‘Food trends are not so much about what’s on the plate but are more of a snapshot of where we are as a society. 2026 is the year of MORE. More flavour, more connection and more joy on the plate and in the glass.’ That’s definitely something we can get behind and have put together some suggestions for dishes and drinks to bring that to life and to get 2026 off to a good start.
Abbie says that 2026 is the year of more - more flavour, more connection & more joy on the plate.
Togetherness on the table – the new cocktail hour
‘The new cocktail hour extends into supper: casual, sociable, and gloriously unfussy with sharing plates and mix-and-match bites to pass around. For unfussy evenings with friends keep the wine simple – lighter reds, aromatic whites and versatile rosé. Bag-in-box lets everyone serve themselves.’
Crack open some Cava and assemble some sharing plates!
Braised artichokes with lemon & garlic
Avoid tinned artichokes and don’t feel bad about buying charred artichokes in olive oil from the deli counter as preparing fresh artichokes can be a bit of a faff! If you’re up for the challenge, you can always do these in advance – they’ll keep in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble – just rub with extra lemon juice to avoid discolouring.
Trim and halve 4 fresh artichokes and remove the central choke. Warm 2 tbsp of olive oil in a deep frying pan and brown the artichokes cut-side-down for a couple of minutes. Remove to a plate. Turn down the heat and squeeze a couple of crushed garlic cloves into the oil and stir with a good cup of water and the juice of 2 lemons. Return the artichokes to the pan then cover and reduce heat. Cook for around 20 mins until the stems are cooked through. Remove to a serving plate then stir a couple of knobs of butter into the lemony cooking water, add some chopped parsley and drizzle the sauce over the artichokes.
Chicory cups with blue cheese, apple, pancetta and toasted nuts
Separate the leaves from a couple of heads of endive (a mix of red and white looks nice), toast a couple of handfuls of hazelnuts or pecans and, separately, a good handful of lardons (drain on kitchen paper). Chop a sweet apple into small cubes then whisk up a vinaigrette with 4tbsp olive oil and 2tbsp cider vinegar, season with salt and pepper. Toss together in a wide bowl or serving plate – let guests use the chicory leaves as cups.
The joy of messy eating!
Out with overly curated minimalism – joyous, generous, and deliciously imperfect, tactile and colourful real food is in!
Beetroot-cured salmon and celeriac remoulade
Choose your cure for the salmon – we like Rick Stein’s recipe – you’ll need to start a couple of days ahead though!
For the salmon
Take 250g cooked tender beetroot, 100g coarse sea salt, 75g white sugar, 2 tsp caraway seeds, crushed, 2 tsp white peppercorns, crushed, 1kg salmon fillet in 2 pieces of 500g each. Put the cooked beetroot, sea salt, sugar, caraway seeds and white pepper into a blender and blitz to a purée. Smear the cure all over the salmon flesh and sandwich the fillets together with the skin-side outermost. Wrap in 2 or 3 layers of clingfilm and lift on to a shallow tray. Rest a smaller tray or chopping board on top and weigh it down with tins or weights. Refrigerate for 2 days, turning the fish every 12 hours. To serve, remove excess cure from the salmon. Slice thinly across the fillet at an angle. To serve, rinse or remove excess cure from the salmon, pat dry. Slice thinly across the fillet at an angle. Arrange on a serving plate.
For the remoulade
Julienne or coarsely grate trimmed and peeled celeriac. Mix together several good spoonfuls of crème fraîche with 2 tsps of Dijon mustard, a squeeze of lemon juice and salt and pepper. Stir into the celeriac until everything is coated but not soaking wet. Scatter with poppy seeds.
Torn green olives on whipped ricotta with lemon, toasted almonds, capers and parsley
An easy dip to assemble and let your guests help themselves to – just supply toasted sourdough soldiers, salty crackers or even good old celery sticks!
Toast flaked almonds in a dry pan for a couple of minutes – do not take your eyes off them! Take a pot of pitted green olives, slice roughly. Put in a bowl with about 1 tbsp rinsed capers and some chopped parsley and stir. Now add the mix to the toasted nuts over a low heat, stir in 1 tbsp good olive oil and the zest of a lemon. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Meanwhile, take 250g pot of good-quality ricotta out of the fridge and spread over a serving plate. Drizzle over the cooled olive mix, season and serve!
