2023 food trends, where to find them at Asheville restaurants

Tiana Kennell, Asheville Citizen Times
·5 min read

ASHEVILLE - Korean-style hot dogs and ghost kitchens are so 2022.

Mortadella, diversified food halls and AI-designed doughnuts are what diners are seeking now, according to international food and restaurant consulting company Baum+Whiteman.

Baum+Whiteman released its annual food trends report that forecasts what diners and the service industry may see more of in 2023.

In 2022, Baum+Whiteman predicted more ghost kitchens to open following the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the crispy, cornmeal-coated, fried and uniquely topped Korean-style hot dogs to make their way to more U.S. menus.

This year, industry experts see shifts in the way people eat and how corporate restaurants operate that bring back ancient Japanese dry-aging techniques and further development of automation in place of human workers.

Also, crema is on the rise and pistachios were named the "nut of the year."

Asheville may be removed from some of these trends, but for others, the local service industry is on the pulse of what diners want and how to deliver it best.

More:2022 international food trends: Where to get a taste in Asheville

Here are some of Baum+Whiteman’s food trends predictions for 2023 and where to experience them in Asheville.

Artificial intelligence-designed dishes, restaurants

Robot Rosi returns to the kitchen after delivering food to Kevin and Maria Fenton inside Haus of Pizza in Palm Desert, Calif., on Jan. 10, 2022. After having difficulty finding workers despite raising wages, Haus of Pizza took the innovative step of leasing a serving robot.
Robot Rosi returns to the kitchen after delivering food to Kevin and Maria Fenton inside Haus of Pizza in Palm Desert, Calif., on Jan. 10, 2022. After having difficulty finding workers despite raising wages, Haus of Pizza took the innovative step of leasing a serving robot.

The future of food may be artificially engineered.

Baum+Whiteman noted that a tech professional in Israel developed an Artificial Intelligence Image Generator that creates a picture of a dish based on verbal guidelines. In one example, the generator depicted elaborate, intricately fashioned doughnuts that blended the lines between fantasy and reality and look more like it should be in an art museum.

Also, AI may become more prevalent in restaurants’ operations as data-driven managers.

More:2023 James Beard Award semifinalists: Asheville chef, restaurant on the list

Computer programs are being engineered that can take on responsibilities like evaluating week-to-week performances, creating efficient schedules for shifts and production-line tasks and making menu suggestions based on trendlines, Baum+Whiteman stated.

Some corporate restaurants have incorporated or are testing automation in the kitchen and dining rooms and delivery services, further reducing the human staffing population. Some companies using and/or testing AI and robotic technology are Sweetgreen (two fully automated production/assembly lines coming in 2023), Little Caesar’s (pizza-making robots), McDonald’s (automated drive-thru), White Castle and CaliBurger (burger flipping robots) and Starbucks (AI-enabled coffee machines), according to Webstaurantstore.com.

Doughnuts from Stay Glazed...Donuts in downtown Asheville March 25, 2022.
Doughnuts from Stay Glazed...Donuts in downtown Asheville March 25, 2022.

Resist the robots for good, old-fashioned customer service and real, handmade doughnuts instead.

A few local shops offering anything but basic doughnuts that are still designed by humans of Asheville are Hole Doughnuts, Stay Glazed…Donuts and Vortex Doughnuts.

Mortadella, aka 'Fancy Italian bologna'

Mortadella, cooked cured pork meat from Bologna, Italy, is expected to make more of an appearance on charcuterie boards and pizzas and in sandwiches and other recipes.

Get a taste of the deli meat at local restaurants.

Mortadella may rule the deli this year.
Mortadella may rule the deli this year.

Loretta’s Café offers The Italian Stallion sandwich that includes mortadella.

Simple, a café and juice bar, offers the Breakfast Sandwich that’s served with a choice of grilled mortadella or avocado.

South Slope Cheese Co. sells a pack of sliced mortadella with pistachios at the retail shop.

Dry-aged fish

Some U.S. chefs are opting for dry-aging fish using an ancient Japanese technique that involves hanging fish in the fashion of a rack of tomahawk rib steak. The method is used to firm up the texture, concentrate the flavor, eliminate fishy odors, add umami, and give it a “shatteringly crisp” skin, according to Baum+Whiteman.

More:French charcuterie, wine bar opening in S&W Market in downtown Asheville

While waiting for the dry-aged fish movement to take over Asheville, visit local restaurants and seafood markets for fresh fish, like Oyster House Brewing Company and Mother Ocean Seafood Market.

Private clubs

Membership in “ultra-luxurious” private clubs that include dining experiences is on the rise. The forecast refers to members' clubs with extravagant fees in the thousand and hundred-thousand-dollar range.

Smoky Park Supper Club is made out of shipping containers with a large outdoor patio facing the river.
Smoky Park Supper Club is made out of shipping containers with a large outdoor patio facing the river.

Save a few dollars and visit Supper Park Supper Club, a member-based, community-focused restaurant in Asheville’s River Arts District where guests pay per meal, but at least one diner must be an Asheville resident.

Other options for an exclusive but affordable dining experience are to attend a ticketed pop-up and dining event offered by Asheville chefs and restaurants.

Food halls

Food halls made a resurgence that’s made the dining concept so popular that the market may be getting saturated, but Baum+Whiteman sees a shift coming in the industry. The consulting group predicts food halls to open with ethnically specific vendors. Also, food hall entrepreneurs and landlords may see new opportunities as social hubs offering entertainment, like live music, dancing, movie nights and sports watch parties. Or food halls may expand offerings with “wet market” vendors selling products from fresh seafood, specialty sausages and ethnic baked goods.

The S&W Market in downtown Asheville.
The S&W Market in downtown Asheville.

The S&W Market, a food hall in downtown Asheville, is diversifying its offerings with the recent opening of the Peruvian-fusion restaurant, Mikasa Criolla, and the soon-to-open Gourmand, a French eatery with a charcuterie and cheese shop and wine bar. S&W Market is a destination for events and entertainment, too, such as musical drag queen bingo nights at Highland Brewing and cocktail socializing at The Times Bar.

View Baum+Whitehead's full food trends report at baumwhiteman.com.

Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: 2023 food trends, where to find them at Asheville restaurants