Whether we call it the global mash-up, eclectic cuisine or even throw it back to “fusion,” we are firmly in the era of borderless cooking. It’s not a trend. It’s a movement and a strategy that guides much of today’s menu innovation. But once in a while, a seismic shake-up redirects a movement to a different course, one that can offer new pathways for creative flavor play. That is what is happening now, defining next-level mash-ups for 2025 and beyond.

What is the seismic shift at work today? Third-culture cooking. This movement is energizing the world of mash-ups and reframing the narrative. Fast-casual Buddha Bowls + Rolls in Sacramento, Calif., offers a great example, drawing on the culinary heritage of its team—along with a strong sense of nostalgia—in its menu ideation, celebrating foods and flavors representative of the Asian-American experience. Justin Fong, food and beverage director, provides this sound definition of third-culture cooking: “There is a niche of first-, second- and third-generation immigrants who have been in the United States long enough to have a holistic American experience but with huge influences from the food traditions of their parents and grandparents. It’s the next evolution in fusion. There’s a groundswell of support behind third-culture cooking today, which is really exciting.”

Credit: Andrew Bui

The Lingo Beef Pie menued at Lingo in New York is an eye-catching Japanese-British mash-up featuring a Hokkaido-style braised beef curry with bone marrow and burnt rosemary.

There’s plenty of opportunity here for high-volume foodservice. This wave of third-culture cooking is moving the narrative away from origins and authenticity to personal culinary stories—expressed on the plate. This shift in parameters around global cuisine-inspired menu development is giving license to freer exploration of pantries from around the world.

“A lot of our recent work has been celebrating third-culture cooking and leaning into the opportunities it presents for restaurants,” says Graham Humphreys, president of The Culinary Edge consultancy. “We are no longer talking strictly about authenticity. Instead, we’re approaching ideation through the third-culture lens, looking at different ways that foods, flavors and formats are being combined in wonderful, craveable creations. The filter today is considering a dish from a perspective of respect and love. Are you cherishing and elevating what you’re doing? That is recognizable among consumers.”

Third-culture cooking is opening up a new age of the mash-up, driven by individual culinary histories and truly embracing the immigrant experience as the American experience.

A NEW STORYLINE

Third-culture cooking and next-wave mash-ups encourage a confluence of identities. Chefs are stepping up to the challenge and expressing it on the plate in wholly original ways.

Yia Vang, chef-owner of Vinai in Minneapolis, says the menu of his Hmong-influenced restaurant serves as a love letter to his parents and an homage to the Hmong culture and diaspora. Vang and his parents came to the U.S. as refugees when he was just 5 years old. “I love third-culture cooking, which sees the beautiful collision of two cultures to create a third,” he says. “Every dish has a narrative that gets you to the people behind the food.”

His influences include a childhood in Wisconsin colored by the Southeast Asian foods and flavors that mark Hmong food traditions. The Deviled Eggs at Vinai serve as a roadmap to Vang’s heritage and upbringing. “Growing up in Wisconsin and going to dive bars, there’s always a deviled egg on the menu, so ours offers an ode to Wisconsin. In our Hmong culture, an egg is a blessing, representing life,” says Vang. Together, the two cultural impressions yield Deviled Eggs with Thai basil sambal and crispy shrimp.

Credit: Mírate

Mírate in Los Angeles menus modern Mexican fare while drawing from the influences of Los Angeles. The Roasted Rainbow Carrots see a clever blend of Mexican and Thai flavors, from hoja santa to tom kha.

This next wave of global mash-ups is clearly identified by story, inviting chefs to share dishes that reflect their experiences in a vibrant and valid way. Mírate, a modern Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles, broadens its culinary boundaries by calling out how it draws inspiration “from the diversity of the city of Los Angeles.” The restaurant’s philosophy opens up the idea of fusing a melting-pot sensibility into menu strategy. Its menu is wildly creative while maintaining a clear through line, perfectly illustrated in the Roasted Rainbow Carrots with hoja santa, tom kha, ginger and chile pequin. “The carrots are inspired by California’s produce, my Mexican heritage and growing up in Los Angeles,” says Ronnie Muñoz, culinary director. “I start by preparing my rendition of a tom kha soup using coconut milk, lemongrass, ginger, coriander and lime leaves. I then make a tahini, avocado and hoja santa paste to add Mexican flavors. I knew the anise flavor works really well with carrots, and the tom kha soup would be an excellent carrier for the carrots.”

Lingo, a Japanese-American restaurant in Brooklyn, N.Y., offers another view into the power of personal narrative. Emily Yuen, executive chef, has worked at Michelin-starred restaurants around the world, from Singapore to London to Melbourne. She applies that worldly experience to her affinity for Japanese flavors. Her Lingo Beef Pie features Hokkaido-style braised beef curry, bone marrow and burnt rosemary. Yuen credits the dish as one of her most creative, blending a love of savory meat pies born while cooking in London and Melbourne in her twenties with her longstanding affection for Japanese comfort food.

Credit: Bad Idea

The iconic fried bologna sandwich gets a Lao spin in The Diana at Bad Idea in Nashville, Tenn., thanks to the inclusion of toasted rice powder, lemongrass, chiles and toasted milk bread.

Bad Idea in Nashville, Tenn., offers another example of how next-level mash-ups express the immigrant experience, wrapped in both nostalgia and newness. Colby Rasavong, chef/owner, is a first-generation Laotian American who grew up in central Tennessee. The menu primarily features dishes inspired by his childhood. The Diana is his take on the Southern classic fried bologna sandwich, giving it a Lao spin. Available only on the late-night menu, Rasavong’s iteration starts with a thick slice of custom-made bologna using beef, ground pork skin, toasted rice powder, lemongrass and a variety of chiles. Coated in spices and fried, the bologna is slathered with a potato chip aïoli and placed in between two slices of toasted milk bread, crust removed.

“Today’s trend gives chefs license to explore, moving away from authenticity of origin and playing with flavor combinations that are surprising but delicious,” says Buddha Bowls’ Fong. “Food is like art. You can’t produce good art or good food without a passion for it, right? That should be the guiding principle here. I think you can cook whatever you want when you’ve clearly shown that you have the tenacity, the drive and the love to do it. If you’re being authentic in your experience, I think any ingredients are on the table for you.”