Food Trends 2018.
What’s cooking?
RATIONAL believes in being a leader, which is why we constantly stay on top of industry trends for the commercial kitchen. Take a look at three of the hottest menu trends, and notice how variety, freshness, and health are taking over the plate in 2018.
Trend 1- Bowl it!
The concept is simple as it is genius: the customer finds their ingredients from a selection in a counter, service puts them all in a bowl, adds the right dressing or topping, and that’s it.
In 2015, the bowl trend really started to take off and the momentum has not slowed down. What has changed with this fresh trend are the ingredients that go into the bowl. The Hawaiian Poke bowl, a salad with raw fish, has reached the mainland and taken a very west coast twist thanks to California. In 2018, you will see Poke bowls with avocados, citrus fruits, seaweed, and nuts. At RATIONAL, we have created our own version of the Poke bowl with raw tuna and lightly grilled salmon.

Trend 2 – The sandwich’s modern makeover.
The classic sandwich will always be a go-to menu item, but the days of boring white bread, tomato, lettuce, deli meat, and mayonnaise are gone.
This traditional sandwich has received a delicious makeover. Today, sandwiches include fresh elements like crisp red cabbage, toasted bread, a light antipasti, and avocado cream. The only way to complement such a flavorful sandwich is to serve it with a side of airy kale chips.

Trend 3- Superfoods with a Mediterranean flare.
Mother Nature has given us a great reason to indulge in some Mediterranean flavors.
We are in love with pairing a citrus juice and turmeric seasoned monkfish fillet with a superfood salad. The salad includes light and refreshing ingredients such as cucumber, pepper, radish, goji berries and pomegranate seeds along with pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, ginger and grape seed oil. This dish is packed with secondary plant substances, antioxidants, and polyphenols.

What are superfoods exactly?
The term ‘superfoods’ has been around for many years, but has only recently become trendy. Superfoods are foods that have a higher than average level of nutritive and vital substances. These kinds of foods can keep you healthy or even cure some diseases.
Superfoods are still a trend you can hardly get around. When used creatively, superfoods can enhance many dishes nutritionally, as well as adding a little something like special aromas or textures.