By Leigh O’Connor.
2026 tastes different. You can feel it the moment you step into a restaurant, open your fridge, or scroll through a recipe feed that’s somehow learned the moods you don’t talk about. This year’s food zeitgeist isn’t just a shift in flavours - it’s a cultural gear change, a collective exhale, a rebellion wrapped in seaweed spice, and a whole lot of smoke.
The Death of the Degustation
For years, degustation menus were the crown jewels of high dining - slow, lavish parades of tiny, perfect plates. In 2026, they feel like relics. People aren’t chasing 16-course marathons anymore. They’re craving food that feels alive, immediate and honest.
The once-revered degustation now reads like an overlong novel - beautiful, yes, but exhausting. Diners want connection over choreography. They want to choose their own pace, to order something twice because they loved it, not because the procession forbids it.
Restaurants are responding by swapping rigidity for rhythm: playlists that flex with the crowd, menus rewritten hourly and Chefs stepping out of the kitchen to talk, laugh, pour and pass plates with the kind of warmth that can’t be staged.
What’s In: Fire, Ferment and Ferocity
If last year was the rise of ‘clean eating’, 2026 has set that philosophy alight - literally. Fire is back and it’s burning with purpose. Char, smoke, blister, crackle: the flavours of the moment are primal and unapologetic. From open-flame sourdough pizzas to flame-licked kingfish skewers, Chefs are embracing the chaos and creativity of cooking over coals. Fire is theatre, intimacy and instinct rolled into one.
Alongside the smoke, fermentation continues its quiet takeover but now it’s less about novelty and more about story. Every jar on a restaurant shelf, every funky sip or tangy bite carries the memory of time - days, months, sometimes years. It’s heritage made edible, patience made delicious.
Expect vegetables to stay centre stage, not as an afterthought but as the main event. Carrots roasted to near-caramel, cabbages split and charred until they resemble art, mushrooms treated with the respect once reserved for Wagyu. It’s vegetable maximalism and it’s glorious.
What’s Out: Perfection
The age of polished plates and flawless frosting is over. Imperfection has swagger. People want texture, uneven edges and dishes that feel human. A slightly collapsed soufflé? Charming. A hand-torn noodle? Soulful. A stain of sauce smeared by enthusiasm rather than tweezers? Bliss.
2026 has no patience for pretense. Food is allowed to breathe again and diners are exhaling with relief.
What’s on Fire: AI-generated Recipes
The hottest trend - both thrilling and a little terrifying - is AI in the kitchen. Not as a gimmick, but as a collaborator. AI is generating recipes based on personal cravings, seasonal surges, forgotten family dishes, or wild, impossible combinations Chefs try just for fun. A dessert inspired by your last holiday? A cocktail based on today’s weather and your horoscope? In 2026, that’s normal.
What truly sets this trend ablaze is the emotion behind it. AI isn’t replacing creativity - it’s igniting it. Chefs are still the storytellers. AI is simply the spark that lets them dream louder, bigger, stranger.
