Editorial: Culinary Science in Transition: Sustainable Ingredients, Functional Foods, and Evolving Restaurant Dynamics

The consumer demand for healthy and plant-based food is on the rise. Sustainability in food sector demands innovation and quest for the low-cost functional food ingredients. Consumer-driven products are sustainable solutions for the food market success, such products align with the expectations, trust, and emotions of the consumer. The innovation in culinary science expands from product development to consumer experience and satisfaction. Consumer satisfaction, revisit frequency, and reliability are influenced by various factors including restaurant’s creativity and sociocultural factors. Valorization of underutilized food and byproducts can be a promising solution to find best suited ingredients for functional products development.