Move over, pistachio – it’s pecan time! The food trends hotlist
Intercultural cuisinesFrom Indo-Chinese and Taiwanese-Tex Mex, to Viet-Cajun and Cape-Malay, brace your tastebuds for culinary cultures colliding in the most delicious ways.PecanMove aside pistachio, this season is all about butter-pecan ice-cream, pecan pie, pecan dukkah, cinnamon Meshuga, and pecan frosted German chocolate cake.PostbioticsBioactive compounds such as lactic acid and butyrate, that are the end-product of good bacteria in our guts fermenting prebiotic fibre.Could they help maintain a healthy microbiome?Cambodian foodAmong the oldest Southeast Asian cuisines, Cambodian food combines freshness with aromatic complexity using ingredients such as kampot pepper, lime leaves, shrimp paste, holy basil and vinegar (check out Mamapen in Soho, London, by chef Kaneda Pen).Hi-fi Listening barsLow-lit establishments where vinyl records, exquisite small plates and discerning cocktails come together in harmony.
See Bar Shrimp in Manchester or The Listening Room at MOI in London.Malted thingsThe butterscotch-toffee-toastiness and caramel-nutty-earthiness of malt syrup is enlivening everything from sourdough and cookies, to barbecue glazes and vinaigrettes.Extreme funkinessXO sauce, Japanese fermented natto beans, stinky tofu, colatura di alici fish garum, Moroccan smen fermented butter – adding a deep funk to your cooking is all the rage.GrapePetimezi Greek grape molasses is the new pantry hero; Ravneet Gill’s cotton cake with fregola grape is a must-try, frozen “swalty” grapes are all over TikTok, and behold: the unironic 2026 revival of balsamic vinegar.Combi ovensUltra-precise, multifunctional appliances that can oven bake, air-fry, defrost, grill and steam in one, like Smeg’s retro-chic 10 in 1 oven.
QQThe satisfying chewy and bouncy texture associated with mochi, tteokbokki, boba pearls and fish balls (sometimes referred to as the “Asian al dente”) is popping up everywhere.Doner kebabsFrom the viral TikTok “roll and bake” home-cooked version to the rise of gourmet Turkish kebab shops, this craveable, hot sauce-laden 1990s icon is back.PiconThe burnt-orange French liqueur that makes complex, invigorating negronis, or can be mixed with blonde beers for a refreshingly bitter Picon Bière shandy.It’s the 2026 spritz.UtrechtThe canal-side gourmet destination in the Netherlands being heralded as “the understated Amsterdam without the tourists”, awash with innovative restaurants, great coffee, frites – and just a Eurostar away.
PistachioThe Dubai chocolate bubble has popped, with few lurid green pistachio products tasting anything like an actual pistachio.Protein everythingCarbs are unapologetically back, jacket potatoes are replacing cauliflower rice, and fibremaxxing replaces protein-loading.Air-fryersBulky countertop-hogging appliances that actually “bake with a fan” more than “fry” are being increasingly shunned in favour of multi-tasking alternatives.Hot honey After being slathered over absolutely everything from pizza crusts to truffled cheeses, this ‘swicy’ condiment now feels a little one-note compared to bolder chilli-ferments with some sharp bite.Greek yoghurt ‘cheesecake’ Of course, an entire packet of biscuits stuffed into a yoghurt tastes good, but it’s almost as indulgent as a classic baked NYC cracker-crusted cheesecake slice.
CBDDisguising the hempy, cut-grass taste of CBD with sugar and sweeteners is out; mind-relaxing oils that are naturally delicious (think rosemary, bergamot, clove) are in,Orange wine snobbery No one wants to spend dinner wincing as they imbibe on an orange so funky it’s unpalatable; besides, Jura “yellow” vin jaune is all the rage now,Overprocessed seed oilsFlavourless seed oils with low-smoke points are making way for tallow, which is better for frying and roasting, makes crumblier, flakier pastries, and also tastes delicious,
What does loneliness smell like? Inside the strangely soothing world of fragrance TikTok
I was bestowed with a nickname throughout my younger years: Smellanor. When I decided to go by Elle, the nickname evolved with it: Smell. I’m always a sucker for a fun rhyme. But it did make me hypervigilant about maintaining what I actually smelled like, vowing that this moniker would never manifest itself into reality. Thus began my ongoing journey into the wild world of fragrances
Claire Hooper: ‘People have different forms of therapy. Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age is mine’
The premise of your new standup show, Fun Show xx, is that you are not a fun person. What is the least fun thing about you?The minute my husband leaves the house, I turn the music off. I love silence. For my 40th birthday my husband, my two babies and I flew to Adelaide and hired a car to drive to the Barossa. My husband said, “It’s your birthday, you get to choose the playlist!” and I said, “Just complete silence please
‘The dream is to be a standup, but everyone who knows me says: Please don’t’ – Riz Ahmed on chaos, comedy, and defying categorisation
His multi-hyphenate career has made him one of Britain’s most versatile recognisable stars – but hasn’t stopped him facing some seriously awkward moments…The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.Riz Ahmed was multitasking. It was February in London, and the actor was doing an interview with a men’s magazine en route to collect his kid from school
‘A fascinating discovery’: research challenges Battle of Hastings narrative
It is a story that has been taught to generations of British schoolchildren about one of the most famous and pivotal events in the country’s history.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.In September 1066, as a Norman duke called William prepared to sail from France to claim the English throne, King Harold of England discovered the Viking leader Harald Hardrada had landed in Yorkshire with an army of his own
Driven to the right side of the road? | Brief letters
From the answer to question five of The kids’ quiz (14 March), we learn that people in Britain drive on the left-hand side of the road to keep their right hand free for sword fighting. Does that mean that just about everywhere else in the world people drive on the right-hand side of the road to keep their left hand free for shield wielding?Simon ChapmanMarseille, France In the Saturday quiz (14 March), Glengarry Glen Ross is named as one of four “films with no female characters”. In fact the film does credit “Coat check girl”, played by Lori Tan Chinn, who delivers the immortal line: “Slow tonight.”Rendel HarrisLondon On children fibbing (Letters, 19 March), my brother, the late Tom Hibbert (of Smash Hits, Q magazine and Observer fame), showed early promise of invention when asked by our mother how a large tear in his trousers had appeared. He replied rather scornfully: “Haven’t you heard of moths what eat holes in people’s clothes?”Jimmy Hibbert Porthmadog, Gwynedd Somebody should advise Robin, who said he was looking for someone 5ft 6in tall, what my father once said to me (Blind date, 14 March)
Jimmy Kimmel on Trump Pearl Harbor joke: ‘Everything he knows about it begins and ends with the Ben Affleck movie’
With The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on hiatus until at least 27 March, late-night hosts on Thursday discussed Donald Trump’s snafu while meeting Japan’s prime minister, his caginess over Iran, and new findings in the Epstein investigations.On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host discussed Trump meeting with Sanae Takaichi at the White House. As a welcome gift, the Japanese prime minister presented the US president with 250 cherry trees to commemorate the upcoming 250th US anniversary.“This is a guy who paved over the Rose Garden,” commented Kimmel. “What is he going to do with 250 cherry trees? He’ll probably use them to build a Waffle House or something
Royal Mail owner pushes back against criticisms that service has declined
Crispin Odey: I can’t remember telling female employee ‘I could attack you now’
Baltimore sues Elon Musk’s AI company over Grok’s fake nude images
Protect men and boys from manosphere influencers, Labour MPs tell Ofcom
World Cup-winning captain Johnson urges England to think about summer break for players
Ben Duckett pulls out of £200,000 IPL deal in bid to save England Test spot