food trends

2025 Corporate Holiday Event Trends Caterers Need to Know

As the corporate world regains its social rhythm, this year’s holiday event landscape reveals a significant shift in catering trends. Across the country, companies are moving away from lavish displays and toward meaningful, high-quality experiences that emphasize connection, culture and employee appreciation.

What’s Hot: National Restaurant Association Forecasts Menu Trends for 2026

The National Restaurant Association released its highly anticipated 2026 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast, highlighting the trends set to shape America’s menus in the coming year. The report, based on insights from hundreds of culinary professionals surveyed in October 2025, reveals that nostalgia, comfort and “flavor escapism” are defining consumer desires in 2026.

The California Restaurant Show Attracted Thousands of Foodservice Pros

In August, thousands of restaurant, pizza and foodservice professionals convened at the Anaheim Convention Center for the 2025 California Restaurant Show featuring the Pizza Tomorrow Summit Pavilion and newly launched Taste of Asia Pavilion.

The event drew more than 7,000 registrants. More than 87% of verified attendees were decision-makers from leading brands such as Disney, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Alaska Airlines, Din Tai Fung and The Cheesecake Factory. Additionally, 47% of verified attendees were independent operators and 36% represented multi-unit establishments.

Gen Z Dining Trends: Prioritizing New Cuisines and Good Customer Service

Gen Z consumers (those born between 1997 and 2012) like to experience new food and cuisines, and will go out of their way to eat at a restaurant that offers convenience and better customer service.

Those are two insights from YouGov Profiles, a continuous, nationally representative survey, conducted in July 2025.

A Breath of Fresh Air

The allure of the great outdoors is proving irresistible to a growing number of catering clients.

“At Constellation Culinary Group, we’ve seen a continued and growing preference for outdoor events across a wide variety of occasions,” says Katia Ponomareva, director of catering for off-premise events. “The pandemic certainly reshaped how people think about gathering spaces, elevating the appeal of fresh air and natural surroundings.”

To meet the rising demand for outdoor affairs, caterers and venues across the country are creating events that are a breath of fresh air.

What’s Hot in Hospitality

Caviar carts, sensorial cocktails and corporate events that emphasize flexibility.

Those are just a few of the 2025 industry trends identified by Elite Catering + Event Professionals (ECEP), a collaborative network of leaders from the world’s top catering and hospitality organizations. The organization released the ECEP 2025 Trends Report, compiled during this year’s ECEP Symposium in Napa, California.

Eco-Friendly Events

There’s a growing appetite for sustainable events. Are you meeting the demand?

According to a recent report from Food for Climate League and Datassential, the foodservice industry research firm, 79 percent of consumers plan to eat more sustainably in the next year. That includes 33 percent who say they never eat sustainable foods but plan to start.

Whether you’re just starting out on your sustainable journey or looking to become even greener, we’ve rounded up 10 strategies to follow to minimize your company’s impact on the environment.

Personalizing the Big Day

Creating weddings that capture a couple’s personalities is what it’s all about for event planner Brian Worley.

Based in Atlanta, Worley has produced and designed about 250 weddings in his career—including his own mother’s. CFE recently caught up with Worley to get his take on wedding design trends and to learn what inspires him when planning a couple’s big day.

Scroll to Top