Addresses as beau­tiful as they are good. Just look at Instagram. In the age of social media, the aes­the­tics of a restau­rant have beco­me almost as important as the qua­li­ty of the food. This is also con­firm­ed by an annu­al stu­dy from NellyRodi, a fore­ca­sting and con­su­mer trends agen­cy, com­mis­sio­ned by the online boo­king plat­form The Fork. Photogenic dis­hes, crea­ti­ve col­la­bo­ra­ti­ons, and immersi­ve set­tings are incre­a­sing­ly trans­forming the culina­ry expe­ri­ence into a visu­al as much as a sen­so­ry spectacle.

The rise of aged fish. In her Lausanne restau­rant, Anne-Sophie Pic ages her Lake Geneva fera befo­re ser­ving it with kohl­ra­bi, squid sli­ces, and spruce shoots – in a deli­ca­te reci­pe who­se secret she holds. In Zurich, Hönggerhof ages fish for seve­ral days befo­re pro­ces­sing it. Inspired by Japanese and Australian prac­ti­ces, aging or dry-aging is a tech­ni­que whe­re fish is left to rest in a matu­ra­ti­on cabi­net to deve­lop its fla­vors. This is done under con­trol­led con­di­ti­ons of tem­pe­ra­tu­re and humi­di­ty, for seve­ral days to seve­ral weeks. The result is a more ten­der tex­tu­re, a more con­cen­tra­ted taste, and a fla­vor expe­ri­ence distinct­ly dif­fe­rent from fresh fish. A way to fur­ther expand the spec­trum of pos­si­bi­li­ties for this magni­fi­cent product.

An incre­a­sing­ly sus­tainable and plant-based cui­sine. As health and social respon­si­bi­li­ty beco­me incre­a­sing­ly important topics, the influence of well-being and sus­taina­bi­li­ty on coo­king is gro­wing: plant-based menus, fer­men­ta­ti­on, vege­ta­ble pro­te­ins, and nut­ri­ent balan­ce are stee­ring gastro­no­my towards vita­li­ty and lon­ge­vi­ty. As for sea­so­na­li­ty, it con­ti­nues to dic­ta­te menus, as does pro­xi­mi­ty to pro­du­cers and waste reduc­tion. Because all of this does not pre­clude plea­su­re and excel­lence, some beau­tiful restau­rants like Oz, one of Andreas Caminada’s restau­rants in the heart of Schauenstein Castle, or Luis Zuzarte’s Appart are alre­a­dy set­ting the trend. A com­mit­ment that was not wit­hout risk… Last October, Daniel Humm, the chef of New York’s Eleven Madison Park, who had been suc­cessful­ly 100% plant-based for four years, deci­ded to move away from vega­nism for eco­no­mic reasons.

The return of the fla­me. A lan­gou­sti­ne gril­led over a Japanese fire, a lamb chop seared by the heat of embers, a cara­me­li­zed des­sert with a torch… Primal, almost bio­lo­gi­cal, fla­me coo­king is making a come­back. Long con­fi­ned to bar­be­cues and coo­king that excel­led neither in pre­cis­i­on nor light­ness, and often rele­ga­ted to sof­ter, less authen­tic heat sources, fire, now under con­trol, is making a strong return to the kit­chen. Sometimes it adds an extra soul, a com­fort­ing taste. As a sign of the times, small bra­ziers and other Japanese grills are fin­ding their way into many pro­fes­sio­nal kitchens.

Increasingly noma­dic chefs. Building on the repu­ta­ti­on they’­ve ear­ned during their care­ers in fine estab­lish­ments, or thanks to their media covera­ge on coo­king shows (the famous Top Chef effect), many young chefs are not neces­s­a­ri­ly pur­suing the restau­rant adven­ture. Publishing recipes on social media, pri­va­te coo­king acti­vi­ties, menu sig­nings, resi­den­ci­es in alre­a­dy estab­lished restau­rants, or pre­sence at pop-up tables… The natu­re of the busi­ness is chan­ging and adap­ting to a young cli­ente­le influen­ced by social net­works. This vola­ti­li­ty does not pre­vent the­se young talents from clai­ming the strength of their trai­ning with gre­at pro­fes­sio­nals who shi­ne in a more con­ven­tio­nal envi­ron­ment. And who also no lon­ger hesi­ta­te to lend their name to eph­eme­ral tables or four-hand meals out­side the walls of their establishments.

Bread as an ingre­di­ent. Thanks to some pas­sio­na­te artis­ans, bread is once again at the cen­ter of the table. While we love it in its pri­ma­ry func­tion as an indis­pensable com­pa­n­ion to home­ma­de but­ter, a ripe cheese, a gour­met sau­ce, or a rustic ter­ri­ne, it now func­tions as a pre­fer­red ingre­di­ent. In Danny Khezzar’s pota­to cap­puc­ci­no, a reinter­pre­ta­ti­on of a Michel Roth dish, it comes, gril­led and ground into pow­der, to bring the toa­sted accom­p­animent essen­ti­al to this trom­pe-l’oeil. Embedded in cre­a­my ice cream, it’s a rather unex­pec­ted and sur­pri­sin­gly deli­ca­te scent of toast.

Artificial intel­li­gence at your ser­vice. It can­not yet com­pe­te with a sophi­sti­ca­ted pala­te, and all the bet­ter for it. And if arti­fi­ci­al intel­li­gence is ope­ning the doors of kit­chens, it is pri­ma­ri­ly as an opti­mizati­on tool, with the aim of redu­cing waste, incre­a­sing pro­fi­ta­bi­li­ty through atten­dance, or adju­sting sche­du­les or ope­ning hours. For small estab­lish­ments, AI is alre­a­dy saving time in mana­ging repe­ti­ti­ve tasks: reser­va­ti­on manage­ment, ana­ly­sis of cus­to­mer reviews, admi­ni­stra­ti­ve assi­stance, crea­ti­on of busi­ness plans, or sup­port for social media manage­ment. In 2026, it should also help pre­dict and redu­ce no-shows, and dyna­mical­ly opti­mi­ze pri­ces and menus. When it comes to crea­ting a reci­pe or menu, chefs natu­ral­ly trust only one intel­li­gence: their own.