Sugar: pure,
white and deadly?

At Integrity we love a good book and one that we have been reading recently is ‘Pure, White and Deadly’. In the book Professor John Yudkin explores the ins and outs of sugar, from the different types that are available, how it is hidden inside our everyday foods, and how it is damaging our health. When he wrote the book in 1972, he was ignored by the majority of the medical profession and rubbished by the food industry, who totally focussed their marketing and products on “low fat” as a means of eating a healthy diet.

Today, 1 in 4 adults in the UK are overweight, and realisation is dawning that some fats are healthy and vital, whereas carbohydrates such as sugar are the issue causing so much obesity across the world.

How the events industry is dealing with the issue

We wanted to explore awareness, what the hospitality and events industry is doing to reduce the amount of sugar in delegates’ food and how they manage the many different types of dietary requirements that delegates have.

According to an IACC report, conference and meeting organisers say that health and wellness issues are impacting not only their menu selections, but also the way food and meetings are planned and delivered. In a recent survey about Trends in Nutrition & Delegate Wellbeing, IACC found that more than 87 percent of venues have made changes or additions to their menus based on health and wellness principles or feedback from clients. And many are changing how their menus are prepared, using less salt, sugar and fat, and creating more dairy-free and gluten-free options, and smaller portion sizes.

We spoke to Karen D’Ulisse, from Leith’s at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, about the changes she has seen take place within the industry within the last couple of years.

Brain food

Leith’s and many other caterers are creating menus that support attentiveness and performance which reduce the amount of sugar so that their delegates avoid the post-sugar slump.

Although they do offer a small selection of sweet pastries, items on the menu for breakfast now also include Greek yoghurt with seeds, nuts and a fruit compote. Lunch guests can expect vibrant, colourful and healthy salads and dishes which are predominantly plant-based.

Veganism

The number of people turning to a plant-based diet is growing at a startling rate, as more and more are making the decision to go vegan.

Day grazing

There is a new trend to all day grazing, allowing delegates to eat throughout the day, when they want, rather than set break or lunchtimes. Grazers’ often choose smaller servings of ready-prepared food options, enabling them to have a balanced food intake throughout the day. Although snacks are traditionally seen as an unhealthy option, grazing can provide more energy, more stable blood sugar, better appetite control and even a more efficient metabolism — provided that the snack choices are good ones.

Challenges

Of course, there are challenges that come with planning menus around dietary requirements. When planning an event many venues ask delegates if they have any dietary requirements in the days leading up to the event. If delegates arrive on the day and haven’t made their requirements known this can have an impact on service time. The good news is that most venues are prepared for these dietary requests and can be accommodating. In addition, many organisers are now leaning more to vegan and vegetarian options.

Future of catering

With the impact of Covid 19 happening around the world, what is the future of catering going to look like? Will hybrid events make planning more problematic whilst saving costs, or will people gravitate back to a preference to be together? Thinking about what people want to eat will go hand in hand with the added pressure of making sure people are safe. Buffets may be a distant memory for some time and boxed lunches may be unavoidable. Venues will also need to think about staggering catering times and making sure that all seats are socially distanced.

In Summary

So there it is. Rather than breaking from the centuries-old British culinary tradition of a fondness for sweet or comforting foods such as bread, forward-thinking businesses are expanding on it and giving their food a new, healthier lease of life. By adopting a low-sugar approach to food, a venue can empower delegates by giving them healthy choices – which could mean a great review for the venue.

Cutting down on sugar just makes sense