Compass cuts millions of calories through switch to butter alternative
Compass Group has said it plans to cut millions of calories from its menus by adapting many of its recipes to contain an alternative to butter.
The caterer said it will replace butter with Flora Buttery in hundreds of recipes in its new recipe bank called the Source.
This will enable the business to remove up to 240 million calories and almost 100 tonnes of saturated fat - the weight of a blue whale - from its food, Compass said.
The group's UK & Ireland executive chef Nick Vadis oversaw extensive testing of recipes containing Flora Buttery, which were compared, assessed and tested over a number of months.
Vadis said: "We realised that the opportunity for reducing the calorie and fat content of our dishes with Flora Buttery was immense but knew that moving to a healthier solution could never mean we compromise on taste.
"Protecting our recipes and great tasting dishes was always our key priority so we conducted a rigorous testing process to ensure that no sacrifices in performance, taste or quality would be made.
"The results were extremely positive; in many applications the Flora Buttery recipe even outperformed butter and Compass chefs saw first-hand how difficult it is to taste the difference."
Emphasising the importance of this initiative to the business, Oliver Cock, Compass managing director, commercial, said: "We are always looking at innovative ways to help our customers make healthier choices without compromising on the quality of our food, and the switch to Flora Buttery is a perfect example of this.
"By swapping one product we are eliminating millions of calories and almost 100 tonnes of fat; this is a tremendous achievement which will not only enable us to remain at the forefront of culinary innovation in our industry but will also help us meet our Responsibility Deal pledges.
"When a business the size of Compass takes a step like this, the culminating result is extremely significant and we are committed to continuing to develop exciting new initiatives to benefit the three million customers we serve daily."
The switch to Flora Buttery, which started this month, will be communicated to Compass's clients, customers and employees through a series of marketing materials, flyers and posters under Compass's Know Your Food identity.
By Janie Manzoori-Stamford
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