A psychic and a world-famous chef give us their food predictions for 2015

psychic food predictions
Shutterstock / Jennifer Bui
Shutterstock / Jennifer Bui

Unless it's 1955, your name is Biff, and a 2015 version of you just handed you a sports almanac, you can't tell the future. But since it's the new year and we're curious about what'll be happening in the food world in 2015, we asked two people who have a really good idea. We sat down with Miwa Mack, a psychic/healer & the director of the Boulder Psychic Institute, and Daniel Boulud, a chef with 16 award-winning restaurants around the world, including the new db Brasserie in The Venetian Las Vegas.

pork belly
Flickr/avlxyz

What ingredient will everyone be sick of seeing on menus at the end of 2015?

The Psychic
"It's interesting, the first thing that pops to mind is basil. It looks like basil might be overused."

The Chef
"Classics will never die. Classics will disappear and come back, and trends have to die in order to reinvent themselves. For me, I'm more of a classics guy. American or French classics, or many others.

Definitely pork belly, as it's phasing out. It's not off the wagon yet, but it's phasing out."
 

Is there a dish you think people will be going crazy for in 2015?

The Psychic
Editor's Note: 24 seconds of silence elapsed before she answered this
"Nothing's really coming up that clearly. There are foods more from the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean might have a bit of a comeback. I'm not sure if they do polenta out there, but I keep seeing polenta. But basically foods from the Mediterranean."

The Chef
"Ceviche and ramen were definitely hits in the last year. Because I'm French, and because I sit in French-style bistros and also enjoy cooking French food, I feel like it's certainly coming back. We see the trends in Paris with a lot of young-generation chefs starting avant-garde bistros.

I think we're going to see more chicken concepts coming up. To me, the best concept I've seen in the last two years in terms of healthy fast-casual is Sweetgreen in New York."

ramen
Dan Gentile

Lightning round! Which will be more popular in 2015?

Ramen or burgers?
The Psychic: "Ramen"
The Chef: "Ramen"

Tea or coffee?
The Psychic: "Coffee"
The Chef: "Tea"

Beer or cocktails?
The Psychic: "Beer"
The Chef: "Beer"

Fast food or home-cooked meals?
The Psychic: "Home-cooked meals"
The Chef: "Fast food"

Which city has an up-and-coming food scene that people should be more aware of?

The Psychic
"I keep seeing Barcelona. It looks more like the whole ambiance of the food scene there [will be popular]. Any kind of late-night eating, more smaller dishes. Having more variety."

The Chef
"Brazil, because they're preparing for the Olympics (Ed Note: the Olympics are in Rio in 2016). South America in general. Definitely Lima, with what's happening there. But the cities I really see coming on strong are Montreal and Toronto. I think there's an interest in those cities and a lot of good talent there. They keep making themselves more famous every day."


Will having your tip for the server included in the bill catch on more in 2015?

The Psychic
"It looks like there might be a trend in that direction in 2015, but I do see it as probably weakening by the end of the year. It looks like there might be a level where that will get strong for a little bit -- maybe in the spring. But then, by the end of the year, most restaurants will find that it's not working."

The Chef
"Things are going in the direction where we may have to, like in Europe, include a tip with the meal."

Lee Breslouer writes about food and drink for Thrillist, and is not sure who he believes more. Follow him into the future at @LeeBreslouer.