Gordon Ramsay Loathes These 2 Restaurant Food Trends Of 2026

When celeb chef Gordon Ramsay chatted with Tasting Table in February 2026, the state of the restaurant industry came up. Ramsay is no stranger to the business — his longest-running reality show, in which he visits flailing restaurants around the U.S., also inspired his biggest restaurant chain, Hell's Kitchen. When the interviewer asked about 2026 food trends he hates, the chef — always eager to go on a rant — was well-prepared. In a tirade that was surely edited down to remove his famed expletives, he zeroed in on two culprits: smashed avocado and foam.

His main issue with smashed avocado seems to be that everyone is doing it. "Do you have any idea how many ways you can make a delicious avocado? I had an avocado soup in Oaxaca a couple of months back, a beautiful chilled avocado soup with queso fresco and finished with a beautiful little pickled habanero, and it was exceptional," he explained. "But if I still see this word 'smashed avocado,' honestly, it frustrates the hell out of me." We agree: There are plenty of ways to use an avocado that don't involve smashing!

As for foams, a favorite of molecular gastronomists, Ramsay's issue is that they don't last long. He colorfully described them as looking "like your cat's puked up on [the plate]" after a mere 30 seconds.

Smashed avocados and foam are far from the first trendy food items Gordon Ramsay has defamed. In a 2009 interview with Bon Appétit, the chef critiqued frozen meals, saying he wouldn't eat them and that "It's so easy to prepare a quick meal using fresh produce." In 2023, however, he released his own line of frozen entrées through Walmart under the label By Chef Ramsay. If this becomes a pattern, we may just see a foam version of Ramsay's iconic, one-pot lobster risotto in 2040.

Ever a complicated man, Ramsay also hates the trend of overusing Wagyu beef. He told PopSugar in 2018 that he feels chefs should treat the high-end ingredient with more respect. We can only assume that turning it into meatballs and drowning it in sauce and cheese, like he does at his Heddon Street Kitchen restaurant, is the kind of respect Wagyu deserves.

Of course, it's okay to change your mind on a food complaint. A strong opinion, loosely held, is good. We love jumping into food debates because we care about the topic. A lot. So, if Ramsay changes his mind about smashed avocado, that's just fine. The trend is overdone for one good reason: It's delicious.

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