It won't be wrong to say that food trends today are a circus of ideas, and as harsh as it may sound, it's starting to suffocate the very essence of cooking. Whether it's the relentless obsession with Instagrammable food or the endless parade of fusion dishes that seem more like gimmicks than genuine innovation, not just us, but chefs are weary too. It's evident that the quest for novelty has spiraled into a race to outdo each other with increasingly outlandish combinations often at the expnese of flavour and authenticity. And frankly, chefs who have dedicated their lives to food are over it. We got in touch with India's leading chefs who are no longer biting their tongues when it comes to food trends they've had enough of. 2025, they hope will mark a return to sanity in the kitchen.
Sanket Joshi, Executive Chef, Avatara, Mumbai
“I feel there is excessive usage of edible gold dust in the luxury cuisine segment nowadays. At times, the use is without any relevance. It doesn't add any nutritional value, nor it uplifts the taste, it is purely to make the dish look aesthetically appealing. Another thing which I feel is leaving behind wastage has been a practice while trying to keep up with these trends. I feel we should be more mindful and think of a sustainable angle. At Avatara we follow a sustainable angle where we repurpose the by-products and keep a lookout for new techniques to keep elevating while also being mindful and that is what we are taking forward with us in 2025 and beyond.”
Gresham Fernandes, Chef & Partner, Bandra Born
“When a dish’s concept or story needs a 10-minute TED Talk before you can even taste it, that’s a problem. Over-explaining takes away from the experience of simply enjoying good food. Let the ingredients and the execution speak for themselves - no one wants to feel like they’re cramming for a culinary exam while trying to have dinner.”
Lakhan Jethani, Executive Chef, Mizu Izakaya
“The trend that I would definitely not want to see in 2025 is taking croissants and flat pressing them, coating them with chocolate, or using them like a thin piece of bread to make a sandwich. When you really think about a croissant, it's something which is a co-curation of science, precision, years of research and so much time to make. And you take it and completely reverse it into something that it was not supposed to be. That really took me to a place where I was like everything else is okay, but if you take something like a croissant, which you spend, like almost one and a half day making and, proving it to perfection and then baking it to perfection, layering it to perfection, and then you flatten the whole thing out. What was the point of doing all of that? That's a food trend that I would definitely not want to see.”
Manuel Olveira, Chef & Owner, La Loca Maria and La Panthera
“Overcomplicated dishes! While culinary innovation is commendable, food should ultimately celebrate taste over theatrics. Overly intricate techniques and elaborate presentations often overshadow the essence of a meal, turning it into a spectacle rather than an experience of flavour. The obsession with flashy tableside gimmicks needs to reduce so I would steer away from nitrogen infused smoke or fire and flaming platters. While these dramatic presentations can captivate, they frequently detract from the true hero of the moment: the dish itself and the actual flavour. So the ‘Instagrammable’ food craze needs to be halted. A beautiful plate that fails to delight the palate misses the mark entirely, I would think and wonder, what’s the point of that dish. Finally, let’s embrace a shift away from processed ingredients that disconnect us from fresh flavours or locally sourced produce. Embracing local produce elevates the flavour and strengthens our connection to the land and supports our communities. In 2025, I would really love to celebrate simplicity and great food.”
Sarfaraz Ahmed, Corporate Chef, Passion F&B India
“First of all , avocado as an ingredient has been overhyped and overdosed everywhere. So we need to understand the flavour and use it wisely. Truffle and caviar are two things that have been placed now with each and everything. There are some things which are related to luxury and we should let them be used with foie gras and expensive seafood rather than putting it on the potato chips. That is something as a chef I don't like because you need to give respect to the ingredient that they want and the market segment. And from a restaurant point of view, just to make more money, people are putting restaurants with a bazaar sitting. I would say the seating is too congested and people no longer have any privacy. So all those kinds of things probably in 2025 we should ditch.”
Ali Akbar, Executive Chef, Slink & Bardot
“One thing I've noticed across India is the shift in street food culture. Earlier, street food served a specific function, but now it seems there's been no real functional growth or advancement. Instead, everything is overloaded with butter, cheese, and massive portion sizes, which I find very similar to trends in the US. It feels like whatever the US does, we end up adopting too. For example, the trend of liquid cheese being stuffed from a packet - a product that’s not even real cheese, but a soy-based vegetarian alternative with tons of MSG. Not that MSG is necessarily bad, but it contains high levels of sodium and other additives, making it quite strange to consume. Similarly, the obsession with Maggi has reached new heights. People are experimenting with it in bizarre ways - using Fanta, energy drinks like Bolt, and even mutton curry in Maggi. These innovations are extremely unappetizing, and it feels like we’re moving in a completely different direction when it comes to street food.”
Ebaani Tewari, Chef and Co-founder, Kari Apla
“As we move into 2025, I'm eager to see a shift away from over-complicated dishes and trendy ingredients that sacrifice flavour for aesthetics. For me, that means returning to our roots and the authenticity of regional Indian foods and celebrating our India’s local food heritage with honest, unpretentious cooking.”
Tarun Sibal, Chef & Entrepreneur, Taupe by Titlie
“I don’t want to see every new place to be an izakaya or an omakase style experience. These Japanese styles or concepts are loosely used currently and hence would either want authenticity or we stay away from calling everything izakaya and omakase.”
Rachi Gupta, Chef at The Bread Bar & The Gelato Bar
“While visually striking, the overuse of edible gold leaf on desserts, drinks, or dishes feels unnecessary, offering no flavour or real value to the dish. Then overload of flavour, for example hot honey on everything or truffle on everything. Then there's plant-based imitation meat. I think foods that are hyper-processed like plant based burgers which act as a meat alternative will lose their appeal and there will be a shift towards natural plant based options like mushrooms, jackfruit and lentils.”
Nooresha Kably, Chef & Owner, Izumi
“No more pan Asian restaurants. There is a growing number of Asian restaurants in the city, most of which are not of great quality. I feel as a cuisine it’s getting highly saturated.”