1. SEAFOOD CHARCUTERIE CAROLYN JOHNSON CHEF, 80 THOREAU: Chicken liver pate and pork rillettes are so 2011. Johnson foresees a rise in seafood charcuterie. At 80 Thoreau, she says, “we’ve done some different fish rillettes, smoked bluefish pate, various cured items - what everyone’s been doing with pork for a few years.’’ Chef Will Gilson’s North Truro pop-up, Eat at Adrian’s, featured a fish charcuterie platter this past summer. At Bay Village Italian restaurant Erbaluce, chef Chuck Draghi serves dishes such as tuna pate, a take on lox featuring Italian flavors, and lobster coral and scallop terrine. It doesn’t stop with seafood - at Bergamot in Somerville, chef Keith Pooler has created vegetable charcuterie. Think potato chicharron, beet mousse, and a head cheese-style terrine incorporating butternut squash, chanterelles, and more. Are chefs and diners tiring of pork-heavy menus? Whatever the reason, one thing is clear: Going forward, “charcuterie’’ doesn’t automatically mean meat.
8 hot restaurant trends for 2012 from Boston-area chefs
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2. COLLABORATION BETWEEN KITCHEN AND BAR TODD MAUL BAR MANAGER, CLIO: In the future, there will be no separation of kitchen and bar. Each will inspire the other. Maul sees bars utilizing more techniques and principles found in kitchens. “Bars are finally catching up with molecular gastronomy,’’ he says. For instance, he uses a rotary evaporator - a lab tool that has found favor with experimental chefs - to create an aromatic essence that can be dropped into vodka to make “gin.’’ “We are using real culinary techniques to real effect on drinks. A centrifuge spinning out lemon and lime juice makes drinks brighter. It’s a very different mouth feel. We take sediment from citrus and make citrus paint, to dress glasses the same way the kitchen dresses plates.’’ The influence goes in the other direction, too. Maul makes a cocktail with rhum agricole and sugar cane juice clarified in a centrifuge. The drink inspired executive chef Douglas Rodrigues to create a fish dish with the same ingredients. Increasingly, food and beverage programs will be aligned. “A restaurant shouldn’t just have a bar,’’ Maul says. “The restaurant and the bar should be on the same page in terms of how they’re looking at things.’’