Feature: Vegetarian meals
most flight kitchens do not have pure vegetarian or vegan specialists and time and budgets will also be a pressure.
“In addition, most vegetarians are very individual in their taste and even a very good menu becomes boring to a regular traveller in time,” he adds.
Ask an expert
Hansueli Meili, from PickPay Yogja, Indonesia, offers a solution. He says: “It is very simple, catering companies need to consult specialists in preparing vegetarian food. The variety is huge, tasty and healthy. Somewhere like HILTL Group (owners of Europe’s oldest vegetarian restaurant since 1898) could certainly help to improve the vegetarian meals, or caterers should get inspiration from Asia.”
Some carriers, of course, already do this. David Hyde, former md at DSI Foods says: “The choice of vegetarian meals depends on what airline you travel with and which class you travel in. I can recommend Qantas which I know has worked with the DSI Foods team to develop a great range of very popular vegetarian and Jain products for a full tray set meal service.” Matt Crane, ceo Monty’s Bakehouse, agrees: “The vegetarian market is growing, so caterers and airlines should continue to challenge the supplier base for these options. They will respond and the passenger experience improve. “We started with just two vegetarian recipes but are now producing an increasing range of special meal snacks. This sector has grown considerably through its demand. We haven’t done anything clever, just listened to our customers and responded. All of our Special Meal recipes are vegetarian and all are simple, which allows the flavours of the ingredients to come through via recipes that passengers recognise.” Frozen ready meal specialist Classic Cuisine, based in the UK, has also noted a growing
demand. Mark Dean, sales director, says: “I believe there are a couple of possible explanations for the increase in demand for vegetarian choices. Firstly, in the UK we are becoming more health conscious about our diets, secondly, we are all looking to reduce spending on eating out and vegetarian options are significantly lower in price.”
Innovation is key
The company has innovated new recipes to meet the demand and currently supplies Rail Gourmet and Virgin Trains.
Dean notes statistics from The Office of National Statistics in the UK which suggest that three in five adults now eat meat-free food and that there are approximately 1.8 million people identified as vegetarians. According to the UK’s Vegetarian Society vegetarians account for nearly £2.5 billion worth of food eaten outside of the home each year.
And it is not just vegetarians choosing the veggie option. Some airlines note a trend towards passengers choosing the vegetarian or non-meat meal option even though they have not requested it. Passengers seem to be citing taste, health and well-being reasons. RamaKrishna Kommineni, quality assurance manager at LSG sky chefs India says: “Onboard vegetarian meals are safer with less health risks
Above: Roast root vegetable and rarebit tart from Classic Cuisine and (left) the demand for vegetarian dishes such as this is likely to increase in the onboard industry
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www.onboardhospitality.com
and in general, they are freshly prepared.” Healthy options
The argument for non-vegetarians choosing a vegetarian option for health reasons is confirmed in a recent survey by Charles Stuart Platkin, an assistant professor at CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College in New York. His research shows airlines are tuning into this health-conscious trend.
The annual survey assesses the nutritional value of US airline meals. based on seven criteria and the 2012 results suggest airlines are offering healthier and higher-quality food.
Platkin, who edits the website DietDetective. com says: “Calorie-laden, unhealthy, heavy foods have been shown in research to negatively impact mood. A few airlines are now realising that, if they pay attention to food, they can increase customer experience and satisfaction.”
Virgin America offered the healthiest food in Platkin’s survey, with Air Canada in second place and Alaska Airlines third of 11 North American airlines’ reviewed. Platkin says airlines are selling healthier snack boxes too. Many snacks offered last year exceeded 850 calories but this year, the average calories per item was 388.
Clearly, vegetarian catering is no longer a quirky niche. It is fast moving into the mainstream and is clearly a sector to watch. •
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