When great minds come together, magic happens in the kitchen. This year, that magic is coming to the Philippine dining scene as Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) rolls out the highly anticipated Future Menus 2025 experience across the country. Following the global launch in Thailand, UFS is set to bring the latest culinary insights to life through a series of local activations. Food service operators, chefs, and restaurateurs in key cities—including Bacolod, Cebu, and Davao—can look forward to hands-on workshops, live demos, and immersive masterclasses designed to help them apply global trends in locally relevant ways.
“As a key market in the region, the Philippines plays an important role in the evolving food service landscape,” said Monica Reyes, Head of Marketing, Unilever Food Solutions Philippines. “We’re excited to equip local chefs with the insights and inspiration they need to future-proof their menus and create meaningful dining experiences.”
L-R: Chef Pipo Aluning (Senior Sous Chef), Chef Brando Santos (Senior Sous Chef), Vangie Hu (Marketing Director of UFS SEA, Southeast Asia), Chef Paulo Sia (Senior Sous Chef), Chef Kenneth Cacho (Country Executive Chef)
A Global Launch: Culinary Leaders Converge in Thailand
Last May 21, UFS unveiled Future Menus 2025 at the regional event in Thailand where hundreds of culinary leaders, chefs, and trendsetters from across Asia gathered to explore the top trends poised to influence the business of food. This gathering marked the official launch of the highly anticipated trend report by UFS, unveiling key global and regional insights that will shape the future of dining.
Chef Kenneth Cacho gives a preview on one of the projected food trends, Borderless Cuisine
Street Food Couture
Traditional street foods are being elevated to gourmet offerings with chef expertise in every food service channel, including fine dining. Gen Z is a major driver of this trend, with 65% seeking value for money when it comes to food and dining experiences. With humble ingredients and cooking techniques like charcoal grilling, steaming, and wok hei, chefs are elevating favorites such as crepes, tacos, skewers, burritos, spring rolls, dumplings, bao buns, and Korean corn dogs.
Diner Designed
Diner Designed is all about putting personalization at the heart of the culinary experience, with growing demand for custom flavors and interactive dining. Emerging technologies like AI and AR are driving this trend forward by enabling immersive, multisensory meals. Diners now enjoy more control through techniques like table-side cooking, 3D printing, build-your-own dishes, and blowtorching. With 47% of people now preferring to spend money on experiences over material goods, UFS supports businesses with training, menu engineering, and the easy integration of menu trends.
Borderless Cuisine
Borderless Cuisine celebrates the fusion of global food traditions, driven by globalization, culinary tourism, and migration. This trend brings exciting new flavors and ingredients to the table while honoring authentic techniques and cultural roots. Dishes blend the old with the new, featuring standout ingredients like miso, kimchi, shiso, pomegranate, and calamansi to create fresh, yet respectful culinary experiences.
Culinary Roots
Culinary Roots highlights a return to indigenous ingredients and hyperlocal cuisines, as chefs delve into forgotten recipes and traditional techniques to honor the regions they cook in.
Chef RV Manabat, a respected culinary figure from the Philippines, is especially excited about “borderless cuisine,” where “the fusion between two or more cuisines not only creates delicious dishes but more importantly, signifies harmony and respect between different cultures.” He also noticed that lately, diners are more willing to explore, “new food trends excite them and [diners] are more open to trying unfamiliar dishes.”
When asked about how chefs can balance innovation and authenticity in developing new dishes, another prominent Filipino chef and content creator Ninong Ry, added, “Simply by paying more attention and truly understanding the original dish. Knowing the rules so you can break them effectively.”
The Future Menus 2025 Trend Report is now available for download. Visit this website to download your copy and start transforming your menu today.
