The Caterer's Plant-Based Summit saw operators leading the charge give their advice on creating a modern vegan offering
Gone are the days when vegan cuisine was seen as a lifestyle choice for a tiny minority. The explosion in plant-based eating is being driven by a growing appetite among consumers to reduce their meat intake.
Currently, 1% of the population are vegans, 7% are vegetarians and 42% are flexitarians, says Nigel White, plant-based marketing expert and chief executive of The Marketing Place.
"The key and what's attracting the VC money at the moment, is that last number. In terms of the flexitarians, that's growing the most rapidly."
And although vegans represent a small but growing minority, they hold a huge amount of sway when it comes to group bookings, meaning operators can't afford to treat their dietary requirements as an afterthought.
"Always remember that the vegan in the group can hold a disproportionate amount of influence over where everybody gets to eat," says White. "They're going to check the menu first and if the vegan offering just isn't up to scratch they're going to take the whole group somewhere else."
You want your plant-based or your vegan options to be competitive with your meat options
Jack Read, UK sales director at Future Farm, agrees it is important everyone feels included. "We want to encourage more people to [eat less meat] because that is essentially how we're going to create mass change here."
Claire Roper, head of marketing and innovation foodservice, Quorn Professionals, notes for many people the humble meat-alternative patty has acted as a gateway product: "The burger opened the market into meat free because it was a format people knew from their meat days and experience." However, she notes there is now lot more to the meat-free menu.
Marketing plant-based
In an increasingly crowded marketplace, it's more important than ever for operators to shout about their plant-based offerings, says Patrick O'Shea, co-founder of Temple of Seitan – London's first vegan fried chicken shop.
"Having a USP is incredibly important because if you are simply selling a burger that you can get from any other restaurant, including McDonald's or KFC, you're going to have a lot of trouble standing out."
However, there is a danger of appearing faddy. Pizza Express recently had the initiative to play only plant-based pop music throughout ‘Veganuary' – (only vegan artists and no carnivorous references, so presumably no Meat Loaf).
"It screams hollow gimmick to me. I don't think that is anything that's high on the list of vegan priorities. And I think it actually reinforces a bit of a negative stereotype: that vegans are overly sensitive or overly nit-picking," he says.
The watchword here is inclusivity. O'Shea previously made a point of allowing customers into Temple of Seitan who were wearing fur, despite some complaints. "Those people had taken a positive step to walk in here and to try vegan. So you don't want to create a barrier at the first opportunity. It's really about lowering those barriers and making it accessible. That's one of the reasons why we use the terminology of the real animal products."
Juliane Caillouette-Noble, managing director of the Sustainable Restaurant Association, agrees. "To create this cultural shift, it's not [having] 1,000 people go vegan. We need a billion people to reduce their meat consumption."
She cites the example of Wahaca, which shifted its menu to small plates with increased vegetarian options. "They found that reduced their sales of meat and increased sales of vegetable-led dishes" through "sharing loads of things and being able to try lots of things at once" without sectioning off the menu. "If it's part of the whole experience, then everybody can come and enjoy that together."
The assumption is that when you're vegetarian, you love lots and lots of vegetables
Future Farm's Jack Read echoes the point. "It's about creating that all round experience: the colours and the texture on the plate and making sure that everyone feels incorporated," he says. "You want your plant-based or your vegan options to be competitive with your meat options. For example, if you've got a meat burger that looks like it's a fantastic build with sauces, salads... you want the vegan alternative to look as appealing. Otherwise, you're not giving plant-based a fighting chance."
Andrew Aston, head of wellness and nutrition at food service provider Baxterstorey, believes it's important to go on the journey with your customers. "Put on a show and get to know the customers. That comes from things like master classes in an evening or webinars."
James Clarke, general manager at Hilton London Bankside, has certainly been on a discovery process with his customers. The hotel was one of the first to launch a vegan suite, using vegan materials including Piñatex, a leather alternative made from pineapple leaves.
"We partnered with a local designer to develop [the concept] from arrival, all the way through to the experience of sleeping in the suite, to breakfast…it's about [hosting] that person who wants to enjoy that lifestyle and not distinguishing them, not excluding them, but embracing it," he says. "It's gone from strength to strength. I didn't think it would be the success it has today."
The vegan kitchen
When it comes to meat-free cooking, some chefs have historically lacked imagination, says Andrew Dargue, owner of vegetarian fine-dining restaurant Vanilla Black. "The assumption is that when you're vegetarian, you love lots and lots of vegetables," he says. He has first-hand experience of how boring it can be to, simply "ploughing through" lots of greens. The key is to have a focal point on the plate. For example, one of his many innovations has been to emulate a steak tartar dish using tomatoes and a mustard yolk on top.
French fine dining isn't typically associated with vegan food. But Alexis Gauthier, chef-patron of Gauthier Soho Restaurant – turned his restaurant entirely vegan in 2021. Like Dargue, he also has a reputation for innovation.
