Menus Go Mediterranean

Mintel Menu Insights, which tracks US restaurant menus, (a division of Mintel, a leading market research company), forecasted that in 2009, “restaurants would include more Mediterranean -- encompassing the flavors of Spain, Italy, Greece and the Middle East.”

Though Mediterranean food is already relatively popular in the US, 2009 is expected to take the food trend to another level, bringing more authentic Mediterranean dishes and telling the story by creating a connection with the specific country of origin.

The Mediterranean can be divided into three culinary regions: North African (especially Morocco), Eastern Mediterranean (Egypt, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey), and Southern European (Italy, France, Spain). Wine and herbs are central to Southern European cuisine, while spices flavor North African foods. The flavors tend to be robust and clear, unfettered by heavy dollops of cream and butter.

With the recent popularity of the “Mediterranean Diet”, food from this region of the world is seen as healthy and natural--with an abundance of fruits and vegetables, olive oil and fish, making them low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fat and dietary fiber. Red wine is also consumed regularly but in moderate quantities. And because the region uses their sheep and goats to supply dairy for their rich yogurts and cheeses, and the land cannot support large herds for beef, red meats are rare in Mediterranean cuisine.

The Mediterranean climate supports the growth of vegetables that can also be grown easily in many places across the U.S.--which means that they can be grown locally, sustainably and inexpensively. And since home cooking is preferred, it means the best recipes are easy to recreate with basic tools, so kitchens won’t have to stock unusual or complicated gadgetry – All good news for restaurateurs.