FamousDC and the National Restaurant Association (NRA) teamed up for a fantastic event last night in Georgetown. The NRA headquarters offered a beautiful setting as the venue for the annual #WhatsHot event- a preview of restaurant menu trends for the coming year. Denson DC provided hand crafted signature cocktails- concocted individually for each guest.
Famously Spotted:
Dawn Sweeney (NRA); Amy Fenton (Fox News), Clinton Yates (Washington Post), Chris Moody (CNN), Christina Moody; Daniel Lippman (Politico); Katy Summerlin; Jennifer Stong; Sue Hensley (NRA); Brittany Lancaster (NRA), Annika Stensson (NRA), Christin Fernandez (NRA); Greg Crist (AHCA); Josh Shultz (NJI Media); Robin Shultz; Stuart Roy (SA Public Affairs); Ellie Wallace (RSLC); Marie Formica (FamousDC); Nathan Imperiale (NJI Media); Amos Snead (Bryant Row); Matt Haller (IFA); Rebecca Heslin Haller; Benny Johnson (IJ Review); Katie Miller (NJI Media); Natasha Flint (NJI Media); Olivia McDonald (Team Boehner); Lauren Smith; Matt Fuller (Huffington Post); Tarini Parti (BuzzFeed); Allison Schneider; Jimmy Walsh; Patrick Hefflinger (API); Nika Nour; Francesca Chambers (Daily Mail); Austin Carson; David Catanese (US News); Vicki Christner; Jonathan Marks (Quorum); Zach Graves; Lauren French (Politico); Megan Wilson; Ellie Wallace (RSLC); Emily Lynn (Fox News); Ashley Alderman (Fox News); EJ Boyer; Laura Davidson; Paige Lavender (Huffington Post); Lauren Aronson; Gail Broekel; Michael Akin; Drake.
The NRA surveyed professional chefs, members of the American Culinary Federation, on which food, cuisines, beverages and culinary themes will be hot trends on restaurant menus in the year ahead. Here are the top five in food and, our favorite, alcoholic beverages.
TOP 5 FOOD TRENDS
- Locally sourced meats and seafood
- Chef-driven fast-casual concepts
- Locally grown produce
- Hyper-local sourcing
- Natural ingredients/minimally processed food
TOP 5 TRENDS IN ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
- Craft/artisan spirits
- Locally produced beer/wine/spirits
- House-brewed beer
- Non-traditional liquors
- Craft beer
“True trends evolve over time, especially when it comes to lifestyle-based choices that extend into other areas of our everyday life. Chefs and restaurateurs are in tune with over-arching consumer trends when it comes to menu planning, but add their own twist of culinary creativity to drive those trends in new directions. No one has a better view into the window of the future of food trends than the culinary professionals who lead our industry.”
– Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the NRA’s research and knowledge group
We’d like to thank Dawn Sweeney, Sue Hensley, Brittany Lancaster, Annika Stensson, Christin Fernandez and everyone who came out to join us for this fantastic event!
Thank you to Sunjae Smith and Jeremy Kirkpatrick for capturing the evening in photos. View them all here.
