Plant Based Food Coming to Regent

[JMARINER]

My issue it not so much about the food. My concern is about who Regent is hiring to design the menu program. A video game designer and computer project manager!!!

 

To me this is like saying your going to change Prime 7 into luxury French Creole specialty restaurant that is  be manager by "Popeye's Chicken"

 

I would expect that Regent would hire top professional in their culinary field to advise them on the their menu planning.  Looks to me like another stumble on Regents part.

 

J

[cruiseluv]

7 hours ago, JMARINER said:

My issue it not so much about the food. My concern is about who Regent is hiring to design the menu program. A video game designer and computer project manager!!!

 

To me this is like saying your going to change Prime 7 into luxury French Creole specialty restaurant that is  be manager by "Popeye's Chicken"

 

I would expect that Regent would hire top professional in their culinary field to advise them on the their menu planning.  Looks to me like another stumble on Regents part.

 

J

 

Sorry, not sure if what you say on the 1st paragraph is a joke , or something based on reality. Could you clarify?

[Brownie54]

Google the guy who Regent hired to develop the menus and see who JMariner is talking about. You need to go to the beginning of this thread. Maybe give him a chance?

[Hambagahle]

This is funny!  I cannot abide the bread in the US - the kind that comes in plastic bags.  Too soft, tastes too sweet and for me is not real bread.  And here we rarely if ever see escargots on the menu so if Regent is selling them that is good for the snail farmers.  Best thing I can see in an escargot is the butter sauce.  That, sopped up with proper bread is just wonderful.

[UUNetBill]

5 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

This is funny!  I cannot abide the bread in the US - the kind that comes in plastic bags.  Too soft, tastes too sweet and for me is not real bread.  And here we rarely if ever see escargots on the menu so if Regent is selling them that is good for the snail farmers.  Best thing I can see in an escargot is the butter sauce.  That, sopped up with proper bread is just wonderful.

I had some friends in Germany who loved Schnecken and kept trying to get me to try them.  As I did (and still do) view them as a garden pest and not a meal, I declined.  They kept telling me, "They're all garlic-y and buttery - it's just like eating garlic bread!"  To which I replied, obviously, "Well, I'll stick with the garlic bread, thank you very much."

[ArtsyCraftsy]

On 5/21/2019 at 10:13 AM, UUNetBill said:

Probably better off not asking what grass 'eats', especially in the cattle fields...

 

It's a great circle.

 

Talking about the "great circle," I'm reminded of that great Lee Hays poem (of "The Weavers" fame):

 

In Dead Earnest

 

If I should die before I wake

All my bone and sinew take

Put them in the compost pile

To decompose a little while

Sun, rain and worms will have their way

Reducing me to common clay

All that I am will feed the trees

And little fishes in the seas

When corn and radishes you munch

You may be having me for lunch

Then excrete me with a grin

Chortling, There goes Lee again

'Twill be my happiest destiny

To die and live eternally

 

        Lee Hays, 1981

 

Set to music by Pete Seeger.  

 

Lana in Bellingham, WA

[JMARINER]

On 5/22/2019 at 6:03 PM, Brownie54 said:

Google the guy who Regent hired to develop the menus and see who JMariner is talking about. You need to go to the beginning of this thread. Maybe give him a chance?

So when did Regent become a school for apprentices? Regent has spent Billions of dollars invested in its ships. Do they go to the "new guy" ship builder to give him a chance. Or the "new guy" Captain who just graduated from school.

 

This isn't how a high end product is supposed to be managed. You go with the best, most experienced and renown talent you can afford.   Baffles me why Regent would go with low budget, inexperienced, totally unknown, talent as the face of there new Menu campaign. I have looked at what they are proposing  and I believe it is going to met with dissatisfaction from passengers who are expecting a real "Plant Based" food experience.

 

J

[Hambagahle]

10 hours ago, UUNetBill said:

I had some friends in Germany who loved Schnecken and kept trying to get me to try them.  As I did (and still do) view them as a garden pest and not a meal, I declined.  They kept telling me, "They're all garlic-y and buttery - it's just like eating garlic bread!"  To which I replied, obviously, "Well, I'll stick with the garlic bread, thank you very much."

