Culinary Trend: Plant-Based restaurant menu items to hit tipping point in 2022

November 19, 2021

Prognosticators have predicted that 2022 will be the year that plant-based choices at restaurants hit a tipping point.  While exclusively vegan and vegetarian restaurants are not new, trend watchers believe that 2022 will take normalizing plant-based meals to the next level. According to Side Chef, the concept of moderation and acceptance is bound to take over in the coming year, making plant-based menu options in most restaurant menus the new normal. Adding a new lineup of vegetarian and vegan-friendly options offering food that works for everyone will become a common practice.  The website Hausvoneden reports: In the future, plant-based dishes will be an integral part of every good restaurant. This not only requires imagination in the kitchen, but also specific know-how.

At The Venetian Resort, plant-based options are showing up on menus from the industry’s most innovative chefs.  At Mott 32, for instance, the award-winning Asian restaurant has recreated several signature dishes and customer favorites using only plants and meat alternatives. This includes the restaurant’s wildly popular Shanghainese Soup Dumplings, as well as the restaurant’s Signature Smoked Cod  – two long-standing favorites of Mott 32 diners.  BRERA osteria caters to the plant-based palate with a new 4-course Chef’s Go Vegan Tasting Menu, available every day. “We created a new menu that is plant based -- full of flavor -- using the freshest seasonal ingredients with an artistic presentation,” says executive chef and co-owner, Angelo Auriana. “We have even gotten positive reviews from our regular meat-eating clientele.”

• BOUCHON
  Thomas Keller features French fare that has won almost every award possible: Michelin stars, James Beard Foundation and what Anthony Bourdain called “the best restaurant, ever.”  For those in the know, the restaurant offers a secret menu item called the “Vegan Chop.”  The Vegan Chop – which receives rave reviews online – is a mixture of grain and mushroom formed into the shape of a chop and then served with seasonal veggies.

• MAJORDOMO MEAT & FISH
  David Chang has impressive vegan choices for guests opting to go meatless.  One item, the Macaroni with hozon, is a guest favorite.  “It sounds a little bit crazy – but it’s a play on macaroni and cheese,” said Chang.  “We make our own proprietary fermented chickpea – we basically make miso out of it.  When you ferment it, it has a lot of notes of parmesan – that natural umami is developed.  It’s the same flavors that I find in Pecorino Romano and really good, aged parmesan.  I was like ‘why don’t we turn that into a pasta dish?’  Believe it or not, there is no cheese in it.  But when you taste it, it tastes so familiar, like the best version of mac and cheese you’ve ever had.”

• MATTEO’S RISTORANTE ITALIANO
  Chef Angelo Auriana and business partner Matteo Ferdinandi now use a new plant-based pasta, vegana. This delightful dish features fresh extruded garganelli pasta, zucchini, nardello peppers, basil, and spicy tomato crema.   Says Chef Angelo:  “It is so rich and creamy, guests won’t notice we don’t use cheese.”

• TRUTH & TONIC WELLNESS CAFÉ
  Home to the first all plant-based restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip, Truth & Tonic Wellness Cafe offers healthy breakfast and lunch options at Canyon Ranch Spa + Fitness. Created by Chef Pete Ghione, the menu is packed with nutrient-dense superfoods with maximum flavor from frittatas, salads, tofu scrambles, specialty toasts, wraps, sandwiches, and tacos.

• BLACK TAP CRAFT BURGERS & BEER
  Plant-based menu options include the Vegan Nashville Hot, a breaded portobello topped with Nashville hot sauce, and served with coleslaw and pickles on a vegan potato roll.  For dessert, a Vegan Black ‘n White Cakeshake features a vanilla frosted rim with mini chocolate chips topped with a black ‘n white cake slice, whipped “cream” and  chocolate drizzle

Additional research data (source - Fona International Trend Report):

 

Plant-Based Power

• The plant-based food market is valued at $5 billion, according to data from the Plant Based Foods Association and Good Food Institute.
• The number of Americans following plant-based diets has surged 300% in the last 15 years, per Vegan News.
• Y-Pulse research also found that 47% of 13 to 39-year-olds say they drink plant-based beverages and/or eat plant-based meat regularly.
• Two-thirds of Gen Xers are familiar with plant-based diets, but that figure is less than the 73% average for the overall population, the International Food Information Council reveals.

Pandemic Impact

• Since the pandemic began, 39% of consumers in the U.S. have considered going vegetarian or vegan. 20% cite health concerns as the primary driver for their choices.
• 41% of self-described dieters said they boosted their intake of protein from plant sources in the past year and 28% report that they are eating more plant-based alternatives.
• Older consumers including Baby Boomers tend to be more influenced by health when buying plant-based foods, while Millennials and Gen Z consumers are motivated by animal welfare and environmental impact, according to the Plant Based Foods Association.

For more details, contact The Venetian Resort Public Relations.