What's on the table in 2025?

With social media, internet and a renewed connection with one's roots influencing eating habits, food, as we see it, will be revolutionised in this year

What's life without food, say many, and if you're one among those who 'lives to eat' rather than 'eats to live', then you'd want to know what's going to be cooking in the culinary world in the new year. And that, say experts, is easier said than done now!

With food becoming more and more global, culinary innovations developing at the speed of light, social media weighing in, chefs feeling more empowered to break traditional rules – or to dig deep into their cultural roots – it's kind of hard to know where to begin.

Asian flavours and chains

It seems a little silly to say Asian cuisine is on the rise, since the category is enormous and has been around for millennia. But the growing number of Asian (Southeast Asian in particular) markets, restaurants, ingredients and prepared foods is dramatic, and is influencing all kinds of cooking.

H Mart, a South Korean chain of Asian markets now has 96 stores worldwide, most in the US, while other chains like 99 Ranch (Chinese) and Patel Brothers (Indian) are expanding. Gochujang, sambal, yuzu, calamansi, matcha and kimchi (to name but a few) appear more and more on packaging and menus. There's sushi, barbecue, ramen, bulgogi. And Asian dumplings are proliferating in the frozen food aisles.

The global palate