Is it a game, or is it a plate of food? At the launch of Mövenpick’s new Power Bites menu, it’s hard to tell with some of the dishes. You can paint your own organic carrots with an edible glaze, munch your way through Colin the Caterpillar sandwiches, and make your own Ninja warrior grapple through an bento box.
It’s a new approach to food for kids, instigated by the vice president of F&B Middle East and Asia, Peter Drescher, who wanted to see kids being given fun, healthy food in Mövenpick restaurants. The new Power Bites menu is being rolled out across hotels and resorts in the Middle East this month.
“I had been thinking about the idea of creating a healthy menu for our adult guests, but had never really found the right angle, and then I came across articles about a famous celebrity chef’s efforts to make changes to school foods. I thought it was a great idea to start offering healthier food choices to children.
“We decided to launch the idea in our hotels and serve these kind of dishes, but to have fun in mind all the time.
“I am sure that there could be more healthy options not only in hotels, but also in casual restaurants and cafes. I think the development of these things are slow because there is a lack of education about healthy food. Perhaps more emphasis needs to be put on nutritious diets in catering colleges and during apprenticeships, to create more awareness of the issue,” he says.
That’s entertainment
The launch at Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach Dubai is certainly a fun affair. With brightly coloured balloons, party hats and streamers on the picnic-chic tables, it’s not just the children who are impressed. And all around adults tuck into the mini taster dishes with hearty noises of approval.
But does having toys on the plates actually encourage children to eat up, or is it just a gimmick? The chefs trialled the dishes on two different groups of children, one service without the toys and one with. The group who were offered the food with the fun presentation consumed much more.
New ideas for a new year
Drescher admits he isn’t going to sit on his laurels after the launch. He’s passionate about the cause and wants to see change.
“I believe two main things need to happen in the future. Producers of healthy, wholesome foods need to market their products better. And labelling regulations must be revised and stricter rules applied.
“It shouldn’t be allowed to have a dairy-based product branded with images of fresh-looking fruits suggesting healthy food, where really they are full of sugars and artificial flavours. If there are strawberries on the label, than the strawberry content of the product needs to be really high, and not just a tiny percentage.”
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