From the Editor, Leigh O’Connor.
Feast into the Future isn’t just a New Year’s meal; it’s a doorway. The table glows with candles and possibility, glasses catching fireworks like tiny galaxies. You taste midnight in bright citrus, smoky char and the hush of slow-cooked comfort. There’s a pull toward food that feels alive again - ingredients with stories, dishes that speak of place, season and care.
As 2026 arrives, the palate shifts with it. Expect more vegetable-forward bravado, where greens aren’t sides but stars. Fire and fermentation keep rising - flame-kissed plates, tangy jars and fizzing drinks that feel both ancient and new. Luxury gets quieter: impeccable produce, thoughtful simplicity, fewer tricks and more truth. Global flavours keep blending, not as novelty, but as home cooking reinvented.
Raise a fork to the future. Let the first bite be brave, the last one sweet and the year ahead deliciously wide open.
If 2025 could be plated, Winston Zhang says it would taste like gratitude. It is not like a catchphrase but a truth learned over long services and a tough Melbourne year. For Akaiito and its brother restaurant downstairs, Ototo, the past twelve months have been about presence: staying close to guests, staying true to craft and staying resilient in a city still relearning the rhythm of dining out.
At Akaiito, that presence hits the moment you step inside. The room is darkly beautiful and quietly romantic, the kind of place where voices naturally soften and the table feels like its own little world. Winston calls what they do "elevated intimacy and personal touch,” and in 2025 they’ve leaned into that harder than ever.
If 2026 was a dish, it wouldn’t be subtle. It would arrive sizzling, crackling, shimmering - something you can hear before it hits the table and smell before the waiter even turns the corner. This is the year the world decides that eating isn’t a routine; it’s a full-blown mood.
From the moment January rolls in, kitchens everywhere feel supercharged. Home cooks start treating their pantries like playgrounds, mixing, tossing and flambéing with a kind of joyful bravery.
If there is one night of the year where you can unapologetically go all-in on sparkle, spectacle and a touch of organised chaos, it’s New Year’s Eve. As we usher in 2026 - a year already shimmering with promise - it’s time to elevate the humble house party into a multi-sensory, multi-format celebration designed for the future.
We dish up your NYE Host’s Guide to stepping into the new year with style, flavour, rhythm and a hearty dose of joy.
Discover the proteins of the future – think crickets, cultured meat and koji – along with future foods through the ages and what we thought we’d be eating by now…
Let’s dive into 2026 together!
