Chefs say healthy eating is shifting towards natural, minimally processed food

New research from The Staff Canteen and Hot Pickle suggests diners are no longer defining healthy eating simply through plant-based choices.

Chefs and restaurant operators are reporting growing demand for natural ingredients, gluten-free dishes and cleaner, more considered menus.

The findings come from The Shifting Plate, a UK food and drink industry research project based on a survey of 123 chefs and restaurant operators.

The research found that 70% of respondents said diners now associate healthy food with natural and minimally processed ingredients. Gluten-free was also reported as the fastest-rising dietary request, cited by 44% of respondents, compared with 15% for vegan.

The data does not suggest plant-based food has disappeared from menus. Instead, it points to a broader shift in how diners talk about health.

Rather than looking only for low-calorie, vegan or restrictive options, chefs say guests are increasingly focused on ingredient quality, provenance, gut health, flavour and dishes that feel less processed.

The findings underline the role chefs play in identifying food trends before they reach the wider market.

Menus are often where changing diner behaviour becomes visible first, whether through dietary requests, best-selling dishes, ingredient use or the way guests respond to new flavour profiles.

Diners are looking for less processed food, but still want choice

Alex Standen, Premium Lounges Head Chef – Concorde & First Class at BaxterStorey/British Airways Lounges, Terminal 5, feels guests are becoming more considered in what they choose, but still want hospitality to feel generous and personal.

He said: “I am finding that our guests are looking for menu options with less highly processed food.

“That said, in the environment I work in, people still treat their experience as a once-in-a-lifetime event, so the menu still requires enough options for guests to make their own decisions without us dictating what they should eat.”

Alex said the team had introduced a new salad using bold bean products, raw heritage carrot, celeriac and Willy’s vinegar in the dressing, giving guests an option aligned with BaxterStorey’s wider focus on sustainable nutrition.

He added that people are “thinking a lot more about what they put into their bodies”, with gut health and the link between food and wellbeing becoming more visible through social media and traditional media.

Ferments, miso and koji are becoming flavour foundations

The health shift is also closely linked to flavour. The research found that 53% of operators are using more ferments and pickles on menus, while 40% are using more miso and koji, and 37% are using more seaweed.

Korean and Japanese cuisines were identified as the biggest sources of new dish inspiration, showing how global ingredients are moving further into the mainstream of British dining.

Stuart Ralston, chef and owner of Aizle Restaurant Group in Scotland, said Asian cuisines had influenced his own cooking, particularly the “balance and restraint” in how ingredients are handled.

He added: “That approach has definitely influenced how I cook. At Lyla, it becomes much more refined - using things like miso, light ferments or techniques like chawanmushi in a way that’s quite subtle, but gives the dish real depth and clarity.”

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Provenance is becoming part of the healthy eating conversation

The research also suggests that healthy eating is becoming harder to separate from provenance. Local sourcing was identified as the number one provenance claim that matters most to diners, cited by 65% of respondents. More than half of operators said they already source primarily from local suppliers, while 71% said they would pay or charge more for verified provenance.

Mitch Tonks, founder and CEO of Rockfish and founder of The Seahorse, said demand for seafood is increasingly linked to trust, quality and provenance.

He said: “I don’t think demand for fish is ever about one particular species, but we have definitely noticed a growing demand for British seafood specifically, with people increasingly trusting in the provenance.”

Chefs are helping define what healthy eating looks like in 2026

The Shifting Plate research points to a changing definition of healthy eating in UK restaurants. Diners still want flavour, experience and value, but chefs say they are asking more questions about ingredients, processing, provenance and how dishes make them feel.

For operators, the opportunity is not simply to add more “healthy” labels to menus. The stronger opportunity is to build dishes around quality ingredients, clear sourcing, confident flavour and the kind of chef-led knowledge that helps guests understand why a dish matters.

As the research suggests, chefs are not only responding to changing diner behaviour. They are helping define what healthy, flavour-led and provenance-driven eating looks like in 2026.

This article is part of The Shifting Plate, a research series from The Staff Canteen and Hot Pickle exploring how chefs and operators are shaping the future of UK food and hospitality.