Marston's launch meat-free 'bleeding' burger in pub industry first
Banks's brewer Marston's is claiming a pub industry first with the launch of a new meatless 'bleeding' burger at a string of its hostelries across Staffordshire and the Black Country.
The Wolverhampton-based beer and pubs giant has joined forces with Moving Mountains, a ground-breaking British company that has developed the B12 Burger, which sizzles, smells, tastes and bleeds like meat but is completely plant-based.
Marston’s says it will be the only major pub group to offer the Moving Mountains B12 Burger and the move forms part of the company’s recognition of a growing demand for so-called 'flexitarian' dining, with more and more people cutting back on the amount of meat they eat and choosing vegetarian or even vegan options when they are dining out.
The 100% plant-based burger will be available across around 50 pubs in Staffordshire and the West Midlands from Wednesday and Marston's believes it is set to cause a major upset in the dining-out market.
The burger was launched earlier this year and is on sale in a number of restaurants but this will be its first time it goes on sale in pubs.
Developed by a team of leading scientists, chefs and farmers, the B12 burger has taken more than three years and over 200 test recipes to create the final product.
Not just a vegan burger, it is designed to test the biggest of meat eaters with its look, smell and taste replicating that of a regular meat patty by using scientific processes, natural ingredients and hush-hush technology.
Just like a meat burger, the Moving Mountains B12 Burger ‘bleeds’ from the middle when perfectly cooked, but with beetroot juice instead of blood.
The rest of the burger is made from a mix of natural ingredients including oyster mushrooms, pea protein and oats that make up 18g of plant protein per patty. Vitamin B12, traditionally associated with red meats, has also been added so the B12 Burger can genuinely compete with a beef burger and provide more essential nutrients by containing the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of B12.
The local Marston’s pubs have been selected by the company’s as the best-selling food pubs, and the ideal platform to champion the burger as part of the updated menu.
Served on a brioche bun with vegan jackfruit, a side of Asian slaw and the classic burger sides of freshly cooked chips and onion rings, the whole meal is specifically created to be enjoyed by vegans, vegetarians, flexitarians and meat eaters alike.
Nicola Arrow, Marston’s senior food development manager, said: “We have listened to our customers and taken the growing demand for healthier and alternative options across the pub sector as a great opportunity to develop and update our menu.
“The Moving Mountains B12 Burger is such an innovative addition to our menus that not only caters to our vegetarian and vegan customers but also to those who are trying to make more conscious health or ethical choices when eating out.
“We are especially looking forward to seeing how our meat-eating customers get on with it!”
A list of the Marston's pubs selling the new burger will be available online at www.nomeat.marstons.co.uk from September 5.
