What’s Cooking in 2025?
Unlock the Future of Dining Now: Discover the Latest Culinary Trends
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What’s Cooking in 2025?
Just when you thought you’d perfected your menu, 2025 rolls in with a fresh set of flavours.
But, it’s not about scrapping the classics, it’s reimagining them for a new generation of
diners.
This month, Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) launched its much-anticipated Future Menus
2025 report. Currently, in its third year, this report reveals the four culinary megatrends set
to take over plates, palettes, and pantry shelves. Based on global research, millions of
online searches, and the collective experience of over 250 UFS chefs in 75 countries, the
report is part data, part gut instinct, and all delicious.
The Annual Future Menus initiative helps chefs take the latest food trends from concept to
creation. But its real star power? It goes beyond simply signposting trends. The 2025
edition reveals how chefs can attract Gen Z diners and maximise loyalty through
personalisation, cultural storytelling, and bold global flavours, turning insight into action.
So, what’s hot in 2025? According to the report:
1. Street Food Couture
Street food just got its designer moment. Think gourmet tacos, elevated mielies, and shisa
nyama sosaties dressed up for the chef’s table. This trend takes everyday favourites and
gives them the red-carpet treatment, without losing their gritty soul. As Chef Mary puts it:
“Street food is where flavour lives. It’s just getting dressed up a little and finally getting the
runway it deserves.”
2. Borderless Cuisine
Passport? Optional. Diners are hungry for dishes that blur borders and marry unlikely
flavour profiles. This isn’t your average ‘fusion’. It’s thoughtful, story-driven cooking that
draws on heritage, migration and imagination. Think: chakalaka ramen, Thai-style bobotie,
or peri-peri Gochujang aioli drizzled on just about everything.
3. Culinary Roots
The past is delicious. Chefs are digging deep – literally and figuratively – to reconnect with
ancestral dishes, indigenous ingredients, and regional storytelling. From African heritage
grains to reimagined Khoisan stews, this is food with a strong sense of place and pride.
4. Diner Designed
Welcome to the age of “me, myself and menu.” Diners want to customise their meals like
they do playlists. Whether it’s gluten-free, low-waste, heat-level-two-but-add-coriander,
2025 is the year of personalisation. And tech is stepping up to help make it scalable, smart,
and seamless.
“These trends are more than just flavour profiles or plating styles,” says Yonela Motloung,
Marketing Lead for Unilever Food Solutions South Africa. “They reflect how people want to
eat, how chefs want to cook, and how food can respond to culture, climate, and
connection. It’s about future-proofing your menu, not just chasing hype.”
She adds that while the full Future Menus report goes into rich detail and even includes
recipe concepts, it goes beyond just naming trends. It explores what Gen Z diners are really
looking for, how chefs can stay relevant, and oaers practical inspiration to help turn global
insights into local success.
So, whether you’re running a coaee shop, a food truck, a five-star kitchen – or you’re just an
avid home chef – these insights oaer practical ways to keep your diners curious and
coming back.
The full Future Menus 2025 report can be downloaded for free at
https://www.unileverfoodsolutions.co.za/chef-inspiration/future-menus-2025-landing-
launch.html and is packed with recipes, tips, and chef-led inspiration for every corner of
every kitchen.
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