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How to get more plant-based meat dishes on restaurant menus? A mini-theory and initial empirical validation

David Fechner et al.

International Journal of Hospitality Management2026https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2026.104593article
AJG 3ABDC A*
Weight
0.37

Abstract

Replacing some meat dishes with plant-based alternatives would make the hospitality industry more environmentally sustainable. Yet plant-based meat dishes are rarely served in restaurants. We conducted a sequential mixed-methods study focusing on the demand side to develop and empirically test a mini-theory that explains why this might be the case. We first interviewed 37 Australian restaurant chefs and managers to identify why chefs hesitate to offer plant-based meat dishes. Findings suggest that the reasons for chefs not to use plant-based meat relate to popularity, familiarity, taste, enjoyment of cooking, naturalness, environmental sustainability, cost, and availability of these products. Using these qualitative insights, we developed a mini-theory and tested it in a quantitative survey study to highlight opportunities for enticing chefs to offer plant-based meat dishes. Educating chefs on plant-based meat presents a promising leverage point to increase availability of meat alternatives in restaurants.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2026.104593

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@article{david2026,
  title        = {{How to get more plant-based meat dishes on restaurant menus? A mini-theory and initial empirical validation}},
  author       = {David Fechner et al.},
  journal      = {International Journal of Hospitality Management},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2026.104593},
}

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How to get more plant-based meat dishes on restaurant menus? A mini-theory and initial empirical validation

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Evidence weight

0.37

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.16 × 0.4 = 0.06
M · momentum0.53 × 0.15 = 0.08
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.