Culinary heritage, borderless cuisine: 4 trends that shape future of food

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November 9, 2026 | 12:52pm

MANILA, Philippines – These days, when the world is constantly evolving, whoever does not keep up gets left behind. And when it comes to food, the future holds great promise. But what does it taste like? Are the predictions true that people are going to turn to bugs and insects for food in the future?

Guests at the recently concluded "Future Menus 2026: Food Trends Adventure of Unilever Food Solutions (UFS)" found out the answers to these questions. Held in partnership with GCash for Business, Future Menus transformed Foro de Intramuros into the venue of a one-of-a-kid food crawl that showcased the culinary ideas shaping how people eat today and how they may be eating tomorrow.

The fintech helped make the payments simple and convenient, so everyone could focus on moving seamlessly through the experience and discovering the flavors and trends that are now shaping the future of food.

Transforming trends into tasting menu

UFS’s annual global food trends platform, Future Menus is developed based on extensive research and insights from chefs around the world.

This year’s edition spotlighted four key trends shaping the future of dining:

The resurgence of heritage cuisine
The elevation of street food through more refined techniques
The growing influence of borderless cuisine
The emergence of more personalized dining experiences.

“Every year, Future Menus brings together insights from chefs, industry experts, consumer behavior, and global food trends to identify the movements that will shape the future of dining. What makes Future Menus truly valuable is its ability to translate those insights into practical and profitable solutions that chefs and operators can bring to life in their kitchens immediately,” said Kat Huang, Country Marketing Head of UFS.

Joining the food crawl that took place at Future Menus, guests discovered how these trends translated from concept to plate through dishes offered by the 15 featured merchants — Backyard BBQ, Bigby’s, Bun Run, Caerus, Chotto Matcha, Fiasfud, H Proper, Itamessy, Mezmars & Mau’s, OnlyPans, Poppy’s Halo Halo, Rebel Bakehouse, Sama Sama, Shawarma Ko, and Soriano’s.

Through their signature dishes, the merchants offered everyone a glimpse of these future trends, including Sama Sama’s Filipino beef pares inside a tender bao, which is their interpretation of the Borderless Cuisine trend, where chefs borrow techniques and formats from around the world while staying true to the flavors of the dish itself.

For its part, Soriano’s put the spotlight on a classic Filipino dish with its Beef Morcon, in the process bringing back a traditional fiesta dish hardly found on menus today. It’s the kind of dish that captures the spirit of another trend, Culinary Roots, which celebrates ancestral recipes by making traditional Filipino flavors feel exciting and relevant for a new generation of diners.

For dessert, Poppy’s Halo Halo “honored” two well-loved Filipino merienda classics, Halo Halo and Mais Con Yelo, without taking away their nostalgic charm but elevating them to world-class status through craftsmanship, quality ingredients, and thoughtful presentation.

Such featured dishes proved that the future of Filipino cuisine isn’t defined by a single look or style, but by the ways chefs and businesses continue to experiment with formats, reinterpret familiar flavors, and respond to consumer tastes.

The event also marked the first-ever cashless Future Menus edition, as it offered a real-world look at how the dining experience is changing alongside the country’s shift toward digital payments. Selected as the event’s exclusive payment partner, GCash for Business powered the end-to-end payment experience from ticketing through transactions at participating merchant booths.

According to Kate Cruz, B2B Marketing Head of GCash, the trend on payment terms has shifted from cash to digital transactions. She points out that 60% of food and beverage transactions in the Philippines is already digital. This means that one in five diners pays directly using an e-wallet like GCash.

“The shift in consumer behavior is already happening. The opportunity now is to make sure businesses are equipped to keep up," Cruz said.

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