CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS: MATT VERNON ON OCS BIG CARBON KICK OUT, EAT CURIOUS PRODUCTS AND HYBRID FOOD SOLUTIONS
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS: Matt Vernon on OCS big carbon kick out, eat curious products & hybrid food solutions.
WHAT IS THE BIG CARBON KICK OUT?
We’re aware that our clients and customers are asking more questions about where their food comes from, so we’re helping to reduce their carbon footprint with our brand new initiative, Big Carbon Kick Out. As a development team we work very closely with our nutritionists and suppliers to take our most popular dishes and reformulate them so that we’re still offering the same great taste and flavour but offering much lower carbon levels. We’re also able to record that data and provide it to our customers. Some of the dishes in our Big Carbon Kick Out include lasagna, cottage pies and beef chillies. We’ve replaced some of the meat and dairy content in them with more vegetable ingredients and high protein alternatives.
HOW DOES EAT CURIOUS SUPPORT THE INITIATIVE?
Eat Curious have been a really good supplier for us and we have been visiting them for last two years with our internal culinary classroom. We have been coming up with ideas that we put into recipe development, such as our reduced carbon range for Big Carbon Kick Out. We also hold a day at the Eat Curious farm every year, where we hold a creative culinary session. Chefs from all different sites, such as education, offices and factories, get educated on the product and come up with different ideas about how to use it. Eat Curious have been very supportive afterwards as well by delivering pop-ups on site that educate customers and clients all about the ingredient and product.
WHAT MAKES EAT CURIOUS PRODUCTS STAND OUT?
The best thing about the products are that they are neutral in flavour. As a chef this allows you to be very creative because the product takes on flavour and spices, and marinades well. This allows us to then blend it with classic meat dishes because it absorbs and takes on the flavour. A lot of customers can’t tell that we’ve reduced the meat content and made them healthier, as it still tastes like the traditional recipe. The dish is much lower in carbon, it’s healthier for them and without knowing they’re making a difference to the planet in reducing their carbon footprint.
DO YOU HAVE ANY KEY FINDINGS THAT YOU CAN SHARE WITH US?
We have some really good statistics from when we first started using Eat Curious products. We record the data through our epos till system. In June 2024 we saved around 2000 kg of carbon from our original recipes and then in January 2025 we’ve saved 6000 kg. We’ve almost tripled the amount of carbon in quite a short space of time and we’re looking to grow that even more as the year goes on.
HOW HAVE YOU INCORPORATED EAT CURIOUS PRODUCTS INTO YOUR RECIPES?
We have incorporated Eat Curious into our recipes by removing some of the animal products, predominantly beef and dairy, as they are the main carbon contributors within food. By removing those elements we’ve been able to add the Eat Curious Dehydrated Mince and Pieces. There are three main benefits: it massively reduces carbon footprint, it’s much healthier as higher in fibre, low in saturated fat and free from the 14 major allergens, and it is also cheaper as well. It’s a great inflation buster, making those classic dishes that everybody loves that little bit cheaper. We are therefore able to keep the same portion size and selling price as before.
TELL US MORE ABOUT HYBRID DISHES!
We have an OCS x Eat Curious burger which takes our traditional beef burger and reduces the beef mince content in there by 50%, blending it in a hybrid format with Eat Curious protein. The Eat Curious Dehydrated Mince is so neutral in flavour that it takes on the flavour of the beef mince when it is cooked. We found that a lot of our customers trying the product can’t tell the difference between a 100% beef burger and this hybrid product. The benefit with this is again that it is much lower in carbohydrates and much healthier for you in terms of higher fibre and low saturated fat. They are also a cheaper alternative as well, which allows us to combat food inflation and keep prices low. all whilst maintaining portion size and delivering the same favourite dishes to our customers.
