Marcia Pelchat is a sensory psychologist specializing in food and beverage selection (USA) said:”Women are genetically predisposed to prefer sweeter tastes, with greater sensitivity to bitterness. As a result, cocktails and alcoholic drinks aimed at women tend to be sweet — as an attempt to mask the burn — and colorful (because, you know, pink will make anything more palatable). Drinks for men, on the other hand, tend to let the bitterness take the fore: “Men who drink hoppy drinks don’t just not notice the bitter taste, they actually like it.”

Most radical development have been spotted in Italy. Last week the Italian government moved to ban some of the chemicals and techniques used in molecular gastronomy from Italian kitchens. In a nation where a huge number of voters are involved in agriculture and all are cheerfully obsessed by their regional cuisines, high-profile legislation against foreign culinary influence will be a sure vote winner, so such moves probably shouldn’t surprise us. But does the move by the Italian government mark the end of an era?

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

The rooms even have dessert-inspired themes, including the Sticky Toffee Room, the Chocolate Suite and the Oriental Ginger Syrup Sponge Room. Yum. There are rules though, including you may eat only one pudding at a time. Thankfully, the number of puddings you try in one night is not limited!

Want to indulge your sweet tooth a little further? Head to www.puddingclub.com.

IN NEW YORK

Black garlic. Pitch-black cloves add a touch of the dark side to the sheep’s milk ricotta, fava beans and truffle oil crostini at the Smoke Jazz and Supper Club in Harlem. The garlic turns black courtesy of a fermentation process, is soft inside – and doesn’t have the unfortunate effect on one’s breath as traditional garlic! The darker variety has long been used in Asian cooking, despite the recent US buzz.

Black trumpet mushrooms. The inky-coloured fungi have been added to the lobster and sweetcorn bisque at the Oak Room at New York’s Plaza Hotel. Similar to chanterelles, the mushrooms come from specialty food purveyors.

Black walnuts.The Klee Brasserie in the Big Apple dresses its Muscovy duck paté with black walnuts. The darker nuts – said to be more nutty and mild than the usual ones – are also used in a walnut cake, with a cream cheese ganache.

Black chickpeas. These Italian legumes “pretty up” a double-cut, Colorado-grilled lamb chop dish at Delmonico’s Restaurant in lower Manhattan. Smaller than regular chickpeas, the black chickpeas have a slightly different taste, but are mostly about presentation.

AT HOME

Black garlic is also proving a hot ingredient in Oz, going on sale locally here in August last year. Movida Bar De Tapas in Melbourne has used the dark ingredient in a dish with charcoaled Berkshire pork fillet.

Black trumpet mushrooms have also been spied on the menu at the Sails on the Bay restaurant in the Melbourne suburb of Elwood – used in a sauté with a roast loin of lamb dish.

Healthy eating is the world’s fastest growing food market trend, according to surveys around the world.  A global survey by ACNielsen in 2008 examined product categories across 66 countries and identified a number of drivers behind the healthy eating trend.

Eating “better for you” foods rather than dieting appears to be the trend for people fighting the battle of the bulge.

While dieting for both women and men remain huge markets, they are not growing markets. Instead, as interest in food and the culinary arts grows, consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about the food they eat.

Even with concerns about the economic downturn, eating healthy ranks top-of-mind with consumers. According to a recent NPD Fast Check Survey on economic conditions, adults who identify themselves as financially worse off compared to last year, said that eating healthy still had the greatest impact on their household food and beverage choices. Saving money ranked a close second.

With healthy food and saving money customers’ top two priorities, restaurants can expect to face tough times in the coming months. A recent Food Marketing Institute study in the US found that 91% of consumers believe they eat healthier food at home than when dining out. As the average restaurant meal is approximately 2.5 times more expensive than home-cooked meals, it is imperative that the restaurant industry improves consumers’ perception of the healthy food content of their meals or risk losing customers.

Karl Faux is head of the consulting division at Perth based HospitalityBiz management consulting and executive recruitment firm. “Australia has established itself as a most likely frontrunner in new and healthy eating trends and we should make use of that reputation and trend,”  he said in 2007.New food ideas are coming on the market almost daily. The words ‘nutritious’ and ‘healthy meals for the entire family’ become ingredients for great dining experiences. And with the babyboomers trying to avoid aging while younger generations have new demands for lighter, fresher tastes, changes in lifestyle and eating habits should be reflected in changes to our menus.

