IT'S JUST GREAT FOOD: THE RISE IN VEGANISM
Written by: Sue - 29th May 2019
"I'm following a plant-based lifestyle" is no longer something you'll only overhear in Hebden Bridge or Shoreditch, whilst quizzically considering the quinoa options yourself. The number of vegans has doubled twice in the past four years to 1.16% of the UK population in 2018: that's 600,000 adherents.
Such were the findings of The Vegan Society who last year conducted a survey of 2,000 people over 15 in the UK to discover how many identified as vegan. The lifestyle choice has been steadily increasing in popularity for decades now as people get behind the associated environmental benefits and seek to reduce their carbon footprint. The perceived health benefits have also garnered more interest, as recently reported by Catering Today magazine:
"Veganism can reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and body mass index, as well as reducing the risk of cancer and heart disease!"
A record-breaking 250,000 people signed up this year for Veganuary - the annual campaign that encourages people to try a vegan diet for the month of January at least.
A New Direction For Train and Air Passengers
The Vegan Society is fervently campaigning amid this climate of renewed interest in different lifestyle choices. Last year their campaign successfully convinced seven major train companies to offer vegan options on board and they are now working with five more for change. This year, their focus is on plane operators, urging them to offer a vegan in-flight meal as standard to better cater for their thousands of vegan and flexitarian passengers. And they've done their maths too! Particularly to support their argument that it contributes to offsetting carbon emissions:
"If everyone flying out of Heathrow in just one day chose a vegan meal it could save around 33,592 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of driving 112,695,851 miles in an average UK petrol car."
The Vegan Society
A New Direction in Events and Hospitality
Whilst developments are apace in the train and airline sector, the events and hospitality specialists have consistently been prompt to listen and adapt smartly to changes in the market. Statistics back this claim; the response to veganism by the hospitality industry was applauded in an article by Maria Chiorando on Plantbasednews.org
"The hospitality industry has seen a 123 percent rise in vegan-specific job roles over the past 12 months - with businesses expanding their staff skillsets as well as product ranges."
Event Planners have been integral to this dramatic evolution, knowing that delegates have become much more vocal over recent years; on health requirements, food allergies, religious and ethical expecations. They are far more clued-up on matters of provenance too and will ask questions on how menus have been sourced and prepared. Rightly so!
Our partners tell us the days of working to a 90/10 split on 'the core menu' and 'the special requirements' are long gone. The scene laid before us is more colourful and complicated than ever before. We rise to the challenge of changing delegate tastes as people grow more health conscious, informed and discerning about food. Here is just a small sample board of partner innovations to share:
Hilton Hotels - From Vegan Station to Vegan Suites
Meat-free delegates are in very safe hands across all Hilton Hotels within the Calder partner programme. Currently we are sharing Daily Delegate offers for meetings and events at Hilton Cambridge which is a great reflection of the Hilton approach. Here, at this self-contained conference and meetings space for up to 200 delegates, food is served in either a Mix & Mingle, Street Food Festival or Live Stations format which includes Hydration Stations, Free-From Stations - for those seeking additive-free dishes - as well as the permanent Vegan Station of locally-inspired seasonal menus that guests can drift up to throughout the course of the gathering.
Of course, also within the Hilton brand are the recent headline-grabbing innovations at Hilton Bankside, London. Guests have now been welcomed here at the world's first 'Vegan Suite', designed as the perfect experience for those who follow a plant-based lifestyle. Given the thumbs-up by The Vegan Society, Bankside offers the ethically-conscious traveller a journey from plant-based check-in desk and keycard to vegan-friendly bedding and eco-cotton carpet.
The careful choices don't end with the in-room pillow menu either, but continue through to the in-room vegan menu and complimentary mini-bar which displays locally-sourced vegan treats such as Graze protein powder, Naked fruit and nut snacks and Ella energy balls. Specially curated menus are also presented in the OXBO restaurant and Distillery bar.
Lime Venue Portfolio - Plant-Based Can Help Reduce Waste
Lime Venue Portfolio are calling on events organisers to think differently about food in a way that enables them to play a small part in helping our planet. The dramatic shift towards vegan, vegetarian and free-from options is presenting a serious challenge to act more responsibly regarding something they have dubbed FORO - fear of running out!
"It's not an uncommon statistic that the kitchen will prepare an extra 10% of meals to make sure the event is able to cater for additional or last-minute guests....often this will be replicated in so called 'specialist' meals, as guests change their mind or have failed to tell the organisers their food preferences ahead of time.
"However, if all goes swimmingly well, based on an over production of 10% of meals at a banquet for 1,200 people, you're looking at the very real potential of 120 meals going to waste; that's a lot"
With this in mind, meat - and the massive environmental cost of rearing it - is becoming a sensitive subject. Guests, once informed, are on the side of the planner looking to reduce waste and value the virtue in an event that trailblazes a new approach. LVP feels we will begin to see more events which are completely vegan or, at least, where meat is the luxury side or garnish. Like champagne.
"The sign on the wall doesn't have to say 'meat free' it can just say 'great food'."
One of their innovative concepts is to invite the chef out into the event; on the one hand to create theatre but on the other to push different food options, including an appealing plant-based selection from live stations. In this way they can regulate waste in real time too.
LVP chefs at work
The Chesterfield, Mayfair - Floral Inspiration
At Red Carnation Hotel's The Chesterfield Mayfair, Head Chef Nathan Hindmarsh will be incorporating into the summer a la carte menu - live at the end of June - new vegan options from a plant-based menu creatively devised to run alongside The Chelsea Flower Show. Playing with floral aesthetics and colour for the theme, ingredients have been sourced as close to London as possible: English wasabi from Hampshire, asparagus from Wye Valley and apples from Kent, for example. This creative menu has been proving so popular that favourite elements will definitely be retained for the June menu launch.
Nathan creating
Each response to evolving guest preferences is unique and inspiring, we hope you agree. We're so proud of our network of partner experts!