Wine recommendations:
Introduced last year, our Exhibition Cava Gran Reserva 2021 is guaranteed to get any party started and has enough personality and presence to keep up with whatever gets shared around at the table. The Society’s Portuguese Red has enough juicy, fresh-tasting fruit and body to make it an excellent ‘house’ wine, particularly in the Bag-in-Box format. Rosé doesn’t have to be just for summer soirées and San Moro, the fuschia-pink primitivo from Puglia matches the mood and comes into its own when there’s a riot of flavours on the table.
What we’ll be eating (and drinking) in 2026
The Society's Portuguese Red, Península de Setúbal 2024
The Society's Portuguese Red, Península de Setúbal 2024 Bag-in-Box (3 litre)
Three Spirit Non-Alcoholic Nightcap 50cl
The Society's Exhibition Cava Gran Reserva 2022
The Society's Hazy IPA
Flavours less travelled
‘Curious palates are venturing beyond the familiar, embracing the sweet heat of Korea, the citrus of Peru, and the spice of Malaysia. It’s a year for rule-breaking fusion — globally inspired dishes that mix, match and mash up flavours while keeping cultural authenticity in spirit, if not in geography.’
Korean BBQ beef bulgogi with cabbage & carrot kimchi
Koreans love to cook over fire but you can make this just as easily in a hot wok or frying pan, just remember to marinate your meat the night before to maximise the flavour. If you’re already into making kimchi you will probably have your own favourite recipe but there’s so many great ready-made examples out there now – feel free to buy a jar.
Slice a rib eye or rump steak as thinly as possible into strips, beat flat and toss in a marinade of ripe pear, cored and cut into chunks, light soy sauce (3 tbsp) , soft brown sugar(heaped tbsp), 2 crushed garlic cloves, a good thumb of root ginger peeled and chopped, 2 chopped spring onions, 1 tbsp sesame seeds and a dash of sesame oil, salt and pepper, all blitzed together. Massage this into the meat. Leave covered in the fridge overnight.
In a small bowl mix 2 tbsp gochujang (Korean fermented chilli paste – cut this down if too spicy for you), 1 tbsp miso paste, ½ tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp honey and 1 tsp sesame oil to make the ssamjang barbecue sauce. Over a high heat in a frying pan or wok add the marinated meat, piece by piece and sear until nicely charred. Turn once and sear the other side. Char the spring onion. Scatter over the sesame seeds and serve with the ssamjang on the side.
Sustainability with soul
Increasingly we want food with integrity, character, and a true sense of place… and like our wines, to know the stories behind them.
Kimchi
Fermented food has been all the rage for a while now and looks set to continue – if you’re not making your own kimchi (it takes a while!) you can easily pick them up readymade now.
Wine recommendations:
Pick spice-loving wines that take on adventures like Austrian Zweigelt, a chilled glass of Geyerhof StockWerk Zweigelt, Kremstal 2024 would be our go-to, or why not try our new own-label Hazy IPA from Scotland which would work wonders with the beef.
Feel-good feasting & nostalgia with a twist
‘In an age of fast and digital everything, nostalgia offers delicious refuge. We’re also rediscovering the joys of British comfort cooking and indulging in nostalgia but with a twist, and applying our own little tweaks to add a luxe touch. Boozy grown-up puds offer a moment of escapism!’
Spiced poached pears with spicy syrup and vanilla ice cream
Take some ripe but firm pears, peel carefully and poach until tender in syrup flavoured with a cinnamon stick, star anise and a piece of ginger. Serve in a big bowl with the syrup poured over and a dollop of good-quality vanilla ice cream or lightly whipped cream if you prefer.
Ginger steamed pudding with cardamon-infused custard
There’s nothing more comforting than a sticky steamed pudding, particularly while the weather is chilly. This involves taking a sponge mixture flavoured with dried or powdered ginger and chopped stem ginger, spooning it into a pudding basin that already has plenty of golden syrup mixed with more chopped stem ginger and some the ginger syrup from the jar. Spoon into a pudding basin, cover with buttered and pleated foil or greaseproof paper tied around the basin. Steam. The custard is made with hot milk and cream infused with cardamom pods. Once infused, remove the pods, and pour the milk mixture over whisked egg yolks, return to the pan and cook slowly gently and until it thickens coats the back of a wooden spoon. Or just buy a top-quality custard!
Wine recommendations:
Match the stickiness with a half-bottle of stickie dessert wine like the excellent-value Liberator ‘The Francophile’ Natural Sweet Chenin Blanc or riff on the spices and opt for something more revitalising by making a non-alcoholic spritz with Three Spirit’s Nightcap which matches the ginger and spice well.
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