This switch will result in hundreds of recipes in Compass’ new recipe bank – The Source - being altered, and will enable the business to eliminate up to 240 million calories and almost 100 tonnes of saturated fat – the weight of a blue whale – from its food.
This switch is one of a number of new initiatives Compass is introducing as part of its Know Your Food programme and will also enable the organisation to honour the calorie reduction pledge it made to the Government earlier this year as part of the Responsibility Deal.
The move to Flora Buttery encompasses a range of recipes spanning everything from popular pies and puddings, savoury staples such as mashed potato and gratins, and sweet treats such as cakes and biscuits.
The decision to use Flora Buttery follows extensive testing by Compass’ cross-sector culinary teams, led by Compass Group & Ireland’s executive chef, Nick Vadis. Recipes containing butter and Flora Buttery were compared, assessed and tested over a number of months before deciding on the feasibility of this switch.
Commenting on this process, Vadis said: “We realised that the opportunity for reducing the calorie and fat content of our dishes with Flora Buttery was immense but knew that moving to a healthier solution could never mean we compromise on taste. Protecting our recipes and great tasting dishes was always our key priority so we conducted a rigorous testing process to ensure that no sacrifices in performance, taste or quality would be made.”
Commenting on the importance of this initiative, Oliver Cock, managing director, commercial, Compass Group UK & Ireland added: “We are always looking at innovative ways to help our customers make healthier choices without compromising on the quality of our food, and the switch to Flora Buttery is a perfect example of this. By swapping one product we are eliminating millions of calories and almost 100 tonnes of fat; this is a tremendous achievement which will not only enable us to remain at the forefront of culinary innovation in our industry but will also help us meet our Responsibility Deal pledges.”