In between sips of lemon Sprite tea and bites of Donna Kelce's chocolate chip cookies, today we are taking a look back at all the biggest trends, stories, recipes and laugh-out-loud #cakefails from TODAY Food this year. Here are the stories that stuck with readers, plus the trends that may make their way to your plate in 2024. 

TODAY Food fans celebrated Donna Kelce’s chocolate chip cookie recipe like Taylor Swift after a Travis Kelce touchdown. Her mix of white and milk chocolate chips and pecans was the most-viewed recipe of the year. Right behind Mama Kelce was actor Stanley Tucci, the king of sumptuous Italian food, with his pasta fagioli. There also were perennial favorites like Melissa Ben-Ishay’s green goddess salad, and tasty comfort meals from TODAY’s Jenna Bush Hager and Dylan Dreyer. See the top 20 recipes here.

Um, that’s not what a Minion looks like. While it was likely not fun for the customers, the lost-in-translation cake disasters of 2023 provided some much-needed laughs for the rest of us. There was the avant-garde Minion from an H-E-B (above), as well as an emo Elmo who looked ready to attend a My Chemical Romance show, not a child’s birthday party. In between the laughs there was some controversy, like this $84 sprinkle-covered birthday creation that ignited #CakeGate — and had the baker and customer throwing batter at each other on social media.

The mad scientists in the fast-food labs were hard at work this year to get us to try all kinds of new offerings, like a purple Grimace shake to wash down your McDonald's burger and fries (mission accomplished, btw). In case you didn’t get around to that grilled cheese dipping taco or ghost pepper ranch chicken sandwich, we have a list of all the new items that popped up at major chains like Taco Bell, Burger King, Wendy’s, Starbucks, Subway and more. In the circle of fast-food life, that also means a number of items were discontinued this year. Thank you for your service, Dunkaccino. 

We enjoyed “girl dinner,” fried pickles in a blanket and the rest of this year’s food trends, but now we’re hungry for more. What does 2024 have in store? TODAY Food spoke to dozens of chefs from around the world about 6 trends they expect to pop up next year. Get ready for African-inspired chiles to light up your taste buds, the rise of plant-based seafood (taro-based “scallops,” anyone?), and one we can really get behind – snacks for dinner. Just make sure not to try to eat everything in one bite, like this intrepid reporter did. See all the 2024 trends here.