Ovolo Hotels has committed to only serving vegetarian food at its on-site restaurants for the second year running. Jenny Southan reports
With 12 properties in Hong Kong, Australia and Bali, Ovolo Hotels is continuing to promote plant-based eating by committing to only serving vegetarian food for the next 12 months. (It first banned fish and meat in October 2020.)
Dishes on Ovolo restaurant menus include paneer tikka “escabeche”; hummus with braised chickpeas and jackfruit; dumplings stuffed with spinach and ricotta; and cauliflower shawarma with curry leaf and green mango.
Ovolo Group’s founder and CEO, Girish Jhunjhnuwala, says: “Meat is being removed for a second year in a row at Ovolo Hotels. With a number of our Ovolo venues already serving plant-based cuisine, we have decided to go the full 100 per cent.
“It’s been a strategic move, but Ovolo prides itself on being an industry leader. We believe that the world changes, therefore we continue to evolve – we want to ensure we are doing our bit to help preserve our environment, promote healthy eating and enhance the image of amazing vegetarian and plant-based dining.”
Jhunjhnuwala adds: “There has also been a lot of learnings along the way, and we want to share those insights with others in the industry and outside the industry considering making the switch to a vegetarian-lead offerings or integrating it into their existing offering. That’s why we have created our Plant’d Playbook white paper, which will be publicly available for all to access”.
Ovolo’s group creative culinary partner Ian Curley says: “Our move to vegetarian dining has been even more successful than we anticipated, and we now find ourselves part of a new wave of plant-based pioneers.
“The one big lesson we have learned from our bold experiment: never underestimate your guests. A key focus for us has been ensuring we are creating something that still appeals to everyone – from vegans to flexitarians, and those who are simply keen on expanding their palette.
“We are lucky enough to be working with some incredible suppliers across the rollout who share our passion for offering nutritious, delicious and sustainable food solutions.
“Companies such as V2 are really expanding people’s minds in terms of what is possible with plant-based cuisine, and make it an easy entry point for those curious about trying some vegan spins on classic dishes”.