2025 Food Forecast

Picks and predictions from some of our favorite chefs.

Every year we ask members of the Kikkoman Kitchen Cabinet, our inner circle of leading-edge chef partners, to weigh in on the food trends and ingredients they’re expecting to go big in the year ahead. Heard of ube, calamansi, and kakigori? Take these chefs word for it…you’re about to.

Chef Robbie Felice

Chef/owner, pastaRAMEN, Montclair, NJ

I’m betting big on Wafu Italian cuisine. It’s a melding of Japanese and Italian cuisines that uses Japanese cooking techniques and ingredients like soy sauce, sesame oil, ponzu, mirin and miso to add flavor and umami to traditional Italian dishes.

Check out Chef Robbie’s Wafu Italian Meatballs – classic meatballs in red sauce with a whole new level of umami and flavor.

Chef Shota Nakajima

Chef/owner, Taku, Seattle, WA

Sushi handrolls are on the rise. They’re the perfect snack—simple, fresh and satisfying without the cost or time commitment of a full sushi experience. I think we’ll see dedicated handroll spots popping up everywhere, offering a quick and high-quality dining option.

Check out our easy recipe for Veggie Handrolls

Chef Diego Ng

Chef/Co-owner, Temple Street Eatery, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Handheld Japanese-style street foods are trending, especially rice-based snacks like Musubi and Onigiri as well as Katsu Sandos (breaded cutlet sandwiched made with fluffy white bread).

Discover our Tuna Onigiri recipe.

Filipino foods are gaining popularity, and two ingredients I’m seeing more of are ube, a kind of yam that adds a beautiful purple color to foods, and Calamansi, a citrus fruit with a bright, tangy flavor. Lately, I’ve been making a calamansi-soy-ginger dressing (using Kikkoman® Tamari Soy Sauce, of course!) for salads and dumplings—it’s absolutely delicious.

Chef Lon Symensma

Chef/Owner, ChoLon, Denver, CO

Eggplant will continue to be a trending ingredient. Beyond being nutrient-rich and delicious, there are so many varieties—American, Italian, Indian, Chinese, and
Japanese—that offer endless creative possibilities.

Our Gochujang Glazed Eggplant Donburi gets its sweet-savory flavor from our rich, thick Teriyaki Takumi, Gochujang Spicy Miso.

Squash is another ingredient I see trending for 2025. Like eggplant, it comes in a wide range of varieties, including Acorn, Delicata, and Butternut.

Kikkoman® Panko gives our Air Fryer Butternut Squash its crispy just-like-fried coating.

Chef Erik Bruner-Yang

Chef/Owner, Maketto and Providencia, Washington DC

Kakigori is a Japanese dessert that’s showing up everywhere. It’s fluffy shaved ice topped with fruit syrups, fruit, condensed milk, ice cream, yogurt and all kinds of other sweet and colorful ingredients.

At Providencia, Chef Erik loves to experiment with shaved ice flavors. His current fave is flavored with yuzu, coconut, strawberry and guava, topped with a meringue shell to add a Baked Alaska vibe.