Brakes educates caterers about putting ‘plant forward’ on the menu

Brakes has launched a new campaign to help caterers in schools, colleges and universities capitalise on the new ‘plant forward’ trend.

Plant forward is a style of cooking and eating that emphasises plant-based foods but is not strictly limited to them, and it is growing in popularity across the world.

As a result, Brakes has launched a set of resources, including a new section on its website, https://www.brake.co.uk/why-brakes/education/plant-forward, to help British caterers understand and capitalise on the use of plant-based foods.

The company has provided nutritional information about the benefits of a plant-forward approach, alongside practical recipes ideas and menu suggestions.

With pressures on costs, Lisa Johnson, sector marketing manager for education at Brakes, has also highlighted the potential savings of a plant-forward diet: “A plant-forward approach is a virtuous circle providing a sustainable, healthy and cost-effective way of catering. There is a lot of pressure on food operations to keep costs down and plant-forward is a great way of doing that, as it can cut down on the need for expensive centre of plate protein options.

“Simply removing meat from menus is challenging, both in ensuring that you can meet nutritional standards, but also because the food is unfamiliar and therefore not always welcomed by students. By creating a hybrid with our plant-forward solution, we are able to help address cost, nutrition and hungry students!”

In addition, the company is highlighting its support for Menus of Change, which started in America and establishes the principles of plant-forward catering. The initiative is increasingly being seen in UK universities, where it aids the optimisation of nutrition, health and sustainability across menus.