CHICAGO — The Chicagoland Food & Beverage Network hosted a hands-on, interactive “taste the trends” event on April 4 at the new Chicago location of Kitchen United. The Pasadena, Calif.-based company provides restaurant brands a turnkey, capital-light way to expand their reach to the off-premise diner. Produced in partnership with Datassential and the Research Chefs Association, the event gave participants an inside look to the trends driving culinary innovation and then had the opportunity to walk the kitchens, meet the chefs and sample the ideas that may propel eating and drinking in the coming year.

Healthy functional and plant based are the two arching trends in today’s food culture, said Jennifer Aranas, chef and senior account manager at Datassential. Three-fourths of operators currently offer products characterized as superfoods or functional foods on their menu. Menu-growth leaders in the past four years include kale, turmeric and grass-fed beef. And one of the hottest menu concepts is the poke bowl, showing 167% growth on menus in the past four years.

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