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Move over Italian, the world has a new favourite cuisine

A surprising choice tops a new ranking of the world’s most popular cuisines right now

Ed Cunningham
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Ed Cunningham
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When it comes to the world’s most-loved cuisines, there are a few obvious favourites. There’s Italian, with its unbeatable pizza-pasta combo. Indian, with its dazzling and colourful sprawl. Mexican, with its spices and innovative presentations. French, with all its richness and refinement.

But which cuisine is currently the world’s most popular? To find out, adventure holiday travel firm The Bucket List Company has looked at levels of engagement on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Reddit. The eventual ranking wasn’t just based on the number of tags for each cuisine but the amount of positive interaction.

And top of the pile came, drum roll please... Korean! That’s right, not Italian. And from the fermented delights of kimchi to the sweet spiciness of gochujang, it’s difficult to argue with the fact that Korean cuisine is responsible for a wildly diverse – and wildly tasty – selection of dishes.

Next up in the ranking was, indeed, Italian, which predictably boasted a mind-blowing amount of monthly searches on social media, followed by Mexican, which balanced a high amount of total engagement with a lot of positive interaction.

Here’s the full list of the most popular cuisines in the world right now, according to The Bucket List Company.

  1. Korean
  2. Italian
  3. Mexican
  4. Japanese
  5. Indian
  6. Chinese
  7. Thai
  8. Vietnamese
  9. Filipino
  10. Turkish 

As you can see, there aren’t too many surprises in the list. And if you’re looking to satisfy your craving for one of these cuisines? Check out the most recent ranking of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, which is packed with ‘em and much, much more.

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