16 December 2025
From reinterpretations of tradition to more creative tasting menus: what to expect from starred restaurants during the holidays.
Holiday menus in starred restaurants are no longer an exercise in opulence: they are a synthesis of technique, memory, and research. In 2025, many chefs are choosing a less ceremonial and more narrative approach, creating menus that reinterpret Christmas tradition without turning it into a decorative pretext.
The proposals revolve around seasonal raw materials that return with precision: deep-sea fish, game, tubers, citrus fruits, and large clarified broths that become the common thread of many signature cuisines. The most widespread trend is the use of clean flavors, with few elements on the plate but surgically calibrated. A recurring example in 2025 menus is the processing of capon, treated as a "noble" ingredient. and paired with plant extracts that enhance its depth without weighing it down.
On the seafood front, a return to apparent simplicity dominates: high-quality raw fish, low-temperature cooking, and processes that favor iodine and freshness. Many chefs choose the scallop, now a symbol of festive tables, but use it with less predictable pairings—bitter citrus fruits, smoked butter, Mediterranean seaweed—following an aesthetic that combines Nordic rigor and Mediterranean warmth.
Desserts deserve a chapter of their own: panettone does not disappear, but is transformed. It is served in technical versions, toasted and paired with light creams, or broken down to enhance notes of yeast and butter without overdoing the sweetness. Alongside, there is a growing use of single-origin chocolate, now treated as a more traditional gastronomic ingredient. than as a consoling end to the meal.
The holiday dinner, in the hands of contemporary chefs, thus becomes a journey that speaks more of personality than tradition. It's not about surprising, but about building an experience that has coherence, rhythm, and a precise idea of what it means to celebrate Christmas in style today.
