The food served on cruise ships has become incredibly sophisticated and varied in recent years, and one of the biggest trends right now in the entire travel industry, but especially on cruises, is to offer plant-based food.
Plant-based food is heavy on vegetables, fruits, beans, grains, and nuts and is designed to appeal to vegans, vegetarians -- or to anyone who wants to eat lighter.
The new Regent Seven Seas Splendor, which had its christening Feb. 21 in Miami, did not disappoint in the number of food options.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises last October introduced 200 gourmet plant-based selections at breakfast, lunch and dinner on its ships. The items are incorporated into the regular offerings rather than being segregated in their own menus.
Some examples: For breakfast, guests can eat chickpea pancakes or chia cashew yogurt and carrot-hazelnut granola. They can try green lentil penne pasta with wild mushroom Bolognese for lunch. Dinner choices include spiced potato and green pea samosas or baked porcini and spinach cannelloni.
I'm not a vegetarian or a vegan, but I'm always willing to try any type of cuisine. I've heard so much about the Impossible Burger, that when I saw it on the room service menu, I had to order it.
The Impossible Burger is made from proteins, fats, binders, and flavors just like any other regular burger. But the ingredients are different and include protein from soy and potatoes, yeast extract, fat from coconut and sunflower oils, food starch, and other plant-derived components.
My burger came with cheese, a tasty sauce and a side of French fries. I'm not sure indulging in the fries was the healthiest choice, but the burger itself did seem less heavy, so I didn't get bloated after.
"The Impossible Burger is quite interesting," said Bernhard Klotz, Regent's vice president of food and beverage.
"When I tasted it two years ago, it was not the quality we get right now. The same as Impossible Meat, the meatballs for the pasta sauce. When we ask people which one is meat and which one is plant-based, most of the people would not know the difference."
Vicky Garcia, CEO and co-owner of Cruise Planners, said she certainly couldn't tell.
"We were ordering stuff that looked delicious, and we didn't know it was vegan," she said. "People are choosing those options, and they want to cater to that."
The response to the plant-based options on the other four ships in the Regent fleet, and now on the Splendor, has been even better than expected, Klotz said.
A 2017 survey from market research firm Nielsen found 39% of Americans want to include more plant-based foods in their diets.
Klotz has found similar numbers on Regent's ships.
"I would say that plant-based options are very popular especially at breakfast," Klotz said during brunch on the recent christening cruise.
Almost 40% of diners choose plant-based options at breakfast. Interestingly, that drops to 25% at lunch and 10% at dinner.
"When the guests wake up in the morning, they feel very healthy. They want to eat healthy," he said. "Then at lunch time, they see what I put on the buffet. Their will is still very strong, but then when it comes to dinner, it drops."
The plant-based trend is likely to keep spreading throughout the industry. Disney last month said it was partnering with Impossible Foods to make the Impossible Burger its "preferred plant-based burger" at Disney Cruise Line as well as Disneyland and Disney World.
"For us as chefs, we feel like it's a revolution," Klotz said.