Me too!!   To me snails have no taste of their own - just little "erasers" with the same texture as erasers buried in garlic butter.  Whereas the bread here is fabulous.  Our local bakery must make about 20 different sorts and they are all delicious.  AND solid too not wrapped in plastic or anything else for that matter.

[forgap]

13 hours ago, UUNetBill said:

I had some friends in Germany who loved Schnecken and kept trying to get me to try them.  As I did (and still do) view them as a garden pest and not a meal, I declined.  They kept telling me, "They're all garlic-y and buttery - it's just like eating garlic bread!"  To which I replied, obviously, "Well, I'll stick with the garlic bread, thank you very much."

Try marinating mushrooms in a bit of wine and stuffing them into escargot shells.  Add garlic butter and those cute forks and, voila!, you have mock escargot.  You have the texture and the taste of the real thing without the gag reflex.  

[HotRoot]

I think you missed my point.  The escargot story was to say the food served is not consistent.  Let's try the filet mignon the last night in Prime 7.  We ordered four filets at our table - one rare, one medium rare, one medium, one medium well.  All four were served at the same time.  All four were raw.  Not rare, raw.  Maybe that was consistent.  Also, nothing against dark bread.  Nothing against dense bread.  I just like to be able to bite into the bread.  Most of the bread we were served was so hard, we could not bite it.  Was not a problem for us.  We just refused all bread.  After a while they did not offer us bread.  The dark bread served to us as avocado toast was too hard to cut or bite.  No idea how it tasted.  We ate the avocado off the top.  It tasted like lime.

[kjbacon]

I understand your point about the different preparations on the escargots. I eat most everything (trying to clean up my act though) but escargots is one of the few things I don’t care to try. We had some variance in dishes but really very little on the Explorer in April. Our breads were outstanding and so very hard to resist from the dark grainy style to the light and airy baguette that must have been baked daily. All very fresh and definitely a factor in my weight gain! I’m getting the impression that there’s quite a bit of difference ship to ship.

[Travelcat2]

oops wrong thread. .... sorry 

Edited May 24, 2019 by Travelcat2

[Silver Sweethearts]

On 5/21/2019 at 7:01 AM, Travelcat2 said:

Thought that this was a very interesting article from Cruise Industry News.  I've wanted to try the Impossible Burger and will now have a chance.  Any thoughts?

 

"Regent Seven Seas Cruises today announced the debut of plant-based cuisine on menus across its fleet.

 

Beginning October 1, 2019, more than 200 plant-based selections will be offered at breakfast, lunch and dinner, with the company citing demand.

 

“For luxury travelers who are increasingly adding more plant-based cuisine to their meals, we’re offering even more imaginative selections of bold, flavorful appetizers, entrees and desserts, with craveable tastes and mouth-watering presentations,” said Jason Montague, Regent Seven Seas Cruises president and chief executive officer. “Our expanded plant-based cuisine sets the highest benchmark in luxury cruising.”

Of note, lunch offerings will include the trending Impossible Burger.

 

After reading about the ingredients in the Impossible Burger (per "Serious Eats"), we think we'll pass on it, thank you: 

Water, textured wheat protein, coconut oil, potato protein, natural flavors, 2% or less of: leghemoglobin (heme protein), yeast extract, salt, soy protein isolate, konjac gum, xanthan Gum, thiamin (vitamin B1), zinc, niacin, vitamin B6, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin B12."

[fizzy]

6 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

 

After reading about the ingredients in the Impossible Burger (per "Serious Eats"), we think we'll pass on it, thank you: 

Water, textured wheat protein, coconut oil, potato protein, natural flavors, 2% or less of: leghemoglobin (heme protein), yeast extract, salt, soy protein isolate, konjac gum, xanthan Gum, thiamin (vitamin B1), zinc, niacin, vitamin B6, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin B12."

Seriously.....what Chef would allow this mess on their menu?

[machotspur]

On 5/22/2019 at 8:53 AM, Hambagahle said:

Totally agree!   I want my Eggs B, Corned Beef hash etc for breakfast.  "real" Hamburgers at lunch and a steak or roast beef in the evening.  I am willing to try some of these vegetarian things but I do want my choice!!

