Lincoln, England, is about 250 kilometers north of UK’s vegan epicenter in London. But the popular Lincoln restaurant The Mailbox is putting itself on the UK’s ever-expanding plant-based food map with a new menu overhaul featuring a number of vegan comfort food classics and creative new eats.
According to local paper The Lincolnite the new menu features several jackfruit dishes — more proof that this tropical fruit that cooks like meat has gone mainstream. The Mailbox now serves a pulled jackfruit sandwich, much like a pulled pork sandwich, and an Asian-style jackfruit bao in a steamed wheat-based bun.
The Mailbox is also reportedly serving up other creative vegan menu items, including a macaroni grilled cheese sandwich, black bean and butternut squash quinoa chilli with salad and spicy rice, falafel salad, avocado fries, and halloumi fries.
“We’re really excited about the new menu. We have lots of demand for vegan and vegetarian dishes, so we wanted to ensure we had plenty of options to choose from,” Mailbox General Manager Adam Johnson told the paper.
“The jackfruit dishes are really amazing, even meat eaters will love the flavour and texture as it really does taste like pulled pork. We think we’ve got something for everyone so come on down and try our new dishes for yourself.”
The Mailbox may experience a boost in sales with the vegan menu expansion. A growing number of businesses report seeing sales spikes — sometimes significantly — when vegan menu items are adopted. Industry sales data continue to show the demand for vegan and plant-based food is on the rise. In the UK, specifically, the region has seen some of the biggest spikes in sales, with an increasing vegan population.
Leading UK supermarket chain Tesco says sales of its vegan ready meals more than doubled expectations. According to chef Derek Sarno, who heads up Tesco’s Wicked Kitchen range, the supermarket has sold more than four million vegan meals since launching the line in January.
This post was last modified on December 15, 2020 6:33 am