The cumberland sausage is high in protein, a source of fibre and non-HFSS (non-high fat, sugar or salt). Garden Gourmet, within Nestlé Professional, is offering food operators support to optimise the plant-based dishes in their menus and provide detailed nutritional information for the recipes created by the development chefs.
Darren Chapman, Nestlé business development chef, said: “According to social media insight gathered during January, consumers value having a wide plant-based selection when dining out and believe that wider selections will actually influence more people to reduce their meat intake.
“Whether this is driven by beliefs, health or sustainable choices, we can see the appetite is there and it is important to have these options on the menu. This means it is key to have a good proposition, which checks off health, sustainability, functionality, taste and texture. We work with our customers to help them achieve this. More importantly now, with the new regulation, we offer them detailed nutritional information that they need to display in their menus.”
Garden Gourmet now offers a diverse range that includes burgers, mince, meat-style balls, fillet pieces and the recently launched nuggets and breaded fillets. The cook-from-frozen format means minimal food waste for food operators and, for those aspiring to reduce their carbon footprint, Garden Gourmet has pledged to be carbon neutral by the end of 2022.
Hannah Baugh, nutrition manager at Nestlé UK&I, added: “At Nestlé, we have been making plant-based products for 30 years, and we have a large worldwide R&D network dedicated to new product development. When the team developed the Garden Gourmet range, nutrition was a key consideration so that people who wanted to swap or reduce their meat intake would have an easier transition to a plant-based alternative.
“This meant that, rather than retrofitting meat alternatives to meet requirements, we decided on the nutritional targets of Garden Gourmet products right at the start of the product development process.”
For details on their range, available via OOH through wholesalers, go to https://www.Nestléprofessional.co.uk/garden-gourmet.