First in the Series – Simon Majumdar
The ICCA Summit in Miami from June 23 – 26 was a feast for the mind and an inspiration for new menu ideas. This will be a series of articles outlining the educational takeaways from the event. Here is an overview video from the 11th Annual Summit in Miami. ICCA Summit overview video. 
Beginning with Simon Majumdar’s presentation that spanned the globe for new flavors to Jeffrey McInnis who showcased the hottest trends for new Southern Cuisine, The ICCA Summit was a huge success. Simon Majumdar began with a whirlwind tour of flavors including street foods from Asian and South America plus his latest research on US restaurants as he prepares to write his next book, “Fed White & Blue; Breaking Bread with America.” This latest book showcases his travels through the USA as he becomes a citizen, one meal at a time. His talk covered global trends including the cuisine of the Philippines, Malaysia, India, Korea, Peru, Brazil and Ecuador. This 90 minute talk had ICCA members writing notes as fast as they could. The takeaways from Simon’s keynote speech are showcased in two videos in the links below: Simon Majumdar Culinary Trends Simon Majumdar New Menu Ideas Here are the new International flavors to think about including on your future menus: Filipino Lumpia, Adobo and Lechon Malaysian and Singaporean Checken Rice, Laksa and Satay Korean Fried Checken, Rice Balls, Bao and Gojuchang Peruvian Anticucho, Causa and Yuquitas Rellenas Cuban Pastelitos, Croquetas and Boliche Brazilian Feijoada, Acaraje and Pao de Queijo Ecuadorian Civeche de Langostinos and Patacones Panamanian Sanocho, Yucca Frita and Gallo Pinto During his Keynote speech at the 11th Annual ICCA Summit in Miami, Simon mentioned a new menu idea from Brazil – Acaraje. This prompted a new idea for our video section on the redesigned Web site. We are calling it ICCA Vintage Videos and it will include many demonstrations from past ICCA Summits including a fifth generation bake master creating a Clam & Lobster Bake and Martin Yan deboning a chicken in less than a minute. Here is the first vintage video from a 1996 trip to Brazil with the US Culinary Olympic Team: See the attached video about Brazilian Acaraje