Chefs Surprised by Plant Based Seafood Alternatives Add More Vegan Options to Their Menus

A food and wine distributing company on the Caribbean island of Aruba had an innovative idea to host a secret vegan lunch: an event that would highlight their newly available vegan products, without letting chefs know in advance that everything served would be vegan. This was a risky move, considering that chefs are highly experienced with quality ingredients, making them hard to fool! 

Chefs preparing vegan nigiri at Infini, the chef’s table restaurant where the event took place

Executive chefs from Marriott, Hilton, Holiday Inn, and many other large hotel groups, as well as owners and executive chefs of independent restaurants attended the event that took place last month, in October of 2023.

The eight course lunch included sourdough toast with “tuna” salad, a sushi sampler featuring “salmon” nigiri and an acevichado roll using vegan shrimp, “tuna” tartare with pear, lime mayo, avocado and soy sauce, as well as a tempura platter of vegan shrimps and vegan calamari with plant based remoulade. The courses continued with teriyaki “chicken,” “tenderloin steak,” a decadent bacon cheeseburger with vegan mayo on a gluten free bun, and a mango mochi dessert paired with kiwi sorbet and coconut cream. 

Each course included a vegan and sustainable wine pairing, to highlight the diverse wines that restaurants and hotels have access to order through the distributing company.

7 different vegan wines were featured at the event.

The distributor, BerSah Aruba, worked with the talented, award-winning chef Urvin Croes to curate a menu featuring vegan meat and seafood products, and Meredith Marin from Vegan Hospitality was brought in to provide menu feedback before the big event, co-host on the day of the event, and answer questions from chefs about how to successfully integrate more vegan products into their restaurant’s menus. 

Edzard Morsch from Bersah Aruba curated the vegan wine pairing

After chefs tasted the first course, Meredith Marin entered the event and participated in the big reveal – that what they thought was tuna, had actually been a plant based alternative! All of the chefs were shocked, as no one had suspected that the tuna was plant based. They were intrigued to hear that the rest of the “meat and seafood” focused menu would be plant based as well, and as each course was served, chefs had a lot to talk about! Everyone enjoyed the meal and chefs were amazed by the textures and flavors of vegan products they had never tried before.

teriyaki “chick’n” by chef urvin croes

Meredith Marin interviewed chefs during the event and found that the experience inspired many to consider adding new plant based products to their menus. Several chefs immediately placed orders for the products they had tried so that they could start offering them to guests right away. Some chefs even said they were eager to work on full vegan menus for 2024.

meredith marin from vegan hospitality showcasing a vegan bacon cheeseburger on a gluten free bun

We highlighted this case study on our blog because we love to show innovative ways our clients and partners are introducing vegan options into their hospitality communities. Sometimes we need to think out of the box, to get out of our comfort zone, and encourage people to try something new. 

chef jonathan proudly serves vegan shrimp and calamari tempura

If you are an owner, F&B director or chef looking for support with developing a top selling vegan menu for 2024, fill out our form to set up a free strategy consultation.

*Disclaimer: Though the “big reveal” was kept a secret until after the first course, allergy information was collected in advance and guests were not served anything they were allergic to. Since there is nothing unethical about eating plants, we endorse this kind of fun in event planning; however, we never advise feeding guests an animal product without their knowledge, due to ethical concerns.