 

I'm clearly not feeling that bright this morning as I can't see any threat to your needs anywhere in the original post. I am therefore  - in the absence of information to the contrary - assuming that none of the 'as is' is being changed ? 

[machotspur]

Travelcat - thank you so much for posting this – it is a subject that is of great interest to me.

 

This is quite a lengthy response so I am sure only those with a true interest will read it.

 

AI am now 61 and I gave up eating meat and meat products back in 1992 as a protest to the appalling animal welfare standards that existed in the UK at the time (BSE/Mad Cow etc). Although at the time it was a protest, I didn’t go back to meat, in fact in the past 5 years or so my diet has become predominantly Vegan.

 

Those that knew me in the 1990’s would have seen me as one who was LEAST likely to turn to a Veggie diet.

In the past couple of years the whole ‘Plant Based’ thing – call it what you like – has exploded in the UK, driven by social media and hard press etc etc.

 

A leading food store in the UK – Marks & Spencer, along with most of the others – have introduced many Vegan products, such as their Plant Kitchen Range :-

 

https://www.marksandspencer.com/c/food-to-order/adventures-in-food/plant-kitchen

 

In addition one of the biggest influences has been a young woman – admittedly from a rather privileged background – Ella Mills. Initially Just by using her blog and an iPhone app she gained millions of followers and effectively drove the market upwards. Her website gives a taste of some of her fantastic recipes.

 

https://deliciouslyella.com/category/recipes/

 

She has certainly influenced my diet significantly, which is quite remarkable for a 24 year old young woman – to a 61 year old !  (no jokes about no fool like an old fool please 😉

 

Inevitably the mainstream retailers woke up and followed the trend, getting their offer in line with what a significant proportion of their customers were saying they wanted.

 

I believe that Regent should be applauded for taking this step – they are certainly ahead of Seabourn, Silversea etc.

They WILL NOT get it right first time. The age profile of cruisers on Regent is hardly that of typical ‘switchers’ to Vegan/Plant Based. Of course there is the added dimension of nationalities – I do not know the percentage non meat eater by country.  The various retailers in the UK have had to amend and refresh their range as they learn more about customer requirements.

 

Some final stats. In the UK :-

-      21% of the population are now Vegetarian/Vegan.

-      35% do not eat meat, or have reduced their meat consumption

-      55% of 55+ year olds are eating significantly less meat and more Plant Based

 

I think it is the second of these that is really relevant. On the various top end cruise companies we frequently observe ‘meat eaters’ opting for something lighter/healthier. If Regent can eventually get the ‘Plant Based offer right then IMHO it will appeal to far more that core Vegans.  

  

To conclude, this is not a lecture on Veganism etc. I in no way seek to change anyone’s mind about their beloved slab of meat on their plant.

 

I choose to eat this way for 2 reasons, the first of which is the most important to me.

 

1.    It tastes good !! (when done well !).

 

2.    It makes much more sense for the environment. (and I’m most certainly not an Eco warrior !).

 

Enjoy you dishes on Regent – whichever dishes you choose.

 

[forgap]

@machotspur  bravo!  Although I am neither a vegetarian nor a vegan, my husband and I are eating meat protein perhaps once a week - mostly chicken with beef once a month, fish perhaps twice a week and plants the rest of the time.

 

On our last cruise, I ate only fish - no meat at all.    Regent will get it right if they allow the chefs to lean into their natural creativity.  

[flossie009]

1 hour ago, machotspur said:

Some final stats. In the UK :-

-      21% of the population are now Vegetarian/Vegan.

-      35% do not eat meat, or have reduced their meat consumption

-      55% of 55+ year olds are eating significantly less meat and more Plant Based

Would be interested to know from where your statistics are sourced.

The Vegan Society states "In 2018 there were 600,000 vegans, or 1.16% of the population" (Great Britain)

[machotspur]

9 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

Would be interested to know from where your statistics are sourced.

The Vegan Society states "In 2018 there were 600,000 vegans, or 1.16% of the population" (Great Britain)

 

The No 1 search that came up on Google - by comparethemarket.com. (Not sure why they were carrying out a survey such as this). HOWEVER - on closer examination The Vegan Society challenged this, questioning the sample size.

