KDays 2025: New Foods Competition, Here I Come!

Each year KDays rolls out the red carpet for the New Foods Competition - and let's face it, as someone who claims to "eat everything" this is the perfect opportunity to prove how serious I am about this statement. I'm not exactly sure when carnival food went from cotton candy and corn dogs to jamming pickles into absolutely everything... But here we are. This year's notable trends included ube - make everything purple! There were several versions of Dubai chocolate - pistachio and shredded phyllo, let's go! And of course pickles maintained their formidable presence because they're forever viewed as weird. There were 45 entries to choose from, ranging from savoury or sweet dishes and also beverages. These items are meant to be really wild or trendy and to surprise and challenge fair-goers. There's only so much heavily deep fried food that one person can consume but in the name of eating everything, let's try some of the wackiest midway fare for 2025! Here are the New Foods that I ate at KDays this year:

Freaky Tzatziki Twisted Pickle from Twisted Pickles ($14.00) Meet the Freaky Tzatziki Twisted Pickle - Where the cool, creamy magic of tzatziki collides headfirst with a bold, battered pickle crunch. It's fresh, it's tangy, and it's got just the right amount of what the heck did I just taste?! I'm a pickle-lover. It's who I am as a person. Given this, I will never be offended by a pickle - in any context. This twirled pickle was fun to eat and covered in a thick deep fried batter. However, the best part was clearly the heap of tzatziki slathered on top and the crumbled chips for a satisfying crunch!

Ketchup Crunch Corn Dog from Little Coco's ($12.00) This isn't your average fairground snack! Our Ketchup Crunch Corn Dog takes the classic you know and love and gives it a bold, crispy upgrade. We dip a juicy beef dog in a sweet batter, deep fry to perfection and then roll it in a crunchy ketchup chip coating that crackles with every bite. It's sweet, salty, tangy and totally addictive for all you ketchup lovers! This might have been my favourite corn dog overall! It was crazy but it wasn't that crazy. It was a reasonable size which made eating it easy and mess-free. And ketchup chips just scream Canada! The crunch was great and the batter wasn't too much. Highly recommend!

Ube Corndog from Corndog King ($14.00) Meet the Ube Corndog from the Corndog King! This twist on a classic features a hot dog coated in a crispy, golden batter blended with ube - purple yam with a subtle sweet and nutty kick. Fried fresh and served on a stick, it's a delicious KDays-ready treat that's hard to resist. Foods on a stick, amirite? It's what a carnival is all about! I noticed a huge influx of a more Korean vibe to many of the corn dogs this year, this one being a good example. The Korean style usually involves a denser and crunchier batter. Also, many of them include a molten cheese component (like this one did) which is basically like a mozza stick ON TOP of the hot dog itself. They didn't even mention it in this case!! Purple is fun and a gooey, cheesy corn dog is even more fun!

Purple Ube Sesame Street Corn from Concessions Inc ($15.00) Gallop over to the corn roast! As if fusion couldn't get any more fusion, how about a purple ube sesame street corn? Roasted on the cob at 500 degrees, smothered hot in a cool purple ube mayo, garnished with hand chopped chives, tajin spice, and black and white sesame seeds! Where hot meets cool and sweet meets spice! It's CORN! BUT PURPLE!!! Once again ube makes an appearance and reveals to the world that everything is better as long as it's purple. This corn was actually delicious! It was like a tasty roasted corn on the cob, except instead of butter it was painted with ube mayo. I kind of loved this and I'm not ashamed.

Flipside Smash Burger from Flipside BBQ ($15.88) A gourmet twist on the classic smash burger, featuring a ground beef patty smashed flat on a hot surface with cheddar cheese, caramelized onions and pickles served on a Filipino sweet bun (ube or pandan) with our homemade Flipside sauce. I wanted to love this burger because I think that this food truck is really cool. I loved the purple ube pandesal as the bun (and it was fun that you could choose between a purple or green bun). The kropek on the side was such an amazing departure from the typical fries. But honestly, I didn't love the burger itself. It seemed to lack flavour and tasted overly greasy. Next time I'll try their bao for sure.

