The National Restaurant Association put these and other questions together when it teamed up with the American Culinary Foundation (ACF) to survey more than 1,200 ACF members.
The resulting “What’s Hot & What’s Not Chef Survey” then ranked 194 food items according to whether chefs ranked them as “hot,” “passé” or a “perennial favorite.” Among the items voted “hot” by more than 50 percent of chefs …
- Ethnic fusion cuisine: ranked 11 overall; ranked as “hot” by 64 percent of chefs
- Asian entrée salads: ranked 15 overall; ranked as “hot” by 62 percent
- Asian appetizers: ranked 17 overall; ranked as “hot” by 62 percent
- Latin American cuisine: ranked 21 overall; ranked as “hot” by 59 percent
- Mediterranean cuisine: ranked 25 overall; ranked as “hot” by 58 percent
- Thai cuisine: ranked 34 overall; ranked as “hot” by 56 percent
- Pan-Asian cuisine: ranked 35 overall; ranked as “hot” by 55 percent
- Cuban cuisine: ranked 42 overall; ranked as “hot” by 52 percent
- Spanish cuisine: ranked 44 overall; ranked as “hot” by 52 percent
- Caribbean cuisine: ranked 45 overall; ranked as “hot” by 52 percent
