A monthly feature where we look back at a couple of news stories from the catering industry.
Fast Food restaurants urged to cater for vegetarians
Research has revealed that 76% of vegetarians are not happy with the choice of foods available to them in fast food catering restaurants.
Only 3% of the 357 vegetarians polled were very happy with the choice. Pubs and restaurants fair better – almost half were happy with the choice – but still with with a considerable opportunity present to better satisfy the vegetarian market.
Mat Lintern, managing director of MMR Research Worldwide, said the following:
It does not come as a surprise that fast food restaurants do not score as highly with vegetarians as non-vegetarians. Vegetarians are motivated by products with no artificial ingredients, that are ethical, free range, low fat and organic.”
Discount dining on the rise
Customers are getting a taste for discount dining and saving £3 million every day as restauranteurs increasingly issue vouchers with deals such as half price meals, the most popular type of online offer.
Over the past 12 months the number of people using these vouchers has risen by 30% and nearly 60% of Brits reported having dined with a discount in the last 6 months.
The UK is currently tucking in to 14 million cut price meals monthly with Italian cuisine by far the most popular choice (That’ll be the Pizza Hut email-offer I get every week then – Mark)
Pupils Dine Al Fresco
Pupils at Perth Grammar School are leading the way in the healthy eating movement by eating at House of Munch, a new mobile catering kiosk.
This additional option for school lunches was developed through consultation with pupils and is proving to be a real hit at lunchtimes.
The house of Munch kiosk opened in April 2009 and offers a diverse menu, which includes fresh soups, baguettes, wraps and chilli, all made fresh daily, as well as fruit drinks, water and hot drinks. Pupils can pay cash or use the existing cashless catering system to pre-order their choices daily.
Burger weighs more than the average man
Chefs in Australia have created the ultimate burger weighing in at the average size of a man – 15 stone (90kg). It took four men to flip it during the cooking process and the list of ingredients is phenomenal. Making up the burger is 120 eggs, ten slices of cheese, 1.5kg of beetroot, 2.5kg of tomatoes and nearly 2kg of lettuce.
Australian cafe owners Joe & Iman El-Ajouz began cooking the record breaker on a Saturday morning and completed it at 11:45am on the Sunday. Caterer Iman said: “Just flipping the patty was the main challenge for us, but it all went well.”
Photo credits: jackol, Sifu Renka
Check back next month for more catering news.
