“I am absolutely tired of the media-driven trends. If we allow the media to keep fueling these new hypes, we will be eating smoked bark with rabbit droppings by the end of the year, and I for one have no desire for it.”
— Mickey Bakst, GM, Charleston Grill
“I’m hoping to see a continued expansion into ethnic dining diversity and especially have my fingers crossed for an extra delicious, intimate, French restaurant.“
— Holly Herrick, cookbook author/food writer
“Look for more permutations of fermentation, from handcrafted soy sauce to sour beer, kimchi to kombucha.”
— Marion Sullivan, Charleston food editor
“Authenticity is in. Ego and marketing are out.”
— Jeff Allen, Charleston food critic
“Pork belly has jumped the shark. And, as much as I love crème brûlée, I see it on the wane, due to the weird combinations imposed on the classic—passion fruit and chocolate, raspberries sogging up the caramel crust, and such.”
— Nathalie Dupree, cookbook author
“Pork will be a mainstay but a lot of menus are trending towards vegetables and seafood.”
— Steve Palmer, managing partner, Indigo Road Restaurant Group
“One trend that’s come and gone is food trucks. For awhile it seemed like there was a new truck every other week! But the food truck population dwindled pretty quickly.“
— Ashley Zink, Marketing & Communications manager, Charleston Wine + Food Festival
“2014 is all about local fruit and veg—everything from the swingle citrumelo to garnet mustard frills.“
— Sara Clow, GM, GrowFood Carolina
