2026 Food Trends

The last time we put together something on food trends was back in 2023 and there’s a reason why we haven’t done another one since – we kept on seeing the same old ‘trends’ popping up year after year (read the article here to see what we mean). And some of the trends turned out really to be fads and were gone within 30 seconds.

But it’s hard to make predictions as both US baseball player Yogi Berra and Danish Nobel prize awarded physicist Niels Bohr agree – they’re both attributed with the quote ‘Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future’.

This year is however a little different – people are talking about new things! Rather than trying to work out what these trends might be ourselves (we had to look up some of the foods and dishes we’d never heard of), we relied on people who should know more than us and what they have been saying in the last few months. Remember you might have to take some of the ‘trends’ with a pinch of salt as quite a few of the people quoted have some skin in the game!

So without further ado, here are some of the trends identified by Australian chefs, well known foodies and a few people in the food and food service industries. And it’s worth bearing in mind that a lot of these guys and gals are probably ahead of new trends anyway (especially top chefs) – so if they diss things that seem to be just coming in, that’s to be expected.

Here’s the list…

Brassicas

That is broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower etc. Not boiled to within an inch of their lives, rather cooked briefly to retain their crunchy texture. Celtuce (aka Chinese lettuce, stem lettuce, celery lettuce, asparagus lettuce) is tipped to have a moment in 2026

Chicken-based foods

Increasingly featured on menus, chicken may have knocked off steak as the favourite source of protein in Australia (more on protein below)

Greek food

This one probably isn’t totally new, but Greek food is definitely continuing to have a moment right now

Miso

No longer limited to miso soup in a Japanese restaurant, miso is now being used more widely in savoury and sweet dishes

Offal

Yes you read that right – according to one chef ‘genuinely delicious’

Pickled and fermented food

Examples given were pickled fennel, fermented pineapple salsa and bright cabbage slaw (see our article on fermented foods)

Plant-Based, Alternative Proteins & Functional Foods

This trend is more noticeable in supermarkets and ready-to-eat meals rather than in restaurants, where vegan and plant-based restaurants have been around for a while

Spices

Not just any old spices but specifically Aleppo chili, sumac, cumin, coriander and Gochugaru, Korean red chilli flakes (found in Asian supermarkets)

Ube

We had to look this one up (as well as Gochugaru above). Ube is a purple yam (tuber) cultivated mainly in the Phillipines but gaining traction in the US and Asia. It has a sweet nutty flavour which is used in ice cream, pastries and savoury glazes

Drinks

Matcha tea

As with Greek food above matcha tea is not brand new, but is likely to still be popular. Apparently the popularity of matcha not only here but around the world has caused some shortages in its country of origin, Japan.

More creative non-alcoholic drinks

We flagged this trend back in 2022, but it looks like it’s still on four years later …or is it? Maybe it’s a slow burner

And what’s out in 2026 (supposedly)

‘Smug’ water

The word ‘smug’ above can be replaced by ‘horrendously expensive’

Caviar

Especially Avruga caviar

Lack of eggs

Hopefully we can all get eggs in 2026

Chocolate mousse

Chocolate Mousse perhaps jumped the shark in 2025, however one contributor nonetheless spoke up for ‘old-school chocolate mousse’ as a trend in 2026

Dubai chocolate

Enough said

Focaccia sandwiches

Ditto

Açai bowls

Ditto

Burrata and calamari

Especially the fried, oily variants

The protein thing

Although we don’t think the ‘high in protein’ sticker on every other supermarket item will disappear in 2026

Trend-based menus

A self fulfilling prophecy

Have you noticed any foods, ingredients or dishes coming in to (or going out of) fashion in 2026 that we have missed above? Or any you’d prefer to be on the way out? Let us know!