Summary
Since 2019, Forward Food has worked with the University of St Andrews to support their ambition to increase the plant-based food offered across campus. Through hands-on chef trainings we have helped the university strengthen its plant-based offer while ensuring meals remain delicious, satisfying and practical to deliver at scale.
How we helped
Forward Food delivered a plant-based culinary training in 2019 to 18 of the chefs at St Andrews and we returned in 2026 to train up 21 more.
In 2019, St Andrews generally served 3 meat dishes and 1 vegetarian (and sometimes accidentally vegan) dish at mealtimes. They were keen to learn more about creating delicious, healthy plant-based meals on a limited budget. Forward Food fit the bill as we advocated for wholefoods rather than expensive meat-alternatives.
“The whole course was very informative, and it was fantastic to see how well the chefs responded to the challenge. The content was perfect, very relevant to the stage of menu development we were at. The sessions were superbly presented and the team’s knowledge on the subject was immense!“
Results
Since working with St. Andrews they have overhauled their food provisions. Rather than the 3:1 ratio of meat to vegetarian main dishes they now serve 1-2 meat dishes, 1 vegetarian dish and 1 vegan dish. They have also ensured that all side dishes and items in the salad bar are plant-based making meals more inclusive of dietary requirements and religious beliefs. Catering manager Steven McKay estimates that 90% of the food on offer is plant-based or vegetarian.
They are now looking to make easy swaps that can make a big difference to emissions such as making plant-milk the default milk and providing only vegan condiments.
What’s next?
One of the challenges that St. Andrews has faced has been in measuring their success. Though they are certain that the actions they have taken would result in more than a 20% reduction in meat procurement. We are currently in talks to assist them in measuring their impact both in terms of emissions.