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The event is the college’s flagship conference,
and every November literally transforms the Napa
Valley campus into an amazing crossroads of world
food and culture. It showcases the “gold standards” of
world cuisines—from the Mediterranean and Latin
America to Asia—that are increasingly reshaping
American palates and our industry. In November 2007,
as part of this program series, the CIA staged the
critically acclaimed ”The Rise of Asia” the
largest and most comprehensive conference ever held
in the United States on Asian food, cooking, and
culture.
Asian Flavors, American Menus.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of
its ground-breaking Worlds of Flavor Conference Series, the CIA stages The Rise of Asia: Culinary
Traditions of the East and Flavor Discovery in 21st
Century America, November 1-3, 2007. This spectacular, multi-dimensional event
brought together a conference faculty of more than
75 top chefs, market cooks, food writers, beverage
experts, food producers, and other authorities from
throughout Asia, the Pacific, and across the United
States.
Conference experts led seminars, conducted tastings
and demonstrations, collaborated on special meals,
and participated in the colorful World Marketplace
held in Greystone’s historic 15,000 square-foot
Barrel Room. Featured countries and cuisines for
2007 program included China, Japan, India, Korea,
Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Asian flavors are “white hot” among American
menu developers today, reflecting changing American
appetites as well as larger, seismic shifts in world
economics, politics, and cultural forces. Asian ingredients,
flavor dynamics, techniques, culinary strategies,
and related cultural contexts will collectively bring
unprecedented change to American menus over the next
decade and beyond. The Rise
of Asia: Culinary Traditions of the East and Flavor
Discovery in 21st Century America explored the dynamics of this revolution,
and helped attending chefs, operators and suppliers
understand how they can stay “ahead of the
curve” in integrating and leveraging this culinary
trend.
Why Asia and why now? Why not simply talk of a bump
of interest in Asian flavors as opposed to forecasting
a wholesale change in the landscape of American dining—driven
by “the rise of Asia”?
In charting what
is arguably one of the culinary mega-trends of our
time, here are some factors and influences to keep
top of mind and ideas that shaped the development
of The Rise of Asia conference:
• First, and of paramount importance, is the
rise—the surging growth—of the economies
of East and South Asia. To understand the likely
impact of this phenomenon, one has only to travel
to Shanghai or Guangdong province in China, or New
Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad in India, or experience
the striking vitality of one of Asia’s smaller
countries like Vietnam, whose economy now boasts
Asia’s second highest growth rate (after China).
These facts, together with Japan’s position
as the second most powerful economy in the world,
point to a different 21st Century—one increasingly
dominated by Asian economic growth and influence.
American business and political leaders are increasingly
focusing on Asia and so too will American diners.
A generation ago, Asian products meant cheap prices,
and often lesser quality. But with Asian automobile
manufacturers and technology products now leading
the way, and Asian technology engineers representing
the proud faces behind those products, Asian increasingly
means “top in class,” “cool and
leading edge,” or at least “well made
(or acceptably made), and of high value.”
• These economic gains come with political,
social, and cultural influences as well. The widening
circulation of Asian-made and Asian-inspired films,
the growth of Asian fashion, design, art, and architecture,
the widening audience for Indian and other Asian-rooted
world music all parallel accelerating American interest
in Asian food and cooking.
• Thirty years ago to most Americans Asia seemed
like a risky bet for travel, given the image of wars
and their aftermath, closed societies, the threat
of diseases, and a general perception of discomforting
foreignness. Now Americans are traveling to Asia
in unprecedented numbers and if U.S. glossy travel
magazines are any indication, Americans are dreaming
of Asian urban and rural landscapes—including
hotels, restaurants, and culinary traditions—even
when not boarding planes.
• The cookbook publishing world is increasingly
turning its attention to Asia, with more and more
books coming on the market that de-mystify the ingredients
and techniques of Asian cooking. Americans even have
access now to books about sub-regions in Asia, from
Sichuan province in China to Kerala in India.
• In the short span of 25 years, America has
grown from being a nation of conservative, bland-food
lovers to one embracing big flavors and culinary
adventure. After collectively opening our minds and
palates to chilies, salsas, and other Latin foods,
it was an easy step to welcoming the hot, similarly
enticing, bold flavors of South and Southeast Asia.
• An explosion of Asian ingredients—including
key produce items—in American markets has also
been vital in fueling this interest in Asian flavors.
From Asian sauces to rice noodles, from Indian lentils
to Thai aromatics, from Japanese-inspired soy foods
to Chinese spices, American chefs and operators as
well as home cooks can now more easily find the special
ingredients they need to create authentic Asian flavors.
