Top 10 Trends at Olliffe for 2010

From The National Post Appetizer Blog, Olliffe is a regular contributor. These are the top 10 trends in seen at Olliffe, Purveyor of the Finest Meats.

Heritage Breed Pork: “Big Pork” has done itself a disservice by breeding out the flavorful fat. Sure it is good business for abattoir margin but not in good taste for the discriminating end consumer.

DIY Sausage: Our butchers create a plain sausage mixture with customized fat content for the in-home sausage maker to spice to their liking, sausage casings to boot.

Sous Vide: The home version of the sous vide apparatus is now available (sous vide is quickly described as boil in a bag).  We noticed an upswing with customers discussing in-home sous vide in November.

Know Your Butcher: Get to know your guy for info on special products, inventory cycles and how to cook each cut.  Be proactive, introduce yourself and discuss the kinds of cuts you like to cook with.

Cured/Smoked: In house cured and smoked items will continue to be popular. But in 2010 it will be extravagance for the adventurous. Think lardo, artisanal head cheese and heritage guanciale for your next charcuterie plate.

Gourmet to Go: Complete meal replacements have been popular for decades. You will start seeing incremental or partial meal replacements whether they are starches, protein, veg or sauces.  Our customers know how to cook well but sometimes time is limited. For instance a potato gratin for 12 can be ordered in a pinch.

Poultry: Free range and free run have entered the lexicon of customer vocabulary. However shoppers should also be asking if their poultry is water or air chilled (the latter being superior).

Clever Cuts: Piquing the interest of the home chef will continue to be non-primal cuts of meat.  In our opinion the best value in any butcher case is the Top Sirloin Cap. Grilled and cut against the grain produces a bettering alternative to the top sirloin (with some customers prefering over striploin).  That being said, be sure to ask if the beef has been aged for at least 28 days or be prepared for a bit of a chew.

Top Sirloin Cap: Grilled and cut against the grain produces a bettering alternative to the top sirloin (with some customers prefering over striploin).  That being said, be sure to ask  if the beef has been aged for at least 28 days or be prepared for a  bit of a chew.

Local Lamb: New Zealand and Australia have great lamb and have figured how to affordably ship to Canada a fresh, not frozen, product. Ontarians however, have discovered the sweetly mild taste of their own local lamb.  We see customers shifting not only towards local lamb consumption but also they seek out very young lamb that is mild and most tender.

Language: Start looking for the fooderati to drop the term “f**dies” [ED: That word is already banned here] when describing a passionate food enjoyer. I believe the term “foodster” is much more apt for Canadian food lovers.