The Culinary Journey that Made Up 2023

What were the top trending foods, flavor profiles, and culinary gadgets this year? In this blog, our corporate executive chef, Howard Cantor, reflects on the biggest trends in 2023 that shaped the culinary world.

Each year I’m asked to give a recap of the year’s culinary landscape from a chef’s point of view, and it always ends up being a fun exercise to look back at the trends that came, and sometimes went, in the culinary world.  While reflecting on what happened over the last year, I also eagerly await the annual trend reports that take a shot at predicting the future of food along with the trends the industry will see in the coming year. I also enjoy looking back at the trends of the last year to see if what was predicted back at the start of 2023 came close to the true trends that we saw throughout the year, or if the influence of social media or viral video’s derailed our predictions in just a few clicks.

Below I offer a quick snapshot of the trends I observed during 2023 while reading through trend reports, doing menu research, dining out, and traveling this amazing country.

Pizza, pizza, and more pizza! This past year seemed to be the rise of pizza; not necessarily Neapolitan style pies or specialty gourmand pizza, but more of the rebirth of crispy, light, aged dough cooked on a coal fired deck with a simple tangy tomato sauce and a heavy coating of cheese.  With the social media phenomenon of food reviews, the daily postings of pizza reviews and content can influence consumers’ views on pizza and what the expectations for a high-quality slice should consist of, and I am no different.

This year, I have planned more than one trip around a certain pizza shop because of something I saw in a video, read in an article, or saw on a social media reel. As we head into 2024, I don’t foresee this trend slowing down in the slightest. Like the resurgence of Texas style BBQ, I feel like pizza is about to have its moment in the sun again, and to be quite honest, I’m not upset about it.

Tamarind: Fruit or spice?  We saw an uptick in the use of tamarind this year, from BBQ sauce to Mexican candies. Callouts were everywhere, and rightfully so. This sweet, tangy delicious paste can be found in cuisines all over the world, and with the rise in global cuisines, it’s no surprise tamarind has been showcased in so many ways.

We’ve seen it as a staple ingredient in Worcestershire sauce, rounding out the condiment by giving it that distinct sweet, fruity flavor consumers are familiar with. Foodservice establishments add it to dressings, marinades, sauces, and as a driving flavor in desserts.  While we saw tamarind “pop off” towards mid-year, we believe that it will see an even bigger push in 2024 and that consumers will see this flavor show up all over restaurant menus and the grocery store aisles.

Nostalgic eating has proven to be a HUGE force in product development this year.  Since the pandemic, consumers have turned to food products that invoke a sense of comfort, like their mom’s banana bread, grandma’s Sunday gravy, dad’s BBQ, but all with a modern twist.  We have seen this happen in just about every category, whether it was in the dirty Shirley (Shirley Temple spiked with vodka), the classic hand pie (think apple pies in a pouch) that took on a savory twist, or the coveted banana bread with chipotle and ancho chiles that I enjoyed while in Texas this year.  Nothing was off-limits in restaurants, on social media or in publications when it came to nostalgic eating when every consumer has their personal takes on what makes food comforting.

Kitchen gadgets are sometimes worth the hype. They seem to be one of the more overlooked, but necessary, things in a kitchen, and 2023 was full of some exciting kitchen gadgets. At the top of my list this year was a wireless digital thermometer with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities. With online shopping, it’s easy to get lost in the research, looking at all the different brands and styles of thermometers. However, after a lengthy amount of research, I was able to find two different types of thermometers that I use for different purposes: one for my smoker and one for general use.  Both products have been extremely handy with their modern capabilities; one is attached to my cellphone with an app, and one is a foldable pocket style thermometer that has a digital instant read and works wonderfully.

Another kitchen gadget I found myself using frequently was my spherical ice molds for cocktails.  If you’re looking for round, square, triangular, or fun off-the-wall shapes, there is an ice mold out there for you to keep your favorite cocktail ice cold and ready to drink.

To dive deeper into both macro trends and category trends that we saw throughout 2023, explore all of our Taste & Trends Blogs from this last year.