Say 'Jell-o!' to the Retro Food Revival

Party like it's 1969.

Dec 02, 2025

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It’s prime time for entertaining and you might be surprised to see what’s on the menu this year.

Suddenly, the hottest thing on holiday tables isn’t a butter board or a tinned fish trio… it’s the relish tray, molded jellies and vintage-style cakes heating up TikTok. As the year is winding down, nostalgic dishes are just getting going.

It’s no surprise that retro food is having a full-body revival. With nonnacore going strong and Gen Z obsessed with all things from the 1900s, chefs, bakers and TikTokkers are also leaning in to the trend. The vibe is unapologetically maximalist, slightly unhinged and perfect for the dinner party culture that is of the moment. After years of comfort-food monotony and “elevated burgers,” everyone’s craving a little something that winks back.

Here’s what’s serving:

Savory Jellies & Aspics

Savory jellies are arguably the breakout star of the year, wiggling their way into some of the world’s hottest dining rooms. The New York Times jiggled over to Lei to check out Patty Lee’s minimalist celtuce-and-kombu jelly that has people lining up for one of just 28 seats. Paris’s Terra Bar à Vins is setting white asparagus in vegetarian stock, Berlin’s Ernst suspends endive and kumquat in smoky dashi gelatin and London chef Matthew Ryle has transformed oeuf en gelée to a taste sensation with a soft-boiled egg, cubes of sausage and ox tongue served in a gel made from beef shin, bone marrow, pig trotters, boiling fowl and ox tongue spiked with Madeira.

Jell-o Salad

Jello-o continues to break the mold (see what we did there?) as a cultural icon. We’ve seen the Jelly Collection by JELL-O, four colorful inflatable chairs in the brand’s signature colors and Edie Parker’s Jelly Tabletop Lighters. This year, Jell-o challenged Thanksgiving tropes by reimagining traditional side dishes like Brussels sprouts, canned cranberry sauce and pecan pie as bright, jiggly creations. The internet has taken note. TikTok is ripe with videos of users making new wave versions of retro jello salads. Once the crown jewel of 1950s potlucks (and later the butt of every culinary joke), TikTok creators like That Midwestern Mom are recreating retro Jell-o salad recipes with her “Can it salad?” series. TL;DR - with Jell-o, all things can salad.

Prawn Cocktail Towers

Never fear, the retro Renaissance doesnt’ stop with jellies. While shrimp cocktail is nothing new on the menu, the prawn cocktail tower and “Shrimp-mas trees” are suddenly everywhere again, especially in London, where retro dinner-party culture has collided with holiday hosting. Feeds like @70sdinnerparty and @weirdoldfood have built their whole brand on Instagram featuring retro dishes literally pulled from the 70s like this prawn-and-olive Christmas tree from @savourygirll.

Relish Trays & Deviled Eggs

Relish trays are back in rotation in the U.S. and Food & Wine goes all-in on the nostalgic, Midwestern appetizer spread. Usually featuring pickles, olives, and raw vegetables like carrots and celery, modern interpretations are showing up with dips, meats, cheeses, and crackers. Deviled eggs are also ditching the basic mayo and relish and coming dressed to the nines with trout roe, crispy shallots and caviar bumps. Taking things up a notch, @_theboardhouse and @bicyclette_cookshop in Naples, FL bring us The Caviar Board, with deviled eggs, premium caviar with traditional accoutrements and, of course, Bugles.

Lambeth Cakes

Even dessert has gone full grandma. At Carbone’s new London outpost, the dessert trolley features a dramatic Maraschino Cherries Flambé. And across Instagram, Lambeth-style mini cakes are having their biggest moment since the Eisenhower administration. The Lambeth cake was popularized in the 1930s by Joseph Lambeth, natch, and is decorated with an intricate, ornate piping that creates a vintage, three-dimensional look. Southern Living even declared it the next big trend, noting, “There’s true value being attributed to products that appear more handmade and are reminiscent of times where care, love, and labor were put into things we consume.” Modern bakers like New June Bakery in Philadelphia and Bakes by Her in Melbourne are leading the charge with piped ruffles and pastel swags.

Why the retro wave, and why now? Dinner parties are the new nightlife. Maximalism is back. Retro dishes deliver a hit of delight and drama, doubling as conversation starters. They also happen to photograph incredibly well, which doesn’t hurt in a culture obsessed with capturing the perfect party spread.