Top food trends of 2012

Sue de Groot predicts what will appear on trendy tables in 2012

Food forecasts may seem frivolous when compared with financial crises, but look closer and you'll see connections. Dion Chang of Flux Trends says: "2011 saw the emergence of the artisan eaters who are interested in consuming local, hand-made products bought at small-scale urban markets. The micro-brewed ales and home-made preserves that adorn these market stalls are reflective of a sense of global nostalgia for idyllic rural life: a desire to cultivate, through the purchasing and eating experience, an intimacy with food suppliers and a greater sense of community."

Or maybe they just taste better. Either way, whether due to nostalgia or anti-globalisation, this year there are bound to be more independent butchers, bakers and ginger-beer makers who couldn't make it as bankers.

Chang also highlights the move to "ethical" eating, a consequence of environmental concerns that have seeped into everyone's consciousness. While the "organic" debate continues to rage (what does the word really mean?), our attempt to reduce carbon emissions by cooking spinach not imported from Bolivia is starting to be reflected on retail shelves. This year we hope the same ethos extends to packaging and that we'll be able to buy loose vegetables everywhere instead of those mummified in plastic and polystyrene.

Some trends are universal. The Telegraph in London lists thrift as its number-one food prediction for the UK. While it seems insulting to the poverty-stricken to call frugality a fashion, even wealthy South Africans are shying away from conspicuous consumption, and clever restaurateurs are tailoring their menus to suit.

Other trends seem to come from nowhere. Scotch eggs, for instance. In the US, influential foodsite Chow.com released its list of 2012 trends, and these deep-fried aberrations come in at number four. There are arcane clubs dedicated to finding the perfect Scotch egg, and it must be said they're better-tasting than they looked when noshed by Keith the portly sex pest in British sitcom The Office. See our recipe on page nine. Here are other things we might see this year.

OUT: TASTING MENUS

The quest for thrift and simplicity should signal the demise of overpriced abstractions made of pomegranate arils and truffle oil, but this might be wishful thinking - Eat Out's annual pick of the country's top 10 restaurants is once again a predictably Cape-centric list of rarefied establishments everyone is too afraid to criticise. When will we see the end of tennis balls garnished with saliva and praised by critics who think the emperor dresses marvellously? Even the erstwhile king of experimental gastronomy has forsaken finicky foams for fried eggs in his new book, The Family Meal: Home Cooking with Ferran Adrià (Phaidon, R350). This year, may so-called molecular cuisine choke on its own froth.

IN: FAMILY-FRIENDLY FINE FOOD

Where previously you'd have to dress up and hold your knife properly if you wanted the best ingredients and service, there is a growing demand for classy food in casual surroundings. Some gourmands have kids, and they don't always want to hire babysitters or endure franchise food in jumping castles when dining out en famille. Chef and father Reuben Riffel agrees that parents want more options. "They want to have a great meal at a restaurant where their kids also have good, healthy options," he says.Which explains why child-friendly places with varied, thoughtful menus and artisanal ingredients, such as Massimo's in Hout Bay, are doing so well.

OUT: SUSHI BARS

The chi-chi set used to scrum over plates of rice and raw fish revolving on conveyor belts, but as sushi moves onto mainstream menus (even some steakhouses offer it), these dedicated domains have lost popularity. The Kenny Kunene sushi counter is unlikely to become a trend. Meanwhile, the Peruvian citrus-cured fish dish called ceviche (pronounced like Chevy Chase without the s) is weighing in against sashimi on the fashion scales.

IN: SHISA NYAMA

Calling shisa nyama a trend is a bit like calling the rugby braai a fashion, but this communal way of burning meat has spread from the townships into the suburbs, and now there are even franchises.

Riffel thinks it's wonderful. "The public is finally catching on that we have something to offer other than watered-down, European-styled restaurants," he says. "They seem to like the coolness of it, and it's great to be able to show overseas friends something that's unique to our country. I think we will see a lot more similar restaurants. It's not so much just the braai, township food or traditional food, but the atmosphere, the vibe. People are tired of sitting down to a quiet meal, they want something more. Good food, good atmosphere, less stuck-up, some entertainment. The Afrikaans word is samesyn (a spirit of togetherness)."

OUT: CHEDDAR

Okay, it's not out, but as cheese eaters become more adventurous and discerning, it is no longer the big cheese. Brian Dick of Cheese Gourmet in Linden, which stocks a staggering variety of locally produced cheeses, says that in 2011 cheddar sales were overtaken by gouda (in particular Jongbelegen gouda from Cullinan). The market for cheese grows apace with the middle class, and gouda, he says, is a creamier, milder cheese more likely to appeal to the whole family.

IN: GOAT

"The biggest growth area in the local dairy industry is in goats' milk," says Dick. "Goats' cheese is very fashionable in restaurants. The most popular are the softer chevin cheeses that don't taste strongly of goat. People are tired of run-of-the-mill processed cheese."

If we love the milk, why not the meat? Goatburgers would solve a whole lot of environmental problems.

OUT: PANNA COTTA

Enough already. Yes, Italian cooked cream is delicious, but it has turned into a lazy default dessert that not even the brief craze for macaroons could shift. We'd like to try other things sometimes, please.

IN: RICE PUDDING

Lately, perhaps aligned to a recession-battered need for comfort, rice pudding has been popping up in all sorts of places. We predict more old-fashioned desserts in upmarket restaurants: proper crème brûlée made the traditional way in a shallow bowl (with a crust that doesn't require an ice pick), custard, sponge cake, sago, pumpkin fritters and lemon curd.

Other growing trends include home vegetable cultivation (in an ideal universe this would be a compulsory subject in schools) and amateur beekeeping, made ultra-cool by Zakes Mda. Hand-made charcuterie, chocolate and anything pickled are in ever greater demand. Peas are huge.

Frugality does not extend to drinking trends. This year the good host is likely to choose craft beers, boutique wines and premium spirits like Grey Goose vodka. The same goes for coffee: the famous Starbucks brand can now be found at Checkers.

Sous vide, tipped by Heston Blumenthal as the next big thing, has failed to catch on, possibly because we've realised that it's just another name for boiling. Foodists may be suggestible, but they're not stupid.