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.
“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.”
Traditional street foods are being elevated to gourmet offerings with chef expertise in every food service channel, including fine dining. 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 is all about putting personalization at the heart of the culinary experience, with growing demand for custom flavors and interactive dining. Diners now enjoy more control through techniques like table-side cooking, 3D printing, build-your-own dishes, and blowtorching.
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.
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.”
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.”
