Ovolo becomes the world’s first hotel group to go all-vegetarian by serving a mostly plant-based (and also Lacto-Ovo) menu at its restaurants across the globe. It was announced after the success of its “Year of the Veg” campaign that started in late 2020. For this campaign, all Ovolo restaurants turned from meat-centric recipes to plant-based recipes for 365 days.
Since its founding in 2002, Ovolo Hotel Group has expanded to operate three restaurants and four hotels in Hong Kong. They even have three restaurants and eight hotels across Australia. Now, after one year of serving complete plant-based cuisine at all these Ovolo venues, the hotel group has decided to go 100-percent vegetarian.
According to Ovolo Group Founder and CEO Girish Jhunjhnuwala, they believe to evolve with the world changes. In the wake of preserving the environment, the hotel group wants to promote healthy eating with their all-vegetarian menus.
Their creative culinary partner Ian Curley is spreading the amazing Plant’d initiative across Monster Kitchen & Bar in Canberra, Za Za Ta in Brisbane, Alibi Bar & Kitchen in Sydney, Lona Misa in Melbourne, and Veda in Hong Kong.
From their bold experiment to go green, the hotel group has learned a big lesson – “never underestimate your guests.” So, their key focus now is to ensure they are serving something appealing to everyone – from flexitarians to vegans, along with those who are curious to expand their palate. However, the menus will still focus on vegetarian cuisine.
What’s on the all-vegetarian menu?
All Ovolo’s restaurants are now serving various recipes beyond bean burgers and salads. The hotel group has many talented chef consultants, like Matthew Kenny, Ian Curly, Shannon Martinez, and Roy Ner for making the menus very appealing for every type of diner.
Image: Ovolo Hotel
For instance, ZA ZA TA at Ovolo The Valley in Brisbane has an interesting menu based on the flavors of Tel Aviv. They serve dishes like cauliflower shawarma with lime tabbouleh, cucumber, black barley, curry leaf, and green mango. Monster Kitchen in Canberra serves Asian flavors with dishes like purple cauliflower steak with miso. The Alibi Bar & Kitchen in Woolloomooloo serves an amazing eight-course chef’s tasting menu.
While all the restaurants are vegetarian, the hotel chain will still have some meat options on their event and conference menus. Who knows if they even start a “year of the veg conference” in 2023?
Image: Ovolo Hotel
The hotel group has even made its bars concentrate on making more vegan cocktails. The bartenders would substitute aquafaba for the egg whites, which are conventionally used to make drinks like gin fizzes and pisco sours. Some bars will also have amazing seasonal flavors. Moreover, the hotel group plans on creating a strong non-alcoholic menu to serve more health-conscious beverages.
Good news for vegans, too!
Image: Ovolo Hotel
Another good news is for vegans traveling to Hong Kong and Australia. As the awareness rises on animal consumption and preserving the environment, more people are stretching to Meatless Mondays and occasional Tuesdays and Wednesdays. So, they would be happy to have a cauliflower steak at the Ovolo restaurants. Furthermore, the restaurants even have amazing cuisines for vegans as well.
By pioneering the all-vegetarian menus, Ovolo Hotel Group wants to change the way vegetarian food is looked at everywhere. With their interesting menus, they will completely change the game for the all-vegetarian cuisine.
Via: Inhabitat