2026 weddings are leaning into “more”: more color, more sparkle, more personalization and more fun. To see what couples are gravitating toward, CFE News asked wedding experts across the U.S. to share what they’re seeing from clients right now. We’ve rounded up their insights into eight trends that can help caterers and event pros plan for the year ahead.
The International Students Organization and Sodexo at BHSU proved it’s a small world after all with its annual International Food Festival in November 2025. Students representing nine countries—and one international BHSU staff member—prepared dishes from their home cultures alongside Sodexo chefs, offering attendees an opportunity to experience personal recipes tied to home and heritage.
Nearly one-quarter (23%) of U.S. consumers who drink alcohol are actively moderating or abstaining from alcohol in January through participation
Five Guys is bringing approximately 800 of its locations onto the ezCater food tech platform, which will give the fan-favorite burger brand access to high-value corporate catering orders from workplaces nationwide.
When times are tough, it’s natural to default to what feels safe, seems productive or has worked before. Sometimes, those instincts can keep us stuck.
Here’s a fresh look at the most common mistakes made by operators—and what stand-out hospitality businesses do instead.
A frittata is nothing more than an open-faced omelette and is, in fact, much easier to make. It’s also a natural repository for leftovers from the fridge—particularly any kind of pasta. This one uses edamame, olives and two kinds of cheese. Any combination of cheeses will work, preferably a sharp one and one that melts well. Omit the ham for a vegetarian dish.
Most catering operators treat packaging as someone else’s problem. You hand off specs to your supplier, they negotiate prices, and you move on to things that feel more exciting.
But packaging plays more of a role in a catering business than operators tend to realize. It directly affects your reorder rates, client acquisition costs and average order value. When you approach it strategically, it stops being a line item to minimize and starts generating measurable returns.
Surely no old-time Café Beaujolais preparation is found in more fans’ freezers around the country than this one, a stick-to-your-ribs vegetarian chili so satisfying and easy to make. To my amazement, Julia Child ordered this homey dish when she visited the Beaujolais in the mid-1980s. Topped with grated cheese and served with warmed corn tortillas, it was a healthy, economical meal that we wound up making by the boatload for a very long time once word got out about Julia’s choice. —Margaret S. Fox
With the Rocky Mountains as its backdrop, the upcoming MIBE Summit—taking place Jan. 25-27 in Denver—is embracing a theme that feels especially fitting.
“It’s called ‘Unleash Potential,’ and it’s the idea that we’re all summiting our own mountain,” says Anthony Lambatos, the founder of MIBE (Make It Better Every Day), a culture-building and training organization for business leaders. “We all have our own challenges. How are we going to get to the top?”
Focus on your trash. It may sound unsexy, but it’s a game-changing place to start if you’re serious about making your catering business more sustainable in 2026.
That’s one of the tips from Steve Short, a longtime sustainability expert who’s the COO of the Steve Short Culinary Team and Atlasta Catering in Phoenix, and a member of the CFE News advisory board. CFE News asked Short for the practical guidance he’d give other caterers looking to make meaningful sustainability changes in the new year.
