With hundreds of dinners at the Beard House each year, dozens of events across the country, and the annual James Beard Awards highlighting the best of American cuisine each year, consumers can gain a broad view of the nation’s edible zeitgeist.

With that in mind, the Beard House dusted off its crystal ball and called on experts to forecast the food trends destined to be hitting plates in the coming year. From the triumphant return of French cuisine to the frenzy over fermentation to the new “it” vegetable, we’ve got the roadmap to guide you through the highways and byways of the culinary landscape for 2017.

From local bakeries to Pinterest boards, the sweets world is exploding with color.

Cakes filled with the tiny, bright confections are flooding social media feeds, homemade versions are featured on menus everywhere, and recipes are shared in major news sources: the New York Times hopped aboard the sprinkle train, the Washington Post and BuzzFeed went nuts over rainbow bagels, and websites like Epicurious and the Kitchn waxed poetic about the sprinkle-dusted “fairy” toast. Put on your sunglasses, because the collective dessert future looks pretty bright.