more independent grocery stores and restaurants with a focus on local sourcing emerge.

Jamie from Life’s A Feast

Jamie may not remember me, but I was a regular on her site in “the early days” of blogging. And she and I would exchange reads now and then. I rediscovered her just over a year ago and became captivated by her writing. She is a master story teller. The meaning she works into the dish she is presenting to her readers is much more than meaty! Her words weave wonder as she lets you into a corner of her life. I can almost catch a whiff of the aroma through that window! Grab a hot cup of coffee and share your morning with Jamie’s latest post. It is a very gratifying and motivating way to start my day!

1. The major food trends both locally and regionally focus on seasonal, local, fresh ingredients:

• more and more chefs, even those with restaurants in the city, have their own potager or kitchen garden. Alongside their creative, unique dishes, they are now offering more traditional, familiar dishes based on regional home cooking.
• Things change very slowly overall here as food is steeped in traditions, but we see a move towards local and regional pride in the food being served. There is also a move towards the organic, especially in wines produced in the area (Muscadet, Anjou, Saumur).
• The big trend of 2011 was Japanese – Japanese and Sushi restaurants spread across Nantes like wildfire – and this works well with our own cuisine which is based on fresh fish and seafood, some of which is traditionally eaten raw. What was added, and seems to be a continuing trend for 2012, is a wider, more directly Japanese-influenced way of preparing and serving the fish and seafood as well as the addition of the new, Japanese fruits and vegetables and condiments.

I kept seeing a little green frog commenting on people’s posts when the rest of us where just head shots or silly images. I love frogs so I had to take a peek at this little frog’s site. Did I ever hit the big time when I found Simone! The photography was so professional! I later found out she is a professional photographer. Whew. That took some pressure off, but not too much. Simone travels, cooks, and attends cooking classes (I still have her list); visiting her site I do learn a considerable amount. I like that. And, she always answers your questions! And she reads my posts, too. All these gals do, which makes the exchange mutually beneficial and binding. You must visit Simone to see what her latest undertaking is. She is never constant, always changing and that is half the fun of visiting. Whenever I visit, I never know what I will find but I always know it will be a delight!

What do you see as the major food trends locally (name your locality), and regionally (your region) 2012 ? I’m based in the Netherlands and I think the food trends here are going to be interesting to watch over the coming period. On the one hand there is a strong tendency towards going more to local grown biological environmental and animal friendly produce but on the other hand, the crisis is hitting us hard, so there will need to be a balance between cost and sustainability. It also depends strongly on the area you live in here. For example, even within our small country there is a huge difference between Amsterdam and Almere, where I live. Our veggiestore could not survive as no one wants to spend the extra dime so it’s only supermarkets here. That frustrates me enormously. On the other hand you go to a town like Haarlem and there are tons of little independent stores where you can buy beautiful produce. In a way, it is hard to predict what the future will bring but I do think (and hope) that the trend will be to go local and seasonal.

2. What do you see as major trends throughout Canada and or the US and or Holland? I am not sure if it is any different then what I described above to be honest. There will always be a big diversity between the people that really care and the ones that just care that they have something to eat. No matter how it is grown, raised or produced.

• I do think the financial crisis will be a big factor in this as it will limit budgets.
  
• On the other hand, looking at my own situation; Tom has lost his job and is now unemployed so as of the 1st of January, our budget will be pretty much limited. Instead of resorting to the supermarket we have subscribed to a sort of local veggie box. We get a crate full of wonderful produce (incl. some meat, fish and/or other things) for 37 euro a week. It should feed us easily for the week, with maybe a little extra from the stores, but in a way it makes much more sense then going to the supermarket and overpaying for bad product. I hope we can keep that up as it would save us a lot of money and feed us in a better way.
  
• I do think that once people realize there are alternatives it might be happening more and more. Or it could just be wishful thinking.

3. What would your most sincere hope, wish, or desire be to see as a food trend in 2012? There are more and more people becoming aware of the importance of good food. And not only good food in the sense that it should sustain our bodies but also food that is produced in a good way, seasonally bought and used and locally grown. In an ideal world for me we would go back more to the basics of good food and have little farms being able to survive instead of being sucked up into the big commercial world losing their own identity in the process. On my Dutch blog/magazine I try and feature such little producers as often as I can to give them some extra attention and maybe more customers in the end, meaning they will be able to survive.

I do think it will be interesting to watch what will happen in the coming years so am looking forward to your article Valerie!

My business website is www.freshfoodphotos.com

Vianney from Sweet Life Bakes

Vianney is of Mexican heritage living in Texas. She shares authentic Mexican recipes and is a compelling read if you like Mexican food. It just so happens that I adore Mexican food and she is definitely my go-to girl for that! (Well, she and Rick Bayless, but he is often busy! ) I have learned about ingredients I have never heard of and learned how to use ingredients I have heard of but never knew how to use on her site. She is passionate about her food and if you are interested in this cuisine, Vianney is the gal for you!

1. What do you see as the major food trends locally (name your locality), and regionally (your region) 2012? Locally, in Texas, I see major food trends as that of:

• promoting, supporting, and educating people about local produce, meats and specialty foods.
  

We Texans are now producing our own wine and cheese.