The National Restaurant Association’s annual What’s Hot Culinary Forecast offers a detailed look at the topics, trends and products expected to drive menus in the coming year across a variety of categories.
The top 10 hot trends for 2023 include:
- Experiences/local culture and community
- Fried chicken sandwiches and chicken sandwiches 3.0 (such as spicy and sweet-heat fusion flavors on chicken)
- Charcuterie boards
- Comfort fare
- Flatbread sandwiches/healthier wraps
- Menu streamlining
- Sriracha variations
- Globally inspired salads
- Zero waste/Sustainability/Upcycled foods
- Southeast Asian cuisines (Vietnamese, Singaporean, Philippine, etc.)
Consumers will be drawn to trending global flavors like Southeast Asian and Caribbean cuisines, as well as comfort foods with a twist and charcuterie boards. All of these demonstrate the type of satisfying, shared dining experience that more guests are expected to seek out in 2023.
To find its results, the National Restaurant Association partnered with the American Culinary Federation and Technomic to conduct its annual survey in October 2022. More than 500 professional chefs from the ACF and Association members with chef titles provided insights.
