Phil Moran from www.mysecretkitchen.co.uk – the company that holds Tupperware-style food-tasting parties at home – has made some predictions for what we’ll be eating in 2012. I don’t know whether he’s right, but here’s what he says:

1 Price Increases on food – At the back end of last year the manufacturers supplying the retailers realised that they needed to force the raw material increases through the chain if they were going to survive and understandably so. Anything grown in the ground has increased, especially the basics so expect people to think even more carefully about what they put in their shopping basket.
2 Granny’s cooking – Retro was big in 2011 and the desire for security and safety in an uncertain environment will steer cooking towards old family recipes. People still have egos and pride and what better way to show off than by resurrecting that old recipe that was handed down through the generations? – Could there be a rise in dumplings, suet puddings and the like?
3 More of the Grain – Home baking and cooking is a hot trend and people want to know more about what they are eating but without spending a huge amount. Whole grains are great value for money and the likes of Quinoa, oats and cornmeal could see a surge in 2012.
4 Forage, forage, forage – we predicted hedgerow flavours for 2011 and this will continue but expand into the general wild. Expect to see a rise in types of mushrooms, herbs and berries in people’s diets. Wild garlic anyone?
5 Whatever Twitter says – As social networking becomes viral, people want to share the good and bad things in food. In the past it was all about what Delia said, going forward it will be a lot more about that latest blog report, that Twitter comment and that facebook photo. And we can’t predict what that’ll be. (Sarah says: also watch my words of wisdom in my Moneymagpie food blog of course!) 
6 The rise of the minor celebrity chef – following on from the previous comments, there will be a big rise in passionate cooks moving into doing video blogs on recipes, and these will become so much more accessible through the social media movement. So it won’t be Delia’s goose fat as the big thing next year, it will be a Youtube special chef. My Secret Kitchen will be jumping on this trend with a new video blog starting soon.
7 Moroccan – Full of Spices and flavours, a healthy diet with grain and greens and a little different with not too many expensive ingredients, Moroccan has been hovering around for a while. Expect 2012 to see a full-blown launch of all things North African.
8 South American –  mysecretkitchen were wrong last year. We stuck our neck out with predictions that this continent would be big in 2011. It grew but not how we thought. Peru is widely predicted to be the big flavour country in the USA for 2012 so we expect this to jump over to the UK along with Brazil for 2012. And if the food goes superbly with Caipirinhas we won’t be complaining.
9 French Macaroons – 2011 was the year of the Whoopie Pie, an attractive and fun-filled cake. One of the key reasons for its popularity was it looked cute. We think French macaroons will be big for 2012 for a similar reason, so expect to see gaudy shop windows full of ‘em. Whoopie pies will also get a makeover and remain popular but with alternative flavours and styles becoming big.
10 Back to the Dinner Table – As family values become ever more important, there will be a push to get more social interaction into the family dinner table which has declined over recent years. More family get togethers and more group meals will mean recipes involving more members of the family. What better way of bring a family closer together than cooking.. unless it goes pear shaped…

So (Sarah here again) I have lifted this straight from mysecretkitchen’s press release (apart from correcting the grammar, perfectionist that I am!) and time will tell if they’re right. Incidentally I haven’t been to a secretkitchen party but I love the look of their lemon and bergamot shortbread mix – worth trying for that alone, I should think. PS Happy New Year!