The State of the Plate: Lessons seasoned for 2026
Somewhere between contactless everything and QR-code fatigue, diners remembered they actually like people…and comfy chairs. This year’s dining playbook is equal parts vibe and viability: create spaces worth lingering in, flavors that earn a passport stamp, and teams trained to pivot faster than a short-order cook on a Saturday. Read on to see how you can turn 2025’s biggest lessons into 2026’s smartest wins that are tested, tasted, and totally trackable.
Come Sit a Spell – During the COVID years, grab-and-go ruled the roost. Fast-forward five years, and diners are rediscovering the joy of sitting down again.¹ They want spaces that nurture body and mind—comfortable seats, power outlets, linger-loving acoustics and lighting.² To see if your setup works, try 15-minute seat checks during the lunch rush.³ If chairs stay claimed, then you’ve created a space that feeds friendship as well as hunger.
Pho the Love of Flavor – Why follow a trend when you can follow two? Diners are increasingly craving Southeast Asian foods and sustainable wellness.¹ A rotating global favorites station using shared ingredients can satisfy cravings while cutting waste. Measure success with a simple waste audit; hitting a 15–25 % reduction puts you in best-practice territory.⁴ Then check your sales data if your global specials make up 10–20 % of meals sold, you’re on-trend and on-target.⁵
Keep Calm and Cross-Train – Even though the job market cooled after 2022,⁶ it’s still tough to find and keep great food-service staff. Open positions remain high, and turnover is costly. Smart operations are balancing people and technology, automating routine tasks, using a chef’s station to showcase creativity, and training staff in dual roles (like prep and service) so that holes can be plugged without stressing the staff. These tweaks make for fewer labor minutes per transaction⁷ and consistently high coverage rates even with some staff call outs.⁸
If 2025 taught us anything, it’s that the past still has great recipes. Let us help you carry the ones that work into 2026. Hungry to know more? Just click below to reach out to our team.
1. What’s hot 2025 culinary forecast. National Restaurant Association. (2024, November 12).
2. Brown, M., & Long, P. D. (2006, October 10). Chapter 9. Trends in earning space design. EDUCAUSE.
3. Gehl, J., & Svarre, B. (2013). Counting, Mapping, Tracking, and Other Tools. In How to Study Public Life (pp. 21–37). Chapter, Island Press.
4. The Waste and Resources Action Programme. (2021, July 30). Effective measurement leads to a 20% reduction in food waste and increased profitability (Case study). Guardians of Grub.
5. Kimes, S. E. (2004). Restaurant revenue management. Cornell Center for Hospitality Research.
6. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025, August). Job openings and labor turnover — August 2025.
7. Li, J., & Hays, J. M. (2007). Scheduling restaurant workers to minimize labor cost and meet service standards. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 48(3), 332–346.
8. Hopp, W. J., & Van Oyen, M. P. (2004). Agile workforce evaluation: A framework for cross-training and coordination [Unpublished manuscript]. Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Michigan.