BISTRO interviewed two restaurants to see the effect of healthy eating trends on restaurants and bistros in Australia. The places BISTRO reviewed feature salads, vegetables, seafood, and gluten-free dishes.

The Imperial Hotel in Melbourne is located a stone’s throw from the historic Parliament House in the heart of the theatre precinct at the ‘Paris end’ of  the CBD. It attracts corporate business clientele, the pre- and post-theatre crowd and tourists. Its big screens also attract sporting enthusiasts.

Senior Duty Manager Mark Smith told BISTRO the area dictates the Imperial’s menu. “There is a high demand for helthier dishes, gluten-free and vegetarian eating in the area and we wanted to be able to provide meals for everybody’s dietary and special needs.” He pointed out that customers are getting savvy – doing their research by ringing up or Googling various places to find out which restaurants serves the food they like and cater for their dietary needs before going out.

The chef and the owner of Assaggio Restaurant, 2008  Restaurant & Catering South Australia Winner, Best Italian Restaurant, made his choice before it was trendy.

“I’ve been cooking as a chef for 26 years and three years ago I made a choice to really help customers in their need for these special menus,” Camillo Crugnale said. Assaggio Restaurant at Hyde Park, Adelaide, provides for coeliacs as well as those wanting to reduce their wheat intake. “Our products are formulated from selected vegetables and naturally gluten-free ingredients. Variety is the spice of life, and our collection of dishes gives you plenty of that!

“When you have a medical problem it is easy to think you are the only person in the world suffering. Many restaurants have only one or two choices of both gluten-free and vegetarian options. So, to enjoy a night out and share that special occasion with family and friends you get disappointed when you get a bowl of vegetables, maybe a mushroom dish or that simple salad for dinner,” he said.

“Dining out is about experience and also about sharing a meal with your friends and family. So having different options on the menu is not about keeping this one customer – it is about all the family and a group of friends dining together.” Mark Smith from the Imperial agrees. “It’s not just the gluten-free or vegetarian customer who comes in to eat in our restaurant, it’s their friends and family they bring with them because we have something on the menu for everybody.”

Choosing a vegetarian dish doesn’t necessarily mean the customers are vegetarians. There could be other reasons – wanting something lighter, or simply that it’s too hot to eat red meat. “Probably one in every five dishes on our menu would be a vegetarian meal. We get a lot of requests for our roasted vegetarian risotto and our Mediterranean vegetable pizza,”  Mark said.

Camillo gave us some insight of the effect of healthy food on profit margins.

“We all need to keep a eye on meat dishes. The hardest bit is to keep the produce cost to 25-30% of the retail price. A lot of time the produce will contribute as much as 35-40% of the cost of a meat dish.

On other the hand vegetarian dishes are much more manageable: only 21-23% of the retail price is a cost of produce.”

What about seafood? It is a known ‘light’ alternative on the menu and has clear health benefits. Seafood is the second fastest growing global food category, with over 12% growth each year. Almost every dining place now offers seafood dishes.

Camillo said the seafood industry in South Australia has some of the finest produce in the world.  His problem is that restaurants and fishmongers from the eastern states buy much of the first grade fish, shellfish and crustaceans before they go to market. “Often the best produce bypasses the markets as fishermen go for a greater dollar, because restaurants and shops over there have the customers that will pay $38-45 for a simple salad and fillet of garfish dish, in a restaurant looking over the water. In South Australia customers expect to get value for money. We’re trying on a day-to-day basis to give them the very best and be more creative than fish and chips.”

There is a global trend to ‘ban’ trans fats being industrially produced. The fact of the matter is that trans fats occur naturally in foods such as meat and dairy. It is not possible to ‘ban’ these fats from the landscape. Most health experts believe that a more sensible goal is to aim to ‘restrict’ or ‘minimise’ these fats in our diet. A ban on the use of industrial produced trans fatty acids is a more realistic goal.

‘Bans’ or restrictions are already in place overseas. In the United States, for example, a ban on trans fats was placed on New York restaurants last year. Boston and Chicago are considering similar moves, while California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had it signed into law this month. In a press release, Schwarzenegger declared the US state of California ‘free of trans fatty acids.’