One key element behind this is the increasing participation
of Asian farmers in American agriculture, which has
added Vietnamese herbs, Kaffir lime, Indian and Japanese
eggplants, kabocha squash and the like to the bounty
of American produce.
• Asian flavors are already reshaping the American
restaurant menus, and as their customers respond
to these flavors enthusiastically, this phenomenon
will continue to accelerate. Japanese flavors have
taken the high-end New York restaurant scene by storm,
Thai restaurants have multiplied across the United
States and globally, Indian restaurants are earning
Michelin-stars, diners are falling in love with Vietnamese
pho and salads, Las Vegas casinos are opening pan-Asian
noodle bars, and chain operators are leveraging Asian
flavor to create the next generation of hot multi-unit
concepts.
• Part of understanding the Asian phenomenon
for many American food and beverage trend leaders
is simply that it is “the next big thing.” It
is the inevitable follow-on to having spent much
of the last 20 years mining contemporary American,
Italian, Mediterranean, Latin, Caribbean, and other
flavor-driven concept arenas for ideas. The foodservice
industry is now discovering that Asia—the largest
continent in the world, home to almost 60% of the
world’s population—is overflowing with
potential dining and food concepts. You want upscale?
Think traditions of Chinese banquets, Japanese Kaiseki
restaurants, and the cooking of the royal courts
of Bangkok, Hue, and Rajasthan. You want quick serve
or fast casual? Look no further than the street food
vendors of Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia,
and the home cooking traditions of India and Korea.
• The increasingly ubiquitous presence of sushi
in supermarkets is a telling and influential trend
in its own right. As American as apple pie, or as
American as sushi? And it doesn’t stop there
in the American supermarket sector. Asian flavors
are increasingly finding their way into the packaged
foods and delis of local supermarkets, led by the
pioneering efforts of Whole Foods (hot Indian food
to go, anyone?), Wegman’s, and others. And
in California, Ranch 99 Markets showcase all-Asian
flavors in an astonishing “superstore” format.
• Asian demographics in the United States have
also had a large impact. Although Asian-Americans
comprise only 4.3% of the total U.S. population (about
12 million people), this number represents a 63%
increase from the 1990 census, making Asian Americans
the fastest growing major U.S. ethnic/racial group
by percentage growth. There are other significant
factors that are multiplying their influence beyond
these raw numbers: compared to other major racial/ethnic
groups in the U.S., Asian-Americans now have the
highest college degree attainment rate, the highest
percentage of recipients of an advanced degree (professional
or Ph.D.), the highest medium family income rate,
and the highest rate of employment in a “high
skill” occupation. What does this mean for
American menus? It means that Asian-Americans themselves
have become a potent force demanding more and better
(i.e., authentic) Asian food in the communities in
which they live and work. This will have ripple effects
throughout the entire hospitality industry in the
years ahead.
• Never underestimate the impact of single events
to shape public opinion and fire up consumer interest.
The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing will undoubtedly
educate America about the fascinating character of
the cities and regions of China, the colorful, impressive
history of the country, and its remarkable, unabated
economic development—all of which are certain
to spark more interest in Chinese cuisine and travel.
• The emergence of the pursuit of health and
wellness—including an interest in alternative
and complementary medicine, healthier diets, fitness,
spa treatments, and weight loss regimes—as
a top-ranked American avocation is giving another
boost to Asian flavors. Many Asian culinary traditions,
ingredients, and ideas are perceived as more healthful
than others, including the traditional Asian approach
of using small amounts of meat and other protein
to flavor larger portions of plant-based foods and
meals; the plentiful use of Chinese herbs, Thai aromatics,
Vietnamese herbs, Indian spices, and more (with their
real or perceived health value); the central role
that fish plays in Japanese and other Asian cooking
traditions; Indian Ayervedic medicine and its role
in inspiring emerging American spa trends including
approaches to food and beverage; and the rich traditions
of vegetarian cooking throughout Asia.
• Finally, the wine world—from producers
to sommeliers—has discovered the multi-dimensional
opportunities of Asian foods and flavors. This is
significant for the growth of Asian food, as wine
is a key element in the financial and critical success
of American fine dining as well as parts of the casual
dining sectors. With wine lovers pursuing aromatic
and/or off-dry whites (from Albariños and
Reislings to Viogniers and Gewürztraminers)
and spicy and/or low tannic reds (from Shiraz to
Zinfandels to a host of blends) to pair with their
Asian meals, these flavors only stand to grow in
importance in the minds of operators and customers.
Adding to this rising interest in pairing wine and
Asian flavors is the growing appetite for premium
sake and sake cocktails.
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