"When I think about a dish, I do think about the final product…. So it's all about a balance of flavour: the perfect structure of a dish with good consistency, texture and reflecting the season and also the mood of the chef," he says.
If anything, going vegan amplifies creativity: "You're not going to be able to hide behind that beautiful loin of beef or beautiful scallops. What's on the plate is what comes from the creativity of the chef and I think as a reward for chefs, it's going to be immense."
Sarah Wasserman, development chef at Mildreds, something of a vegetarian institution, having opened in Soho 35 years ago, points out that the same culinary toolkit applies. "You get much more interesting results if you stop thinking about how plant-based food is different," she says. "All those processes that you rely on as a chef to add depth of flavour: caramelizing, braising, confiting, sealing, salting, charring – it all still applies."
Food is such an emotional thing for people, it's so tied up with the all your experiences in your life and all of your history
She says what their customers want is food they can't get anywhere else, particularly vegan or vegetarian versions of conventional dishes. Their croque-monsieur and tiramisu have been huge hits. "People get really excited [about] being able to eat something again that they loved in the past. Because food is such an emotional thing for people, it's so tied up with all the experiences in your life and all of your history."
Neil Rankin, chef-founder of Temper restaurants and Symplicity Food, points out that working with vegetables instead of meat can actually create more depth of flavour.
"They soak up spices and flavours much better than meat does. Marination is much better with vegetables. The intensity you get is different," he says. "It can be much more ummani based."
He believes the explosion in plant-based eating is being driven by the creativity of chefs and restaurants. "Then it sneaks into the supermarkets, then it goes into sort of more the chain… it is happening at an extremely fast rate and I think it's a clear path ahead."
There is palpable excitement among all the panellists when discussing the potential for growth in this sector. "It's just going to get bigger and better and more people are going to come through showcasing lots of exciting food, so that actually maybe the tide will change," concludes Quorn Professional's Claire Roper.
How to boost your menu
Kirsty Matthews, insights and marketing manager at Macphie, discusses some simple solutions to grow your menu
Cater across all parts
Look at how the menu can provide a range of options for customers throughout the day, says Matthews. For example, breakfast pancakes could easily remain a staple for lunch or dinner. For lunch, it's also useful to think of items that could be eaten on the go. "Toasties are very popular at the moment – they can also be eaten both on and off premise facilitating the ability for takeaway."
Many operators are also capitalising on a more casual ‘coffee culture' food and beverage options. "This is quite a low-risk way of getting new customers to come into your business. But at the same time, it's important to make sure that these areas of your menu are able to satisfy people's plant-based choices as well."
Offer customisable options
This enables a smaller menu that can also cater to a range of customers. The most obvious dishes that lend themselves to customisation are burgers, pizza, burritos and wraps. "We know that plant-based consumers are more likely to visit independent restaurants and coffee shops. Because there's a belief from them that they are more flexible with menu alterations, and they're appealing to customers with those dietary requirements."
But side dishes also shouldn't be overlooked. "As well as enabling your customers to customise the meal, they're a great option to allow people to try new things. So, taking a step into plant-based and just try something new on the menu."
Use multi-use products
"Having a versatile building block sauce that can multitask across your menu is something that can take your menu a step forward. A sauce that pairs both plant-based and meat-based products is ideal and also a time saver."
It can also liven up dishes quickly. "So taking your customers on a journey of flavour around the world is something that you can do using a base sauce that you can customise. You can take them to any destination and customise your menu at a drop of a hat."
Five ways to sell plant-based
Nigel White, plant-based marketing expert and chief executive of the Marketing Place, shares his top tips on how operators can make the most of their vegan and flexitarian offering
1. Go plant-first
Given the numbers, growth and motivations this has to be the default position when menu planning, says White. However, it's important to avoid using words such as ‘option' ‘substitute' or ‘alternative'. "We still see a lot of talk, especially in retail, about dairy alternatives or meat substitutes. It's not really the language of food," he says.
2. Recognise difference
Plant-based is a new, catch-all term but there's a danger of everything being lumped under it. "We're seeing a lot of evidence that vegetarians are actually getting annoyed by the amount of pure vegan offerings, because they're not looking to cut out dairy and they feel that that their options are being limited. Equally I've seen gluten-free people being offered a vegan alternative, as if as if they are the same thing. Recognise there are many different needs going on here."
3. Think timing
Research shows people are more likely to opt for plant-based earlier in the day and earlier in the week. By the time it gets to the weekend, flexitarian customers are more likely to choose meat dishes. Being aware of the day and time ought to go into planning.
4. Get the tone right
"Many of these consumers consider themselves better informed or educated on food than the general population.. What they don't want is to be looked down upon, pitied or worst-case scenario, seen as a bit of a nuisance."
5. Market to motivations
White notes there are a number of reasons people might choose to eat plant free, such as health and environmental considerations. "Some are lifestyle choices, others are a matter of life and death," he says. "There's no one reason why people might be choosing plant-based alternatives. It's important operators appreciate the different reasons for being meat-free."