The European Union is also on the move with similar plans.

As early as 2004, Denmark ‘banned’ trans fats. This, in reality, was a limit of two per cent imposed on imported foods and foods manufactured in Denmark.

Here in Australia, there is a trend to do likewise with state politicians and local councils leading the charge.

Sydney’s Kogarah Council has moved to ban the use of synthetic trans fatty acids (trans fats) in new food outlets. Greens MP John Kaye is one such State politician who believes it is now time to act. Mr Kaye said: “Trans fatty acids are unnecessary, they carry no additional nutritional value and they could easily be eradicated. The cost of eradication is relatively low, the benefit is in saving lives.”

The Greens have introduced a bill to NSW’s Upper House which would require the labelling of all food products in which trans fats are present. The Food Amendment (Trans Fatty Acids Eradication) Bill 2008 also calls for a 12 month transition to a statewide ban, and Mr Kaye is urging the Government and other MPs to support the bill.

Imposing such restrictions appears to be problematic in enforcement.

Anne-Marie Mackintosh, Nutrient Standard and Regulatory Affairs Manager of The National Heart Foundation has her concerns. “The Problem with ‘banning’ or restricting trans fats is an auditing problem – to prove trans fat content food needs to be analysed -you just  can’t tell from taste and smell. Like all laboratory procedures it is a costly process. So widespread enforcement is not only costly but is complicated in a whole range of logistical ways.”

In many overseas countries, it is mandatory to declare trans fats. Declarations have been in place in the USA, Canada and Korea for some time. Currently, in Australia, it is not mandatory to declare trans fats. While organisations like The National Heart Foundation lobby Government to ‘get with the program’ it seems to be slow-going.

The National Heart Foundation has been a strong advocate in this arena and its  successful Tick for Health program requires participating manufacturers to declare trans fats in packaging.

Oils such as Crisco, Tuscan Blend and Sunoil have all earned The National Heart Foundation Tick of Approval. A Tick approved food means it is a healthier choice when compared to similar foods. The Tick must be earned by proving it is a genuinely healthier choice. Only once the food company has met all The Heart Foundation’s strict nutrition standards, does it qualify for the Tick. Regular auditing ensures Tick standards are being maintained.

However, the Food Standards Code of Australia has ‘triggers’ that go in part to having a transparent declaration system. Any claims of nutrition content on packaging must also declare trans fat content.

According to Marie Mackintosh, while hysteria and publicity surrounding the trans fat debate is a good thing in raising awareness, it also takes away from the spotlight health issues relating to consumption of other unhealthy oils. “It is great that we have a higher level of awareness of the dangers of trans fats,” she said. “And it seems Governments around the world are shifting to a positive position in the eradication of manufactured trans fats. Let’s not forget the health issues relating to consumption of other unhealthy oils such as saturated fats in this country.”

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Entrepreneur James Nash has come up with an inventive idea to help make reaching for that glass of vino more convenient.

Nash came up with a line of single-serving cups of wine when he identified the trouble people face when they want to enjoy a glass of wine but have to buy a bottle, and have a wine key readily available to do so. His M&S Le Froglet line of wine in plastic cups for British supermarket Marks & Spencer with peel-off lids was the perfect solution to this problem.

It was slow going for Nash when he first introduced his product, as most people were pessimistic shoppers would be open to the idea.

It seems the tide has turned for the inventor, as stores are seeing excitement, anticipation and curiosity for his featured French Shiraz, Rose and Chardonnay. Wineries who have picked up Nash’s product commented on its potential success saying, “Judging by the buzz in the shop I suspect that these may well be a hit, they look so off the wall that curiosity will force a purchase and then good old bourgeois convenience will take over. This is a new idea, and what it does have is the ability to do is to give the consumer a realistic portion and a more manageable drinking quantity which saves you spoiling a whole bottle for a glass.”

Having never seen anything quite like this, we think it may be a trend that spreads. In a world of convenience, wine lovers may be ditching the corkscrew and peeling back their plastic lids instead. But whether it can win over proud wine snobs, who consider breaking open a bottle of Bordeaux superior to pulling the tab back on a can of beer, remains to be seen.

Tell us what you think about single-serve wine by the cup: does it take some of the integrity out of a fine bottle of wine, or is it just a smart idea for consumer’s fast-paced, ‘results now’ society?