What's on the menu in 2014?

Local food-and-beverage personalities weigh in on their favourite food fads and pet peeves for 2013, and share their 2014 forecasts.

Andre Chiang
Chef and owner, Restaurant Andre

Favourite food trend in 2013: Speciality coffee.

Most irked by: Tapas and cupcakes.

Food-trend forecast for 2014: What Singapore has been missing is a decent Thai food place.

New projects for 2014: I have been working on our own farm, Racines, in Taiwan since this year and it will soon provide all sorts of vegetables, flowers and herbs for Restaurant Andre. I think this highlights the strong desire of restaurants to stay closer to produce and establish a privileged relationship with their suppliers.

Yuan Oeij
Executive chairman, The Prive Group

Favourite food trend in 2013: Young people starting food stalls and cooking with passion and quality; second-generation hawkers taking over the business from their parents.

Most irked by: Celebrity-chef restaurants that don't quite deliver because the chef visits only a few times a year and relies on someone else to head the kitchen.

Small bakeries and coffee joints that do not offer anything compelling, particularly when they start displacing traditional shops in established neighbourhoods such as Tiong Bahru, and famous food stalls that try to sell off their business and recipes for high prices. The success of a place depends on so many factors other than just a secret recipe.

Food-trend forecast for 2014: Nose-to-tail dining and the use of offal, and a gradual shift towards non-pretentious hearty food served in more rustic ways, because people have had their fair share of complex food presented daintily over the last few years.

New projects for 2014: The Prive Group will be opening an outlet in the middle of

next year in the soon-to-be-revamped Chijmes. The al fresco dining space will serve all-day hearty food and become a drinking spot serving hearty bites later in the night.

Crystal Chua
Founder and director, My Private Pantry and My Private Chef

Favourite food trend in 2013: Restaurateurs and hawkers anchoring their food with a specific personality, be it based on a cooking method, dish or cuisine, and the move away from fine-dining to hearty and less pretentious food.

Most irked by: Cupcakes. They're basically a sponge cake with a different topping, but still a sponge cake at its core!

Food-trend forecast for 2014: Gourmet food halls such as PasarBella; boutique eateries selling artisan creations; pop-up food fairs and themed dinners; restaurants offering cuisine from countries outside Europe and Asia.

New projects for 2014: As one of the winners of the Kickstart Fund in September this year, we will be planning pop-up dining events around the idea of telling stories of selected monuments though good food with the support of the Singapore Tourism Board next year.

This article by The Business Times was published in MyPaper,  a free, bilingual newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.

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