---
title: "Nation’s Restaurant News: A Look Back at the Trendy Flavors of 2016"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/68f44990-6ffd-48a0-90f3-f0d44adf2704
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/nations-restaurant-news-a-look-back-at-the-trendy-flavors-of-2016-8309
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
published: 2016-12-07T14:09:01.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:34:46.642Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/1fec924284dc5a53cb7ac01b1547b83c540.jpg
---

# Nation’s Restaurant News: A Look Back at the Trendy Flavors of 2016

**TL;DR:** In 2016, chiles, fermented foods, and ethnic flavors dominated restaurant menus, with chile peppers being a common addition to dishes. Nando's, a South African-meets-Portuguese casual-dining chain, helped bring African cuisine to the forefront with its flame-grilled chicken and spicy African chile sauce.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2016-12-07. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/nations-restaurant-news-a-look-back-at-the-trendy-flavors-of-2016-8309).*

## Story

The trends of the year may not have been new, but they continued to dominate menus in 2016. According to a recent Nation’s Restaurant News article, chiles, fermented foods, and ethnic flavors were the top cuisines and flavors in restaurants this year. Here’s a look at why.

Datassential MenuTrends reported that the fastest-growing varieties of the capsicum—more commonly known as the chile pepper—were shishito, ghost peppers, and Thai chile. The chile has become a common addition to dishes to fill out the dish's complexity and flavor.

For some cuisines including Mediterranean, Thai, and Mexican, chefs got even more creative by using ingredients new to consumers. While other chefs introduced completely new ethnic flavors of Africa to delight diners.

South African-meets-Portuguese casual-dining chain, Nando’s, helped bring the African cuisine to the forefront. The flame-grilled chicken with spicy African chile sauce appealed to a wide variety of consumers.

The rise of fermentation continued this year for fermented foods. Consumers continue to look for new and exciting flavors and chefs everywhere have seen success with the fermentation process. From hot sauce, to butter, sauerkraut, kimchi, and mushrooms—chefs are implementing this trend throughout the entire menu.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- Nation's Restaurant News (publication)
- Datassential (company)
- menu trends (topic)
- Nando's (company)
- ethnic flavors (topic)
- fermented foods (topic)
- chile peppers (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/nations-restaurant-news-a-look-back-at-the-trendy-flavors-of-2016-8309). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/68f44990-6ffd-48a0-90f3-f0d44adf2704).