Despite the prevalence of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean foods all over the National Restaurant Association’s 2014 NRA show at Chicago’s McCormick Place, May 17-20, gluten-free foods maintained a widespread presence, confirming their incredible growth in the bakery and snack food markets.
Today’s consumers are more interested than ever before in what they eat and where their food comes from, and that is reflected in our menu trends research. “True trends, as opposed to temporary fads, show the evolution of the wider shifts of our modern society over time, and focus on the provenance of various food and beverage items, unique aspects of how they are prepared and presented, as well as the dietary profiles of those meals,” says Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the NRA’s research and knowledge group.