California Pizza Kitchen culinarian dishes on 2015 trends

December 29, 2014

Brian Sullivan, SVP of Culinary Innovation at California Pizza Kitchen, has released his top trends to watch for in 2015.

They include:

Flavored salt. Sullivan predicts salt infused with flavors such as citrus, Sriracha, Jack Daniels, coffee, chile and more, used for garnishes, cocktail rims and gifts.
Fried eggs. "Fried eggs might be the new bacon," Sullivan said. He expects to see them on everything from pizza to salads, burgers to French fries.
Chicken."2015 will be the year of the chicken," he said.
Ancient grains. Consumers will see ancient grains being continually reinvented as they add nutrients and variety to a meal.
Culinary cocktails.Sullivan predicts some unique innovations from the bar, including avocado puree, candied ginger, cucumber, fresh berries and herbs. He also said there will be more hand-crafted, non-alcoholic beverages.
Infusions."Infusions are the perfect example of how creative you can get with different but complementary flavors in unexpected ways," Sullivan said. Options will include Chipotle, Serrano and lavender honeys.
Local sourcing.Sullivan echoes most trend forecasts with the prediction that local sourcing will become more important and relevant. "The demand for real, fresh and healthful food has never been higher," he said.
Produce. Produce is teed up to have a big year, particularly produce that is unexpected and rare, Sullivan said. This includes heirloom purple, yellow and pale carrots, red watercress or bitter greens.