Lobster Rangoon from The Happy Fish Catering Inc ($25.00) Lobster Rangoon is a crispy, golden-fried appetizer consisting of delicate wonton wrappers stuffed with a creamy blend of lobster, shrimp, crab meat, cream cheese, scallions and seasonings. Garnished with a sweet and tangy bang bang dipping sauce, it combines the rich, tender texture of lobster with the smoothness of the cheese for a flavourful, indulgent bite. I LOVED THESE! I don't think that this dish counts as "weird." Unless it's weird because it's too nice to be considered carnival food. These were delicious! The crispy wontons felt more like a thin pastry dough and each one was jam-packed with filling. The lady working recommended a second vinegar-based dipping sauce to elevate the dish even more and to cut through the richness. Decadent indeed!!

Fruity Pebble Korean Corndog from Korean Dogs ($16.00) Why do you need this in your life? Sweet. Savoury. Crunchy. Perfection. First bite, pure fireworks! It's like childhood nostalgia and late-night cravings had a baby... And that baby is the Fruity Pebble Corndog! Start your day off right with the perfect carnival breakfast! The breakfast of carny champions! Again we're seeing that heavier, crunchier Korean corn dog style. And again, there's a melty mozza hat on top of the hot dog that NO ONE CARED TO MENTION. I mean, I'm not mad at it. You would think that adding Fruity Pebbles cereal on top is extra wild (I loved the colours!) but it really just mixed in with the crunchiness from the batter and didn't add a ton in terms of flavour. You're gonna look great walking around and eating this!

Dill Pickle Mini Donuts from Tin Lizzy Old Fashioned Hot Dog Ltd ($12.50) These hot, fresh mini donuts are dusted with a tangy pickle-infused sugar and sprinkled with just the right touch of dill. Sweet, salty, and a little bit sour, they're the ultimate mashup of comfort food and zesty goodness. A must try for the 2025 KDays. OK. So here we have the classic carnival mini donuts that everyone knows and loves. Except you've gotta get pickles in the mix to raise some eyebrows, amirite? Served with an actual pickle on the side, these were actually pretty wonderful! It was everything that you love about dill pickle chips - now in donut form! I'd get these again every time!

Deep Fried Pickle Oreos from Concessions Inc ($20.00) This viral crispy, golden creation takes a double-stuffed Oreo, splits it open, adds a pickle inside, then deep-fries it in a custom shredded pickle batter. Served warm with fresh dill and a vanilla drizzle, it's a bold, delicious flavour mashup, the ultimate KDays comfort food you didn't know you needed. Yes. TWENTY DOLLARS. Cost aside, I know that this is going to be a controversial thing to say but... THESE WERE MY FAVOURITE. Probably one of the wackiest items available but actually so good! The batter was pillowy soft and the Oreos inside were melty. And yeah, there was a pickle in there AND I LOVED IT. You win pickle Oreos, you win.

Deep Fried Dubai Pistachio Chocolate Bar from Concessions Inc ($20.00) Calling all viral foodies! You have seen the Dubai chocolate bar but never seen it deep fried! We hand make our own pistachio, tahini, kataifi blend and slowly fry it perfectly in golden crispy batter and milk chocolate. The garnishes? Shh... We can't tell you everything... Come try it! Also TWENTY DOLLARS! HOW?!? But again, this thing was freakin' amazing. Crispy fried batter enveloped oozing, molten chocolate. But then you get the delicious flavours of pistachio and tahini in the mix. I loved this thing and I would get it again, cost be damned.

Spicy Coconut Avocado Ice Cream in a Coconut from Concessions Inc ($22.00) The viral silky smooth summer treat with a subtle kick has finally landed at KDays! Where coconut and avocado flavours freeze perfectly together with tajin spice shaped into an avocado! This summer treat is as beautiful as it is delicious, inside and out! This was the MOST EXPENSIVE item that I tried and I'm not certain that it was worth the high price tag. First of all, it was supposed to be shaped like an avocado?? How so? The soft serve itself wasn't very good quality. But yes, this dessert looked great and turned heads. I liked the savoury tajin spice that added a fun kick. Probably not worth it, however.

My arteries may never recover but I did have a lot of fun eating everything that was wild (and full of pickles) at KDays! This food is worlds away from haute cuisine but I've always said that there's a time and a place for everything. These dishes belong on a hot summer night while the dizzying sounds of rides, music, and cheerful people swirl all around you. I loved seeing the latest trends and tasting the creative flavour combinations! I can't wait to see what they come up with next year!