The Food Channel presents its “Top Ten Breakfast Trends for 2011.” By partnering with CultureWaves®, the International Food Futurists® and Mintel International , The Food Channel has been able to identify the most significant food trends in breakfast for 2011, from energy drinks and fresh gourmet coffee prepared at home, to oatmeal served all day long.

 “In our breakfast survey of Food Channel readers, one thing quickly became clear. Most of us still recognize breakfast as the most important meal of the day,” said Kay Logsdon, editor of The Food Channel. “It’s all new, though. Now it’s OK to eat chocolate for breakfast, and we are eating breakfast in two parts—grabbing that first cup of coffee at home and adding to it with something at the office.”

 The Food Channel Top Ten Breakfast Trends in 2011

Read the complete Top Ten Breakfast Trends in 2011.

 Source: The Food Channel ®

As the country began extricating itself from economic doldrums in 2010, which dishes did savvy food marketers and restaurant operators introduce or innovate to satisfy consumer needs?

Culinary Trend Mapping Report pinpointed several trends that shaped the food landscape and fueled foodie enthusiasm in 2010:

•  Fine Fast Sandwich Shops: These gourmet sandwich shops took the art of sandwich-making seriously. They were often helmed by fine-dining chefs and featured high-quality, artisan and locally sourced ingredients, as well as a wide range of house-made condiments and toppings.

•  Eggs All Day: More than ever, the egg is being placed front and center as a food that is inexpensive, healthful (protein-rich or low-fat if only egg whites), and adaptable, whether for a sandwich or wrap, to accompany a salad, on a pizza, mixed with pasta…and the list goes on. Though reinventing the egg might seem like reinventing the wheel, many women’s magazines have innovated on breakfast’s most basic food to generate new ideas for home chefs.

•  Better Burgers: Building better burgers became a nationwide obsession in 2010, whether it meant adding exotic toppings, using grass-fed and locally sourced beef, or finding the perfect bun. Many fine dining restaurants have added dressed up versions on their menus while chain restaurants responded to customer demand for better quality meat by using Angus and Kobe-style American Wagyu beef for their burgers.

Source: Culinary Trend Mapping Reports are co-published by the Center for Culinary Development and Packaged Facts.

Major chains will be beefing up their menus in 2011 with spicier, cheesier and gooier items.

Rolling into 2011, fast-food operators across the country are set to deploy a potent new arsenal of decadent goodness for Americans.  The new items flout principles of healthful eating and instead celebrate a spirit of wanton gluttony.

“There’s been quite a bit of what we call carnival revival,” said Darren Tristano, a restaurant expert at market researcher Technomic. And breakfast is fast becoming a new battleground for fast-food restaurateurs, Tristano said.

•Dunkin’ Donuts has launched Pancake Bites, with bite-sized sausage links wrapped in a maple-flavored pancake for $1.59.

Fast-food operators are also looking for more later-day options too besides basic burgers, pizza and tacos.

•Burger King is taking inspiration from carnivals with its Funnel Cake Sticks.

 Source: Richard Mullins, Tampa Tribune