It was a year of the burger, but not as we know it - this example of the novel approach to the fast food favourite is the Ebisu burger from Wellington's Charley Noble.

Americana Burgers and fried chicken - "dude food" - continued to crop up everywhere, as the fancy takes on fried food continued to prove their appeal. Burgers were unavoidable, typically with fillings which once would have commanded centrestage on a plate in their own right (pork belly, duck breast ... tofu??). Most people may still buy their burgers from an international chain, but even the most traditional of those also responded to the demand for something more to the burger experience. McDonald's, for instance, introduced a make-your-own option at some of its outlets.

Smoking Chefs are smoking everything, from pinenuts and onion purees to beetroot and cheese. Adventurous chefs are experimenting with vegetables, cheese, butters and liquids, while smokers are taking pride of place in restaurant kitchens.

Fermented foods Some cultures - the Japanese for one - have known for centuries that fermented foods are healthy for the gut, but it's taken until 2015 for that health trend to take off here - think miso and tempeh, sauerkraut and kimchi, kefir and kombucha. This newfound enthusiasm for the sour flavours of fermentation have also inspired a revival in the art of pickling more generally.

123RF Fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi and yoghurt appealed for their health properties if not their flavours.

Coconut The buzz ingredient, pitched by clever marketers as a superfood. Coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut yoghurt - coconut was everywhere, whether in water, ice cream, oils, milks,butters, sweeteners. A couple which caught our eye - chocolate sweetened with evaporated coconut nectar, and naturally extracted coconut cooking oil.

Boutique milk After the chocolate milk hysteria of last year, dairy marketers played up to the enthusiasm for revisiting traditional milk and maybe adding a high-quality twist. Lewis Road, which drove the 2014 chocolate milk frenzy, expanded the flavour range and was joined in the flavour stakes by Puhoi Valley - which has also seen a niche for re-introducing milk drinkers to full-fat and even half-and-half (as in, half milk, half cream) styles.

Veges Move over broccoli, this was the year cauliflower reigned in our vegetable bowls. Basics like iceberg lettuce also made a storming comeback to restaurant menus.

Supplied You could be forgiven for thinking coconut was in everything this year, whether for frying, sweetening, braising or drinking.

New in the kitchen Suddenly, the Nutribullet (and its rip-offs) was everywhere - the little fruit and vegetable blender that has sparked a smoothie health revolution. And a mention is due, too, to Spiralisers - Pete Evans, the Aussie paleo champion, has one - a razor-sharp cutting device that creates thin ribbons of vegetable.

WHAT THE CHEFS SAY

MacLean Fraser, Artisan Restaurant at Bolton Hotel, Wellington: Ingredients or dishes that I have noticed being "cool" in the last 12 months have been almond milk, coconut oil, poutine, donuts and bone broth.

David White Wellington chef Maclean Fraser says that so-called "dude food" was unavoidable.

There's a strange mix between perceived health foods and over the top "dude food". There is a real trend of moving away from complex food, fine dining, pretentious dining, molecular gastronomy and quirky serving dishes such as foraged boards and mason jars. More popular now - which I like - is a move to pare back the number of ingredients on a plate and serve more simple and less contrived dishes with a more organic or natural style of plating.

Shorter menus have become more popular, which I also like. It seems we are seeing less the types of menu with a myriad of choices of dishes and multiple options for sauces and accompaniments.

Maybe it's one positive outcome about the saturation of reality cooking shows - diners now know about the work that goes into a dish and perhaps they are now more willing to trust the chef.

Kevin Stent Chef Rex Morgan found that for all the comings and goings of trends, old favourites lived up to their name in 2015.

Rex Morgan, chef at Boulcott Street Bistro, Wellington: Mexican and burgers seemed to be very popular this year. There were also a lot of blends and purees as a way of serving vegetables - I'm not such as fan as the textures and flavours of these beautiful season vegetables gets lost in the mix.

The "villains" like sugar, salt and fat are pretty well identified, and people are opting to eat good quality meats and sweet things in moderation, instead of ruling them out entirely. At the bistro, the braised short-rib was hugely popular over winter.

Regardless of trends, there's always a demand for the classics like lamb, beef and fish - simple things done well with a contemporary twist. Then there is the tried and true dishes that remain, like our fillet Bearnaise, which has been on the menu since the bistro opened in 1991.

Tom Hutchison, chef at WBC and Capitol, Wellington: The food that's trending most for us at the moment is honey. I love honey for its ability to flavourfully sweeten food with natural glucose (avoiding the devil cane sugar) while providing healing properties.

Honey is known to alleviate allergies, raise serotonin levels and promote good sleep. We can totally trust our honey supply chain at our restaurants since we have our own hives both in our home in Hataitai and on the rooftop at WBC. We care for our bees, extract the honey and store it ourselves, so we're in total control of the food chain.

We're using it at Capitol in a Christmas special of honey pavlova with preserved nectarines and fresh cream. Up at WBC it has a savoury application where we use it in Stilton fritters with sour honey.

We like to add pollen to our salads. Honey is just delicious and we get a real kick from using our own produce.