Luxury Travel & Lifestyle Trends

One of the hottest cultural travel segments, culinary tourism, is seriously in vogue. Previously regarded as an elite/special interest product in parts of Europe, wine and culinary tourism is going more mainstream and cashing in on the growing consumer trend of appreciating regional wine and food travel experiences.

A Food Court boom is upon us, and they’re going upscale, with some of the prestigious names getting in on the act. These initiatives, much like the retail shopping bazaar, help with bring in added income and boosts both room rates and occupancy. We think the appeal of food court dining is that it’s a product of the small plates and grazing trend - trying different foods at one seating – plus, it’s casual.

Restaurant and food pop-ups are flourishing in every shape and size. Intimacy and hipness is the attraction: the ‘I-know-something-or-somebody-you-don’t-know’ feeling. We’ve seen numerous examples of pop-up restaurants in recent years, including those with strictly three-month seasonal menus. Others use guerrilla gourmet dining clubs: strictly word-of-mouth, unlicensed, underground restaurants in unmarked buildings, blind alleys and urban caverns.

We used to go to culinary school. Now we want to make the cheese, not just watch the process on TV. Farms schools are the next big thing in foodie vacations, burgeoning from the current farm-to-table trend.

Like all serious eaters, we all love the idea of the Slow Food movement and what it stands for, namely supporting sustainable, artisanal food.

Everywhere we go these days, all we see is burgers. Big juicy burgers graced the covers of this month’s Saveur and Food & Wine at the local grocery checkout; mini burgers and fries are all the rage on wedding menus; and sliders of all varieties are hot menu items in all sectors.