 

The stats don't really bother me. The main markets - supermarkets, restaurants etc are all now firmly on this train because they believe the demand to be there - as do Regent. If the sector doesn't continue to grow as it has done they, as well as Regent, will ditch the products quickly I am sure. Will be interesting to see.  

[Hambagahle]

8 hours ago, machotspur said:

 

I'm clearly not feeling that bright this morning as I can't see any threat to your needs anywhere in the original post. I am therefore  - in the absence of information to the contrary - assuming that none of the 'as is' is being changed ? 

I just read your post in response to mine...  And even though I read/speak/write English more than fluently I cannot understand what on earth you mean!  Could you perhaps explain a bit more clearly?

[Pinksunset]

Thank you, machotspur! I am with you; we are a small minority.  Per Hambagahle, I believe you mean that as long as Regent is not changing the existing regular offerings, this plant-based menu should not interfere with regular diners that prefer eating “regular” food.  Vegan/ plant based foods do, in my opinion taste better, don’t involve the inhumane treatment of animals and are usually healthier!  However, everyone has their own opinions and preferences, which is what makes life interesting.  (My own DH thinks my eating preferences are strange!).  Again I applaud Regent for taking a step in the right direction.  

[JMARINER]

9 hours ago, flossie009 said:

Would be interested to know from where your statistics are sourced.

The Vegan Society states "In 2018 there were 600,000 vegans, or 1.16% of the population" (Great Britain)

This is the source that was quoted in the Guardian. The Waitrose & Partners Food & Drink Report 2018-19 (Link)

 

• 33.5% of the Population are cutting down on, or cutting out meat
• 21%  are flexitarian
• 9.5% are vegetarian
• 3% are vegan

 

So according to this survey about of the British population 34% would fall in the the "Plant Based " friendly category.

 

In the USA,  in 2017, 6% were identified as pure Vegan (Link)

 

And if one thinks that it is Millennials and Gen X that are the only driving force towards Plant Based way of eating,  they would be wrong, IMO.  In the past five years a many people my (our) that I know are adopting Plant Based for their health and weight loss. It is not a fad, but more akin to quitting smoking stats of 50 years ago.

 

Regent is smart to be ahead of the curve in at least considering offering  Plant Based menus.

 

J

 

 

[machotspur]

5 hours ago, JMARINER said:

So according to this survey about of the British population 34% would fall in the the "Plant Based " friendly category.

 

In the USA,  in 2017, 6% were identified as pure Vegan (Link)

 

 

I hadn't previously looked at the percentage of ''Flexitarians' in the USA, but a quick glance at a number of the surveys out there seems to suggest a similar trend to the UK - around 33% of the population are now 'Plant Based' friendly.

 

Your point comparing this trend to smoking trends is a valid one. However - the difference with the 'Plant Based' change is that - in the UK at least - it has occurred in a very short time frame - the past 2-3 years. A bit early to determine the likely longevity of the change, although my sense is that this is not a fad, but is a step change in how many people see their diets.

 

I recently took a cruise on the new Seabourn Ovation. I found their Vegetarian offer to be truly appalling. Regent are certainly showing themselves to be  better at listening to potential customer needs, and acting on this insight.     

 

   

[kjbacon]

I’ve never heard the term flexitarian and it’s about time since that’s what I am! Whether or not it’s a flawless attempt, I’m thrilled with the forward motion by Regent. They have already made some progress with reducing sodium. It’s a relief to be able to take a long trip with them and at least have choices, especially at our age when so many of us are suffering with high blood pressure and heart disease. We are making the pharmaceutical companies rich! What surprises me is the group of people that are carrying on that a meatless burger is somehow nasty ... lol ... guess they never seen a close up of a clogged aorta artery or better yet, a slaughterhouse.

[flossie009]

Most people we know are "plant based friendly"; enjoying vegetables, fruits and grains as part of a balanced diet. I don't know any pure carnivores!

Many are now reducing their intake of red meat and processed meats on the basis of medical advice.

A few progress further towards a pescatarian, vegetarian or vegan diet for environmental, animal welfare or philosophical reasons.

 

We look forward to trying Regent's additional plant based offerings on our future cruises. As long as they are tasty and not full of palm oil they should provide a welcome extra choice.