7 Celebrity Chefs Reveal Their Favorite Dish Of 2025

In the wide world of food, 2005 has shaped up to be quite the delicious year. Sauces, both spiced and sweet, seemed to be poured onto everything, Dubai Chocolate and cottage cheese showed up in unexpected forms and places, and chains kept dishing out fried food that are worth seeking out. For more refined palates, Chowhound turned its attention to some of the globe's best chefs and foodie influencers to seek their opinion about what stood out to them in 2025. We caught up with many of them at this year's New York City Wine & Food Festival and point-blank asked them what was the best dish they had in all of 2025.

In their own words, the answers sounded beyond delicious to our ears, running the gamut of cuisines that are being dished out at some of the hottest restaurants around the globe. It's probably best to have pen and paper handy, to take note of these dishes they dished on, and try for ourselves. Bon appétit!

While being trained in classic French cuisine, Helen Nguyen's heart and culinary focus have been shaped by her Vietnamese heritage and its cuisine. When she's not giving back and feeding those in need in her community, all are welcome to come in and try the items on her Saigon Social's menu. When it comes to other menus, Chef Nguyen sung the praises of New York City's Adda's, and in particular the Curry Crab she tried there in 2025.

Adda originally made waves as a Long Island City restaurant and was recently reborn earlier in 2025 in its current East Village iteration. It's just one of several acclaimed restaurants from Chef Chintan Pandya and restaurateur Roni Mazumdar and their Unapologetic Food group, and is one of New York's best Indian restaurants. Adda's head chef is Chef Neel Kajale, who had a hit dish of Butter Pepper Garlic Crab at his DhaMaKa, and has made a new sensation of the clawed crustacean with his follow-up Curry Leaf Crab.

The dish is made of Jonah crab, curry leaf butter, green chili, and garlic cream, which when fused together, Nyguen noted, "the flavors are so incredible. The presentation was really nice as well." In lieu of rice, this crab curry is accompanied by crisp-edged paratha flatbread to help absorb the butter. Chef Kajale admitted in the Unapologetic Food Substack, "People love it. The dish is about the crab, and the paratha stands on its own, but it's a duet."

2025 was yet another busy year for Katie Lee, as she wrapped the final season of the show "The Kitchen," continues to host her podcast "All On The Table," and co-wrote and co-starred in the delightful Hallmark movie "Catch of The Day." When not whipping up tasty treats in the kitchen, the West Virginia native turned New Yorker finds comfort in her adopted city's vibrant food scene. One item in particular that struck a chord with her is the Osteria Caviar with Potato Scallop, served at Dante Aperitivo. Lee loved it, "because the potato just basically melted in your mouth. And then the briny caviar on top and the creamy crème fraîche, I mean, it was a perfect bite."

Dante Aperitivo is a brand new offshoot of the nearby classic West Village restaurant Dante's, which has been open since 1915, and over a hundred years later is still offering some delectable new dishes. Something similar can be found on its menu too — the Crispy Fried Potato, which is forged out of its fire and charcoal oven. Dante's Crispy Baked Potato is also adorned with crème fraîche, as well as chives, and then topped with your choice of 10 or 30 grams or Calvisius Imperial Caviar.

Melvin Boots Johnson was taught how to cook by his grandmother, and then expanded his palate and skill, including becoming a BBQ grill master, in restaurants that span the length of America. He now resides in Harlem, and one of the best dishes he encountered in all of 2025 is served in the East Village restaurant Kabawa. Chef Paul Carmichael is at the helm at this relatively new Momofuku family spot located on the odd, dead-ended block of Extra Place, where his Barbadian and Caribbean roots are put on display in the eclectic menu.

While there's plenty to choose from in Kabawa's first, second, and third courses, Chef Johnson championed the starter that is presented to each diner. He elaborated, "It's a roti, cornbread, and some other bread that they make, with four different chutneys and dips and stuff." The New York Times three-star review also praised this "elaborate overture," which includes Jamaican bammy cakes, and a paratha-style roti affectionately known as "Buss Up Shut." Chef Johnson tied it all together, saying this early round offering "starts your palate perfectly for what you're about to experience."

