Going vegetarian a long-term trend in F&B

One of the trends the F&B industry in this region and worldwide will be seeing in the next few years is making a mark in the vegetarian food market.

Unilever Food Solutions executive chef — Middle East, Pakistan, Sri Lanka Jéan Van Der Westhuizen said: “There’s a big part of education that needs to be done on what it takes to produce something. If I take a very simple example, like a beef patty or a sirloin steak. You need to go all the way back to the grain that the animal eats and all the water it take to produce that grain. And then the amount of water that the animal consumes itself. And how quickly do we devour that animal.

“We need to moderate the amounts of really complex proteins that we consume. We’re all far better off moving into a vegetarian-based diet. I’m not saying become a vegan tomorrow, or become a vegetarian overnight, but supermarkets and chefs in hotels have a responsibility to start getting this message out a bit more.”

Russell Impiazzi, culinary director, Food & Beverage, Galeries Lafayette Dubai Mall added: “Creating more plant-centric menus [is important].”

Westhuizen added: “If a supermarket could have a meat-free Monday on the shelves, I don’t know how the public would see that, but I think that’s in the near future. We need to be conscious about what it takes to produce what we eat.”

Abela & Co corporate chef Colin Campbell added that education was key, as there’s a generation growing up who doesn’t know where their steak or chicken comes from. Andy Cuthbert, general manager conference & events, Jumeirah Hospitality, however, said there’s a market there for people who are interested in food, who are using the internet and apps to find out more about their food. “They’re very knowledgeable on cuisine, more so than 30 years ago. They want to know about the food, where it comes from, how it got there.” Campbell agrees that social media has been a big help in this regard.

Roudy Petersen, head chef, Catch UAE, Royal Catering concluded: “The future is vegetarian, where we will reduce the amount of protein and go back to vegetarian food.”

Celebrated chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten is one who thinks the vegetarian trend has some legs. In an interview with Caterer Middle East earlier this year, he confirmed he was opening a full vegetarian restaurant. At the time, he said: “We’re opening a vegetarian restaurant. I’ve never done that before, but I’m working with two nutritionists [on the project].”

Read the full roundtable in the November issue of Caterer Middle East.