Food

Experiments in social dining have taken off in Chicago and San Fran and as a result, NYC dining club – Grubwithus, a site connecting people through communal feasts – just launched. Created by two friends who wanted to ease the post collegiate friend-making process, its mission is to meet new people, build friendships over food at your favorite restaurants, and never eat alone.

Hotels will need to ratchet up offerings that entertain, educate and transform for special interest groups. Some of the more original offerings include The Dorchester’s Niemierko Wedding Academy for those aspiring to a career in wedding planning. Because the décor by famed designer Dorothy Draper is so much a part of The Greenbrier’s identity, those keen on interior design can enroll in its new Dorothy Draper School of Decorating. We’ve created a Mommy Bloggers Camp at Mexican client Velas Vallarta, a mini-conference/ getaway for professional and aspiring parent bloggers to learn and get professional blogging tips and advice from expert speakers.

While many consumers may not be economic risk takers at the moment, they are more open to novel and global flavors incorporated into comfort foods. Menu trends reflect new twists on the familiar, bought about in part by the rising popularity of experimental pop-up eateries and food trucks.

Entomophagy (the consumption of insects as food) seems to be getting past its disgusting status a la TV’s “Fear Factor” and is becoming chic. According to article “Grub” in The New Yorker, insects were among America’s gourmet foods of the 1940’s thanks to prestigious foods distributor, Reese Finer Foods, which featured French fried Venezuelan ants and baby bees from Japan.

It’s a very effective strategic alliance, offering serious benefits for both partners: it’s become Berlin’s latest hotspot and an ideal outpost to launch Moët’s newest product, reaching out and connecting with Moët’s ideal demographic, and creates a buzz around Hotel Adlon. This is a great example of a strategic alliance for complementary product lines.

Like the U.S. economy in general, magazine has been slow to pick up steam. With this in mind, brands /magazines are looking for new partnerships as a means to drive new revenue streams and create new user experience for their consumers/readers.

As we described in our most recent newsletter, Nostalgia Marketing is driving trends in 2011, and nowhere is this more evident than in the nostalgic sweets trend that’s popping up in hotels. Fun desserts, the kind that kids love, are making a big comeback, grabbing the spotlight from the usual chocolates on the pillow, fruit plates and cookies at the front desk.

Another variation on culinary tourism, a segment which continues to grow, seems to me to be eclipsing duty free….the busiest shop at Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport was the one selling Turkish food products: from preserves, honeys, teas and coffee, to sweets and olive oil.

Tried a bustaurant yet? Full gourmet restaurants on a bus are hot destinations for niche dining. A Latin burger and taco truck finished among Miami’s top-38 restaurants on a recent Eater.com list of the best spots in a food-crazed town. Grilled cheese, ribs, cupcakes and dim sum are among the gourmet comfort eats heating up these buses and trucks. Even restaurant chains are getting in on the act. Subway, Sizzler and Johnny Rockets set mobile units rolling. Hotels known for haute cuisine are also jumping aboard. The Setai in South Beach launched the first gourmet hotel Beach Trailer, serving signature Setai ceviche and Wagyu, alongside hot dogs, salmon burgers and sushi, all washed down with specialty drinks, wine or champagne. Fans of food trucks can easily find their prey via live tracking tools, such as RoadStoves and LA Street Food. Mobile apps Mobile Cravings and Mobi Munch use GPS for real time updates and location news feeds. Technology propels the food truck movement forward and creates more mobile cuisine opportunities for chefs, restaurateurs and foodies.

In terms of the economy, we’re all waiting for the other shoe to drop. Whether they’ve been actually battered or it’s merely self-inflicted, the affluent are weary. Such uncertain times mean at least temporary comfort can be found in looking back to fond memories of happy days-gone-by. Not only will “nostalgia marketing” drive trends in 2011, but for years to come until the deep effects of global recession subside.