Brisbane's top 10 food trends of 2015

The $14 avocado on toast

In 2015 it cost about $10 to have someone lightly "smash" an avocado and put it on a piece of sourdough toast. Or perhaps that extra was for the pinch of macrobiotic salt or dukkah? The price of breakfast continues to rise as early morning menus get fancier and the chance of finding a simple plate of bacon and eggs and a coffee for less than $20 becomes increasingly rare.

Juicing, 'clean eating' and raw

The fashion for juice served in chunky mason jars with a jaunty striped paper straw shows no sign of abating. Khaki is the colour of choice because kale is a superfood, the clean eating advocates tell us. Raw foods have moved out of health food stores and bliss balls and raw cheesecake slices can now be found on a cafe countertop near you.

Paleo, fermented and 'house-made'

The paleoists add butter to their coffee to make themselves "bullet proof". In reality, they'd be better off adding fermented yak butter; higher in amino acids, calcium and vitamin A and, well, because fermenting is so right now. Just witness restaurants proudly putting their murky, bubbling jars of fermenting things on display. It's part of an admirable movement towards "house-made" – from sourdough to sauerkraut – although getting excited over ordinary old house-made butter is probably overkill.

Foraged and 'wild'

Are we all comfortable with chefs deciding whether a weed their apprentice found walking to work is edible? And were those oyster mushrooms really hand-gathered from a forest? And while we're talking hunting and gathering, harvesting from your own vegetable garden, as worthy as it is, chef, is not "foraging".

Jowl to tail

Pork was still the protein of choice this year, but we've finally branched out and are embracing the pig by the head, jowl or foot rather than just the belly. Think crumbed trotters, or almost translucent slices of house-cured jowl. Off the plate, the dissected pig tattoo is still the body artwork of choice for chefs.

Secret spaces

Cool factor plus high rents equals venues popping up in the most unusual spots. From loading docks to dingy alleyways and louche cellars, you're unlikely to simply stumble across Brisbane's hippest bars and cafes. Meanwhile, old school cafes and bistros are using their spaces to host one-off themed pop-ups.

Sriracha

From T-shirts to Benny Hill-esques jokes, the hot sauce with the rooster on the bottle was omnipresent. Chimichurri had a brief surge in popularity with the renewed interest in char-grilled meats but proved a short-term contender, with Sriracha stripes continuing to make appearances on everything from sushi to corn cobs.

Death of fine dining and the birth of the queue

Brisbane diners have had to learn to love a queue for the first time as reservations went out the window. Some venues have chosen to forgo phone numbers altogether. With casual almost killing off fine dining, to dine upmarket increasingly you'll have to hand over a non-refundable credit card deposit.

Food porn

Bloggers and Instagramers continued to pick up their cameras before their forks. And restaurants and other diners seem to be resigned to the fact that photographing our food is now part of the culture of eating out. Instagram is the social media platform of choice where #overhashing of food shots (#foodporn/#getinmybelly) continues unchecked.

Shrinking tables

Is there a direct correlation between the state of the economy and table size? If the miniature tables and elbow-to-elbow dining set-ups are anything to go by, it's been a hard year for restaurateurs. Share tables, or the more convivial-sounding 'communal' tables, continue to be the ultimate expression of belt tightening.

And 10 predictions for 2016...

■ Celeriac and kohlrabi taking on kale as vegetable of choice

■ Serious chefs continuing to open super-casual 'little brother' venues

■ Locavores shining a spotlight on locally made liquors

■ Bao edging out sushi as 'healthy' fast food of choice

■ Eggs. Whether 63 degree hens' eggs, Scotch duck eggs, or deep-fried chilli-crusted quail eggs, expect to see the humble egg on many menus

■ Increasing availability and use of native ingredients – from saltbush to sea lettuce

■ Savoury, herbal, smoked and bitter rather than sweet cocktails

■ Queensland pubs stepping up with restaurant-quality menus

■ Wild weeds – chickweed, nettles, purslane and sorrel

■ A more thorough exploration of Japan through less common ingredients and food styled on bespoke ceramics

Pick up your copy of The Brisbane Times Good Food Guide 2016 from Tuesday, June 30 for $7.99 from participating newsagents or online at brisbanetimes.com.au/goodfoodguide for $9.99 including delivery.