Move signals how foodservice and hospitality could adapt to rapid uptake of appetite suppressant jabs such as Mounjaro, as major tipping point in food consumption trends begins to take hold
Experimental chef Heston Blumenthal has launched a new tasting menu specifically designed at those using weight loss and appetite suppressant drugs.
Called The Mindful Experience, the new menu is designed “to address a revolution in eating habits motivated by weight loss”, a statement said.
It is essentially a scaled back version of Blumenthal’s flagship restaurant Fat Duck’s ‘Journey’ tasting menu, while retaining texture and flavour. Both menus will be available at the restaurant, and diners can book which they prefer.
“Millions of people are eating much less food, drinking less, losing interest in restaurants, losing interest even in food,” said Blumenthal, who takes weight loss drugs himself to treat the weight gain caused by bi-polar medication.
”One of the unanticipated effects of taking Mounjaro has been that I’ve become even more aware of my tastebuds and how hunger works, and I’m eating in a more mindful, focused manner.
”Mindful eating can of course be applied to any experience – even an airline meal or a store-bought sandwich on your lunchbreak – but this new version of The Fat Duck menu is carefully tailored to a growing demand for a different restaurant experience,” he added.
The news comes as food manufacturers begin to adjust to what is becoming a widespread shift in food consumption trends, as weight loss drug uptake spreads rapidly. Around four per cent of the UK adult population is estimated to be using the drugs, which are sold under brand names like Wegovy and Mounjaro, and available via the NHS or more widely through private pharmacies. A further 28 per cent said they would be willing to use them in the future to help lose weight.
As well as reducing calorie intake and the amount of food people eat, the type of foods chosen while using the medication is also reported to shift, with a preference for more fresh produce and less indulgent foods.
Patients also report feeling less interest and joy in food, as appetites are repressed, leading to potentially huge challenges for the foodservice and hospitality sectors, as well as food manufacturers and retailers, where marketing is predominantly based on taste, flavour and experience.
Food manufacturers have already started to adapt to weight loss drug in the US, where uptake is much wider, with meal kits designed around smaller portions and functional benefits such as protein and fibre.
Blumenthal added: “People used to joke that the portions on a tasting menu were so small that you had to grab a burger on the way home. But now, as our needs and expectations and appetites change, maybe this carefully structured menu is the perfect answer to what many people are looking for.”
The Fat Duck’s ‘Mindful Experience’ will cost diners £275 per head, which the restaurant said reflects its reputation for using a ”high number of staff to deliver its highly complex three-Michelin-star dishes, with almost as many chefs and waiters as guests during service”.
