Airplane food doesn’t exactly have the best reputation, and that’s even more true for vegan travellers.
But now plant-based flyers can enjoy more than 300 exciting new dishes, as Emirates expands its vegan menu in response to more meat-free travellers.
Dishes include savoury crepes, curries and decedent desert options too.
That Dubai-based airline say they serve 40,000 vegan meals per year, and there are also options for kids.
Vegan meals for children currently include vegan pizza, sweet and sour vegetable casserole, vegetable fajitas, vegan muffins, cauliflower bites with sweet sauce and desserts like strawberry crumble and vegan chocolate pudding.
Emirates' sample vegan dishes
Economy:
- Crêpes filled with sautéed carrots and peppers, served with roasted potatoes, mushrooms and tomato concassé
- curried vegetable puffs
- chocolate mousse cake with chocolate sauce
- blackberry crumble
Premium Economy:
- Braised mushrooms with vegetables in five spice soy sauce, served with steamed jasmine rice and blanched pak choi
- Chocolate tart drizzled in apricot compote o
- Raspberry tonka mousse cake with berry coulis.
Business class:
- Thai red curry tofu with aubergine, beans, mushrooms and taro in aromatic gravy, served with steamed jasmine rice
- Tropical coconut pineapple cake
- Chocolate pecan cake.
First class:
- Creamy polenta cake with thyme mushroom ragout, sautéed spinach drizzled in a rich root vegetable jus
- Aubergine curry with charred rice and turmeric potato, with a dash of coconut and mint chutney
- Rhubarb tempered with strawberry charlotte, Chantilly cream and raspberry tuille
- Warm chocolate fondant, dashed with salted caramel sauce and whipped cashew cream
Emirates’ chefs developed the dishes, where they trailled various vegan options, including a new solid egg substitute for a spicy shakshuka sauce, and a premade vegan pastry sheet which was used to make savoury vegan cannelloni.
Ingredients for the new dishes are supplied by recognisable brands, such as Beyond Meat, as well as using fresh produce from the world’s largest hydroponic farm, a 330,000 sq ft facility that produces over a million kilograms of leafy greens every year.
Emirates has been serving vegan food on its flights for years, but these new offerings are set to be a popular choice among vegan travellers, and those who prefer lighter dishes at 38,000 ft.
The news has been celebrated by frequent flyers. ‘Just last week I flew with Emirates and vegan options on all four flights were outstanding,’ wrote one happy travellers on Instagram. A second said: ‘Can vouch for Emirates. Their vegan meals are quality!’
Another simply said: ‘Thank you Emirates’.
The airline also recently introduced individual vegan milk servings on board, with more than 30,000 customers a month opting for this in their coffee or tea.
Many Emirates Cabin Crew also follow a plant-based diet, and Emirates has offered vegan meals for them for the last nine years.
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