1. Rum baba

Abigail Donnelly | TASTE Food Director | @donnellyabi

“Rum baba* has been celebrated everywhere from France and Italy to SA, and I’ve often spotted it on social media. I have memories of a dinner in Italy where Massimo Bottura and Alain Ducasse served rum babas to all 300 guests!”

*Flavours of citrus, vanilla and rum (sometimes limoncello, grappa or other spirits) are typical of these small sponge cakes, saturated in syrup and often filled or topped with whipped cream or pastry cream.

Neapolitan rum baba cakes recipe

 2. Tomatoes

Khanya Mzongwana | TASTE Contributing Food Editor | @____khanya

“Tomatoes have been HUGE for me this year. Marinated; fermented; sliced and salted. I’ve made tomato tartare, tomato curry, tomato syrup. I’ve been obsessed!”

Sheet pasta with ibhisto recipe 

Do you also love tomatoes? Check out our tomato recipe collection 

3. Bold condiments

Masego Mbonyana | Chef and Food Stylist | @mealswithmasego

“This has been a year of big, joyful flavour – the kind of flavours that make you close your eyes when you take a second bite. I’ve seen chilli crisp on everything (I’m not complaining!); miso stirred into dressings; tamarind and all the bold African spice blends coming through. Social media channels have basically been one big flavour party, with everyone experimenting, saucing, drizzling.
“I’ve found that the ingredients people request the most are those that do the most without being complicated: turmeric; ginger; preserved lemons; tahini; mushrooms; seaweed; sorghum; heritage grains. Clean, but full of character. I love seeing the shift towards ingredients that feel good in the body but still taste like a hug.”

Pork belly with Rice Krispie chilli crisp recipe

4. Cape Malay

Wayne Chang | Food Content Creator | @munchin_mash

“I’ve noticed a rise in restaurants incorporating Cape Malay flavours into certain dishes. An absolute win from me! In terms of what’s been trending on social media, I’ve seen the sheet-pan kebab method everywhere this year.”

Cape Malay-style chicken sloppy joes recipe

5. Sandwiches

Hannerie Visser | Director at Studio H | @studio_h_

“Apart from tiramisu, which was everywhere and in everything, one item that absolutely dominated our plates was the sandwich. Everyone – from big-name chefs to retailers – was obsessed. In 2025 we saw a return to the classics in cuisine, with a shift away from micro trends. Enjoyment, with an emphasis on flavour and texture, was a priority.”

P.S. Studio H will release their Future Food Report 2026/2027 soon. You can pre-order it here.

Muffuletta sandwich recipe

6. Smoke and spice

Fayruza Abrahams | Food and Menu Curator, Cape Malay Cooking Experiences | @taste.malay

“Like Wayne, African and locally inspired tastes really stood out for me – Cape Malay spices, with bobotie being the dish visitors ask me about most, as well as indigenous grains and plants. There’s a clear trend toward healthier, whole-food dishes using sustainable ingredients.

“Other standout flavours this year included shisa nyama and BBQ-style dishes, along with chilli crunch and chilli oils adding extra kick to meals.”

Bobotie recipe 

7. Butter

Megan Kate Swan | Private Chef | @swanskitchen

“Browned butter, butter boards, whipped butter, flavoured butter… good butter has been everywhere. It’s signalled a full return to richness, comfort and unapologetic flavour. I’m very glad that the old, fear-driven stigma around butter is finally behind us.
“My clients this year have been requesting comfort classics, simple desserts, nostalgic flavours and food that feels indulgent but thoughtful. There’s a definite move away from chasing trends and more toward what genuinely feels good to eat.”

Radish-and-grape butter terrine recipe

8. Fire-cooked food

Mpho Nkomo | Owner of Something Smoked Roadhouse | @somethingsmokedroadhouse

“Smoke-forward, slow-cooked comfort flavours with depth – particularly beef and bone-driven flavours like brisket, oxtail, and short rib – dominated my year. There’s been a strong appreciation for food that feels honest, nostalgic, and rooted in technique, where smoke, time, and seasoning, rather than over-complication, do the heavy lifting.

Butter-glazed smoked chicken recipe 

9. Pistachio: The flavour of the year

Pistachio had such a moment in 2025 that multiple experts chose it. Here’s what they have to say about why it deserved the title of flavour of the year.

Zaynab Paruk | Food Content Creator | @zaynabparuk

“The flavour of 2025 has undoubtedly been pistachio, fuelled by the rise of Dubai chocolate and pistachio kunafa. These indulgent, rich, deeply satisfying flavours have filtered into almost every dessert imaginable, from cookies, cakes and cheesecakes to éclairs and doughnuts, to the point of triggering a global pistachio shortage.

Lello’s mortadella, pistachio and burrata panino

Chiara Turilli | Owner of Lello’s Deli | @lellosdeli

“We’ve been highlighting pistachio since we opened four years ago, and it’s magnificent to see how the flavour can carry from Italian dishes all the way to the Middle East. We make our crema di pistachio and 100% pistachio butter in-house, and it was extremely exciting to receive countless requests for our products as people got to know more about them online.”

Katherine Pope | TASTE Head of Content | @wwtaste

“It’s been incredible to see pistachio go from a fairly niche nut to the flavour in every patisserie window and social media creator’s content. I do think that the eminently Instagrammable colour helped it along! Matcha took second place, so 2025 was a very green year on social! Tiramisu was another massive trend and since I personally enjoy fridge cakes, I loved seeing the genre expand. (Shoutout to the Woolies lemon tiramisu, which features lemon curd and limoncello – two of my favourite things.)”

Bonus: Delicious Monster’s 2025 round-up

Nicky Barber, a.k.a. Delicious Monster (@delishmonster), shared a “no-fluff look at the flavours and habits that actually shaped our kitchens this year”.

 

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A post shared by Nicky Barber // Delicious Monster (@delishmonster)