Vegan, Gluten-Free, and Certified Organic at Frickaccio's

What do diatomaceous earth and fish bladders have in common? You'd have to have attended Monday night's Les Dames d'Escoffier meeting at Frickaccio's in Fairview Park to know!

Photo by Gloria Kemer

Frickaccio's Owner, Dame Terry Frick and Chef Todd Rothman prepared a fantastic evening for lucky Cleveland Dames, full of demonstrations and tips for healthy and delicious vegan cooking, served with vegan wine.

Vegan wine? Isn't all wine vegan? Actually, no it is not. Dame Maggie Harrison educated us on the various methods used to fine (or filter and clarify) wines, which include straining it through dried egg whites or, less commonly, dehydrated fish bladder. Vegan wines use an alternate method. When seeking out vegan or vegetarian wines, one should look for un-fined wines, however, this is not something one can simply find on the label. Maggie noted Barnivore.com as a terrific resource for vegan wine, beer and liquor.

Oh, and if you are looking for gluten-free wines, seek out unoaked varietals. Oak barrel produced wines use wheat paste.

Dinner consisted of an abundant progressive tasting menu, balancing between lighter and heartier dishes, with explanations of flavors, ingredients, and processes along the way. Dames tried various gluten-free and vegan breads and spreads, an organic veggie pizza bagel, Chef Todd's vegan version of a crab cake (made with shredded hearts of palm), portobello bisque, strawberry / hazelnut salad, vegan paprikash, and an almond milk "ice cream" and flourless chocolate cake.

At the conclusion of dinner, Terry demonstrated making fresh almond milk in the Vitamix.

She then took us on a tour of the new facility and kitchen, and introduced us to Helga, her workhorse of a mixer! Frickaccio's does all of its baking on-site and sends product out to its West Side Market store and retailers, including Heinen's, whom she cites as a terrific partner. Frickaccio's offers around 10 varieties of certified-organic pizza dough balls, including gluten-free They are also trying something new with the new location – an eat-in cafe. Chef Todd looks to introduce creative vegan fare to the cafe-style menu.

Thank you, Frickaccio's, for hosting such an interesting, informative, and tasty evening!

Forecasted Food Trends for 2013

Local sourcing, sustainability and kids' health dominate the predictions for menu trends in 2013 based on a survey of chefs by the National Restaurant Association. A poll of over 1,800 members of the American Culinary Federation on "What's Hot in 2013" found the top two menu trends for next year will be "locally sourced meats and seafood" and "locally grown produce." Other green culinary concepts that made the top 10 were "environmental sustainability as a culinary theme," "hyper-local sourcing (e.g. restaurant gardens)" and "sustainable seafood." Another NRA survey of 200 bartenders predicts "onsite barrel-aged drinks," "food-liquor pairings" and "culinary cocktails" to be the biggest alcohol trends next year.

Source: SupermarketNews.com

Food suppliers and manufacturers will aim to open their own concept restaurants. Dannon and Chobani's flagship yogurt bars in Manhattan, as well as the Ghirardelli Chocolate shop at Disney California Adventure have set the stage for an influx of such ventures. Brands will continue to be challenged for falsely using food labels with such terms as local, natural, artisanal and organic. Both independent and chain restaurants will look to boost distinctiveness and embark on edgier design and sustainability features to create unique individualism and separation from competition. Hey, we can help with that! Please give us a call to discuss a plan.

Vegetables:
Since meatless meals have become commonplace, vegetarianism and veganism will continue to evolve. Innovative salads with increased use of carrots, kale or brussels sprouts. Vegetables will also take center-plate at meals.

Grains:
Grains will increasingly be used for their nutritional values, especially those gluten-free items such as quinoa, millet, wild rice, amaranth, corn, oats and buckwheat.

Chicken:
Always-reasonably priced and versatile, chicken will remain trendy. Offering southern or spicy takes on classic fried chicken, with new quick-service and fast casual concepts continuing to pop up.

Snacking:
In 2013, the snacking trend will continue to be a key with tapas, mezze and upscale bar bites in full-service restaurants being more prevalent than ever, as well as the furthering of the food truck craze.

Values:
Dining deals and prix fix fare will continue as diners look for savings. The 2 for $20 dinner deals, popular for families and diners who want to enjoy a cost-effective meal, will continue as well.
Source: foodem.com, Technomic, Baum + Whiteman