It's a New Year!

What are YOU going to do about it?

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

(pic: Viscious-Speed)

So, what is ahead?

US-website, Eater, surveyed a grab-bag of publications and came up with these predictions for what is in:

Customised products for chefs who also cure, smoke and ferment their own specialties.

Wood-fired ovens; mashing-up Asian cuisines; pairing dishes with range of drinks, including liquors and juices.

Healthy dishes; Korean foods; fermented foods.

Miso, kimchi; aging meats; Southern food.

House-made pasta; Mexican food; 'burnt' ingredients; carb-foods; Scandinavian food; cocktails.

Ethnic and regional cuisines; small plates and tapas; shared plates.

Vegetables.

Regional American, especially the South.

Artisinal condiments.

Non-traditional menus (forget 'courses'); tasting menus.

Humanely-raised meats; provenance of ingredients; pickles; and more......

Write your own list!

Lonely Planet's top 10 cities to visit in 2013

1. San Francisco, US

2. Amsterdam, Netherlands

3. Hyderabad, India

4. Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland

5. Beijing, China

6. Christchurch, New Zealand

7. Hobart, Australia

8. Montreal, Canada

9. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

10. Puerto Iguazu, Argentina

Top 10 countries to visit in 2013

1. Sri Lanka

2. Montenegro

3. South Korea

4. Ecuador

5. Slovakia

6. Solomon Islands

7. Iceland

8. Turkey

9. Dominican Republic

10. Madagascar

Emerging trends in Australian kitchens

One in four Australians change their food habits because of news coverage, according to Weber Shandwick's annual food trend report, Food Forward 2013, with artisan supermarkets, Wagyu restaurants and sweet/savoury flavour combinations forecast to be some of the biggest upcoming food trends.

Back to basics is one of the predictions, which may include using more of Australia's own indigenous foods (see above).

Read more....

Trend-raters

 JWT, the world's best-known marketing communications brand, has released its annual list of 100 Things to Watch for the year ahead.

Many of JWT's Things to Watch are technology-centric, including the proliferation of 'appcessories,' digital ecosystems, flexible screens and responsive Web design. The list also includes new foods or ingredients to watch (faux meat, teff), new types of goods or businesses (quiet products, shopping hotels), new behaviors (mindful living, privacy etiquette) and ideas with the potential to ladder up to bigger trends.

JWT's 100 Things to Watch in 2013, unranked and in alphabetical order. Descriptions of each can be found in the '2013 and beyond' section of JWT's website.

Travel Things to Watch in 2013 include Political Vacations and Set Jetting. Read about them all......

Hot tips from luxury experts

From Abercrombie & Kent, experts in luxury travel, comes the eagerly anticipated Hot List for 2013. If it's a cultural sojourn you're after, a spiritual recharge, an enlightening wildlife encounter or an active adventure there is something here for first time and seasoned traveller alike.

Good news is that walking in Australia will be popular, but so will Botswana, Shanxi, China and much more. Read about it here...

Where your plates are going next...

During the last several months, the insatiable Culinary Team at SRG has talked to celebrity chefs, school food reformers, product developers, and even the U.S. Culinary Ambassador and identified 10 food trends that will explode next year, from cutting-edge to mainstream. We expect to see healthier dishes from chefs, a rise in specialty items from American artisans, Asian flavors infiltrating American comfort food, and more.

Sweet, sour, healthier and bursting with flavour - just see what you might expect in 2013.

Go/no go

The travel website WorldsGreatestTravelers.com has just published their ultimate Christmas wish list and New Year's resolution 2013 list for travelers everywhere looking to do something a bit different, with their 10th annual

The 10th annual WorldsGreatestTravelers.com 2013Travelers GO/noGO List may not include the "hottest" or "latest up and coming emerging travel destinations, or even any cliché bucket list or illusive off the beaten track travel destinations, but the 2013 list does offer some rather fresh and exciting destinations. See what you might want to pencil in (or out!) this year.

See if you agree...

And a very happy and prosperous New Year to all. Let's plan to make 2013 the best one ever!

Here's something for the new year resolution-makers.........

'First say to yourself what you would be...and then do what you have to do.' (Epictetus, Greek philosopher, 55-135 AD - who, interestingly, must have lived through 113AD).

Nineteen hundred years later, we are still trying to better ourselves! 

In the meantime.........TEST YOURSELF!

Everyone has a new year, and we all like to wish each other Happy New Year. Can you identify the languages?

1. unyaka omusha omuhle
2. a gut yohr
3. Chúc Mừng NÇŽm Má»›i
4. yeni yiliniz kutlu olsun
5. ia orana i te matahiti api
6. gott nytt år
7. šÅ¥astný nový rok
8. feliz año nuevo
9. felice anno nuovo
10. laim?gu Jauno gadu
11. selamat tahun baru
12. boldog új évet
13. ein gutes neues Jahr
14. xin nian kuai l
15. Gëzuar vitin e ri
16. gelukkig nieuwjaar
17. happy new year
18. šÅ¥astný nový rok
19. bonne année
20. hauoli makahiki hou

(ANSWERS)