Emirates highlights vegan offerings for Veganuary
Emirates' chefs workshop a vegan dessert
Emirates is highlighting its vegan cuisine this month for Veganuary, as demand for vegan options onboard continues to increase. The airline said in a January 17 press release that it continues to expand its portfolio of vegan cuisine by workshopping new dishes as well as adding curated vegan meals for children and new dishes onboard and in lounges.
This year, the airline marked Veganuary, an initiative that has highlighted the benefits of a vegan diet for the last decade, by gathering its chefs in the Emirates Flight Catering Concept Development Kitchen to workshop new dishes and experiment with the latest innovative ingredients on the market. At the workshop, chefs trialled the new solid egg substitute (made from legeumes) in a spicy shakshuka sauce and developed a pre-made vegan pastry sheet into savoury vegan cannelloni, as well as evaluating some of the ingredients and products already onboard.
Emirates offers a selection of more than 300 vegan recipes, served on flights to 140 destinations worldwide. The extensive menu showcases an array of high-quality plant-based products sourced from global suppliers, like plant-based proteins from Beyond Meat in California, soybean protein from UAE and Singapore brand Arlene, pressed tofu sourced from Japan's Qian Ye for authentic Asian flavours, organic dark vegan chocolate crafted by Linnolat in France, vegan margarine from Meister Marken in Germany, vegan curry paste supplied by Pantai in Thailand and almond milk from Italy's Koita.
Emirates also recently introduced individual vegan milk servings onboard in Economy and Premium Economy Class, with more than 30,000 passengers a month selecting this option for their coffee and tea. The airline also recently introduced vegan meals for children. Kids vegan meals currently include dishes like 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.
Vegan options are available to order and pre-order onboard, as well as in Emirates Lounges. Passengers can request vegan meals on all Emirates flights and across all classes of travel up to 24 hours before departure. However, on high-demand routes, plant-based meals are also provided as part of the main menu options.
Emirates’ vegan cuisine in every class
Serving more than 400,000 plant-based meals onboard every year, Emirates offers vegan cuisine across every class. Last year, vegan meal consumption grew in line with passenger volumes, but in some regions, consumption has exceeded passenger volume growth; this is the case in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, according to Emirates.
Many cabin crew personnel also follow a plant-based diet, and Emirates has offered vegan meals for the crew for nine years.
In Economy Class, Emirates travellers can enjoy dishes like crêpes filled with sautéed carrots and peppers, served with roasted potatoes, mushrooms and tomato concassé, or curried vegetable puffs, and chocolate mousse cake with chocolate sauce and blackberry crumble.
In Premium Economy Class, passengers selecting the vegan cuisine options will be served dishes like braised mushrooms with vegetables in five spice soy sauce, served with steamed jasmine rice and blanched pak choi, followed by desserts like chocolate tart drizzled in apricot compote or raspberry tonka mousse cake with berry coulis.
In Business Class, a range of elegant and creatively curated dishes are offered including Thai red curry tofu with aubergine, beans, mushrooms and taro in aromatic gravy, served with steamed jasmine rice. For dessert, passengers can try a tropical coconut pineapple cake or indulge in a chocolate pecan cake.
In First Class, travellers will be treated to elevated vegan cuisine like creamy polenta cake with thyme mushroom ragout, sautéed spinach drizzled in a rich root vegetable jus. Dishes offering a burst of sophisticated flavours include aubergine curry with charred rice and turmeric potato, with a dash of coconut and mint chutney. Decadent desserts feature curated contrasts including the tartness of rhubarb tempered with strawberry charlotte, Chantilly cream and raspberry tuille or a tempting warm chocolate fondant, dashed with salted caramel sauce and whipped cashew cream.
Vegan options in Emirates’ Lounges
At Dubai International Airport, Emirates has seven lounges located in its flagship Terminal 3. The lounges offer an array of vegan options, from soya and pea protein crispy pops at the Business Class Lounge Snack Counter, to Baharat and turmeric spiced kofta in coconut gravy at the buffet area, and an à la carte breakfast of warm amaranth porridge with compressed green apples, red grapes, raspberries and walnuts in the First Class Lounge. In addition to an array of popular vegan salads, the most in-demand vegan dish in the lounges is the Emirates Green Burger – a soya and flax seed green burger, with a signature sauce and pickled cucumbers.