Shenarri Greens has made a name for herself as a whip-smart vegan chef. The two-time James Beard Nominee is best known for her plant-based dishes that she served up at New York's Cadence and Los Angeles' Ubuntu, and now as a personal chef. Just because vegan food is her calling card doesn't mean she doesn't indulge in the carnivorous side of food. In fact, the one food item she singled out as one of her favorites from 2025 was a meaty pizza from Philadelphia's Down North Pizza. Chef Greens noted, "I'm a sucker for that lamb pizza that they have. I know I'm a vegan chef, but I'm no longer vegan, so I get to eat and try a lot of different things that chefs are creating."

Down North Pizza is the brainchild of Muhammad Abdul-Hadi, where inventive square pies are served with purpose, as his employees are formerly incarcerated individuals offered a second chance. While its menu is dotted with pizzas with fun names, the one that Greens gushed about is called "Break You Off." It is headlined by lamb sausage, and joined by such varied flavors as whipped ricotta, Za'atar garnish, and a garlic honey drizzle.

Chowhound concurs with Greens' assessment and Abdul-Hadi's work, as it was the representative dish he presented at NYCWFF's Taste of Tomorrow event. This proven winner was a hit with everyone at the event, as his table had garnered some of the night's biggest lines waiting just to fall in love with it.

Out of all the interviews Chowhound conducted at 2025's New York Wine & Food Festival, no one had more to gush about, all while wearing a bright smile, than Ayo Balogun did. Chef Balogun moved from Nigeria to America in 1997, and while he worked in kitchens serving goods as diverse as Indian and Italian, he's since honored the flavors of his home country through his current restaurants Dept of Culture and Radio Kwara.

While Chef Balogun offered great cooking tips, like how to make your rice as fluffy as possible, one of his most interesting answers was when we asked him to pick a favorite dish of 2025. While he's had his fair share of great ones, he proudly offered up one of his own creations as his pick — an Asaro Pie. Asaro is a traditional porridge from Nigeria, made of yams, peppers, and tomatoes.

Chef Balogun explained, at "Radio Kwara, we try to imagine what my first-generation Americans will eat, who are Nigerians, and the ones who will be." One such dish that perfectly represents this ethos is taking the traditional asaro porridge and giving it a true American twist. He added, "We made a pie out of it because I was trying to look at the future."

Tyler Speegle is a multi-hyphenate who specializes in writing and marketing, and thanks to his various social media channels, a must see vlogger who cooks up a storm on his back patio in Alabama. Like everyone, he enjoys a nice dinner out at a restaurant and was amazed by a plate filled with wonton nachos from 412 Public House in nearby Cullman. This fusion plate of nachos consists of wonton chips layered with pepper jack cheese, marinated cabbage, jalapeños, banana peppers, and drizzled with sweet Thai chili sauce. They are further topped with one's protein choice of chicken or shrimp.

Speegle was so taken with the dish that he "actually tried to recreate that for myself." His version opted for grilled chicken, which he paired with an apple cider bourbon smash, and sopapilla cheesecake for dessert. Based on the YouTube post putting on display his preparation and serving of these nachos to his wife, the results looked beyond delicious.

London is one of the more underrated major food capitals and destinations, where cuisines and cultures from around the world converge and unfold in endless options for locals and tourists alike. On a recent trip to England, it turned into an endless parade of "memorable bites" for James Beard award-winning chef, author, restaurateur, and Chopped judge Maneet Chauhan. 

Chef Chauhan's London trip was a sort of revelation, where familiar favorites like samosas took on new meaning when they were ordered up at corner stores. One place that she said "literally blew my mind," and where her trip began and ended, was Borough Market. A market has existed in the area just off The Thames River in some form since as far back as 990 A.D., and the "modern" market dates to just 1756. The market is lined with a slew of restaurants, and food stalls filled with greengrocers, cheese mongers, butchers, which she noted was being "like kids in a candy store — there was something to see, taste, and savor in each and every corner."

Chauhan enjoyed the simplicity of the market, gobbling up varied vittles that ranged from chocolate-covered strawberries, paella, focaccia, mushroom risotto, sausage rolls, a sandwich from The Black Pig, and somehow found room for the infamous crème brûlée donut. Other popular spots within the market, just to name a few, include the cheese-pull friendly sandwiches of Kappacasein Dairy, sea-worthy fare at Furness Oyster Bar, and the Greek restaurant OMA. It's also where Bridget Jones' apartment from the movie was located. What's good enough for Bridget and Chef Chauhan is good enough for us!