Crossover opportunities keep kitchens humming 24 hours a day. Nighttime activities might include baking breads or cooking up specialty products. An occasional visit from the health department keeps things interesting. Pan-Asian and Pacific Rim cuisines will infiltrate many menus, bringing spare style and exotic, complex flavors. And for those who want action, if only from a distance, display kitchens will endure.
Refinements are de rigueur to keep noise and smoke levels down.
Chocolate continues to elicit rhapsodic sighs but caramel, from light, sweet butterscotch to deep, burnt caramel, is the dessert trend to watch. Service will be more polished, professional and courteous, thank you very much. Watch for more chefs to market their own specialty foods. Chefs, burned out by the heat of the kitchen, seek other careers for the second half of their professional lives. With patrons tired of screaming across the table, a welcome toning down in the decibels of restaurants.