The Food Bytes bloggers mulled over the foodie fads of 2008 and came up with our own predictions for the coming year. (We take no responsibility if our prophesies are not fulfilled.)

Andree predicts the return of the slow cooker:

With our eyes on the bottom line in the new year, we'll be going out less and staying in more. Enter the slow cooker, the perfect vessel for comfort food, and turning inexpensive cuts of meat into nourishing meals.

A Year of Crockpotting has done some of the homework for you already, using the slow cooker once a day, every day for a year.

…And breakfasts go big at restaurants

Bon Appétit is declaring breakfast as the new restaurant trend of 2009 and Lima, Peru as the next great foodie destination — something curiously echoed by Epicurious .

Kevin predicts more local food

Already a growing movement in 2008, eating local will continue to grow in popularity as people think not only about the effect on the planet of burning oil to move all that food around, but also of the effect on local economies of not supporting producers in your neighbourhood.

Kevin predicts the death of the "martini"

Vodka cocktails served in martini glasses will fade as an expensive luxury. People might turn to light white and red wines, or bartenders looking to continue to emphasize the value-added may promote simpler, less expensive, vodka-based cocktails.

Jessica predicts a rise in communal entertaining

Though I don't consider myself as forward-thinking person, if faced with making a prediction, I think that communal entertaining at home will come back in style. With certain communities, these kinds of get-togethers have never gone out of fashion. It's one of the reasons I love attending Philippino family parties, for instance.

But with so many economic worries clouding our minds, I imagine more Canadians will return to the habit of staying in with friends and family - say, over a bubbling cauldron of fondue or a potluck dinner party - versus meeting out at a restaurants for supper.