Closing the wallet and opening the palate are set to be big in 2009, says Gourmet, which has served up its predictions of next year's hottest food and travel trends:
- With the economic slump, home cooking is hot, hot, hot. Learn to cook a casserole and take mom’s advice—eat more beans.
- Forget cupcakes: Ice cream is the new dessert, with gourmand-friendly options (think goat's milk) on the docket.
- Restaurants are trying to lure in customers with gourmet gimmicks, so get ready to learn the phrase pre-amuse amuse-bouche, or, as in the US, “compliments of the chef.”
- “Ecologically responsible tourism will continue to thrive.” Forget the airport and book a romantic getaway on the Orient Express.
- As trade relations thaw under our new president, expect to see a surge in travel to Cuba. Get there before globalization takes hold.
- Thanks to the Obamas, Chicago might become the hottest city in the US.
- One far-off prediction: sprinkling food with dirt.
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