TASTE's food editor Abigail Donnelly says these are the top foodie trends to look out for in 2012. Do you agree? Do you have another insight? Tell us and you can win a copy of the coveted TASTE Cookbook.
BROAD BEANS, EGGS AND SORRELL
Earmarked by Abigail Donnelly as the key ingredients for 2012, look out for this trendy trio – in all manner of inventive incarnations – on hip-chic menus everywhere.
Try Wafer crostini toasts topped with chive cheese, broad beans and soft-poached eggs. Scatter with sorrel to match the trend.
FORAGING
Already embraced by Birkenstock-shod food enthusiasts, chefs are increasingly stepping out in an effort to source edible roots 'n shoots from local surrounds.
We featured foraging last year as it started to surface. Try spekboom, chickpea and tomato salad.
LESS FINE, MORE FUN
Ditch the starched tablecloths … stuffy sitdown dos are so last season. Think mismatched crockery, paper napkins and the focus squarely on the food.
GRAZING
2012's culinary buzzword calls for casual tapas-style dining with patrons nibbling their way from one restaurant to the next.
Spain remains the king of tapas.
MADELEINES
Forget finicky cupcakes and fussy macarons, these oh-so-dainty shellshaped petits-fours take the cake.
Try madeleines with strawberry fizz
POP-UP RESTAURANTS
Here one minute, gone the next? Not so for these transient eateries, now truly established as the dining-option du jour and popping up in some of the most unlikely places.
This is really big in New York
PRESERVING
Line up those sterilised jars … Pickling, along with curing, brining and smoking, will experience an unprecedented revival this year.
Learn how to preserve all over again
REGIONAL COOKING
Whether it’s Italian, Taiwanese or good old South African, local is undisputedly lekker on global menus that celebrate regional culture and culinary heritage.
Entertain like a true Italian, cook the Portuguese way, return to South African favourites
UNWOODED CHARDONNAY
Vinophiles in the know have tagged heavy, wooded Chardonnays as très passé. Instead, light and lovely Chards that have never seen the inside of an oak barrel are preferred in the glass.
Serve with crusty calamari salad or tuna avocado California rolls
THE RISE (AND SHINE) OF BREAKFAST
Waffle sandwiches and Hollandaise sauce are coming out after dark as breakfast invades dinner menus everywhere in the new year
Try these quick and easy breakfast ideas or go for fab French toast, eggy wonders and jazzed-up oats. Then get to grips with silky smooth Hollandaise sauce.
PREDICT THE TRENDS AND WIN
Are you feeling it? Do you think we've missed some crucial new trends? Let us know and you can win a copy of the TASTE Cookbook. (You'll have to register first if you haven't done so already. Just so we have your details should you win.)