What is in this article?:
- Fall menu preview: Four trends, a fad and a prediction
- Preservation in many forms
- Sweet, spiked dessert drinks
- Creative cuts of meat
- Fall fad: Drinking vinegars
- Fall prediction: Starter drinks
NRN's senior food editor explores what's coming for food and beverage this fall, from hyper-local sourcing to "starter drinks."
Autumn traditionally is a time of heartier appetites, more robust drinks and an appreciation of root vegetables and rich meat dishes. We’ll see more of that this fall as restaurateurs seek to balance consumers’ desire for new and exciting dishes with their simultaneous need for foods that are comforting and familiar.
In the coming season, chefs will be showing off their skills as preservation artists as well as their rapport with local farmers. They’ll also be playing to Millennials’ collective sweet tooth and getting creative with different cuts of meat.
Here's a look at those four food and beverage trends, as well as one unusual fad and a prediction for a new amenity that could begin showing up at cocktail bars:
Local sourcing taken to a new level
Many restaurants may already buy fruits and vegetables from local farms or grow herbs on your roof. Maybe they even have their own herd of cattle. But that's just not enough to get anyone’s attention anymore.
This summer, Boston-based chef and restaurateur Todd English announced he had his own oyster farm — something NRN predicted at the end of last year.
And now, The Brown Palace Hotel & Spa in downtown Denver isn’t just managing a colony of bees on its roof; it has found a variety of ways to integrate the honey into its operations. The operation has commissioned a craft beer, BP Rooftop Honey Saison, in collaboration with Wynkoop Brewing Company, located just a mile away on the other side of Downtown Denver.
The Brown Palace Hotel & Spa has also made a barrel-aged honey-infused bourbon in collaboration with Breckenridge Distillery, located about 80 miles away in Breckenridge, Colo. The bourbon made its debut in July and is being used in various cocktails at the hotel, as is the honey itself.
The honey also is being served at the Brown Palace’s afternoon high tea, both to sweeten beverages and as an ingredient in honey buttermilk scones. It also is used in the spa’s honey-lavender soap and lip balm, and in an array of spa treatments.
Restaurants and hotels are proud of their local sourcing efforts and connections to their community, and this fall, they will find more new and creative ways to prove it.
