Plant-based cuisine: trend or shift, can it appeal to non-vegetarians?

When people hear the word vegan, the reactions are often the same:

“Does it actually taste good?”, “Will I still feel full afterwards?”, “Won’t everything end up having the same texture?” These are recurring questions. And yet, nearly 70% of the people sitting at our tables are neither vegetarian nor vegan.

They come out of curiosity. To discover something different. To live a new experience. And often, they leave with a completely different perception of plant-based cuisine than the one they had when they arrived.

PLANT-BASED CUISINE HAS CHANGED

Food habits are evolving rapidly.

According to the latest iVOX barometer conducted for ProVeg Belgium and the Bel Group in 2026 among 2,000 Belgians, 83% of Belgians already eat vegetarian meals at least once a week. In Brussels, this figure even reaches 88%.

Yet in many restaurants, plant-based dishes are still treated as an alternative — an option, an adaptation, a dish designed after everything else. We chose a different approach.

At Entropy, plant-based cuisine is not a constraint. It is our starting point.

AND WHAT ABOUT TASTE?

This is probably the most common cliché: the idea that plant-based food is less flavorful. Yet taste does not depend solely on an ingredient. It mainly depends on the work surrounding it: cooking techniques, seasoning, fermentation, time…

Take our amuse-bouche inspired by the four elements. The eggplant is first fried, then fire-roasted, before being paired with a lemon miso. This miso required several months of maturation — months to develop its complex flavor profile. We often find it natural to pay for meat aged for several weeks, but far less so to value a miso that takes six months to develop.

Yet the logic is exactly the same. Time becomes an ingredient.

Another example: in our mushroom dish, the black garlic used in some preparations also required months of transformation. During this process, it develops deep notes reminiscent of liquorice or candied fruit — flavors that are anything but a compromise.

EATING WELL ALSO MEANS FEELING FULL

The second concern is satiety, as if a plant-based meal could not be complete. Yet proteins are not found only in animal products. Our menu regularly combines legumes, seeds, nuts, and grains.

The peas from Namur are paired with lentils grown by Graines de Curieux and nuts from Nok. Beans, mangetout, buckwheat, and the various vegetables featured throughout the menu also contribute to the overall balance.

Beyond protein, satiety is also about structure. A gastronomic menu is not a random succession of dishes. We often start with fresh, plant-based preparations, then gradually move toward more depth, richness, and intensity. Textures become fuller, juices more concentrated, flavors longer-lasting. Each sequence prepares the next.

We have chosen a 6-course menu to give this progression its place.

AND WHAT ABOUT TEXTURES?

The third cliché concerns chewiness — the idea that plant-based food lacks texture and is limited to purées, mousses, or steamed vegetables.

In reality, the opposite is true. A large part of plant-based cuisine consists of creating diversity: crunchiness, softness, crispiness, creaminess, raw elements…

In our current menu, the same ingredient is often treated in multiple ways.

Asparagus is grilled, glazed, sautéed, or served as a tartare. Beetroot is explored through four stages: brining, candying, dehydration, and rehydration. Mushrooms undergo marination, pan-searing, glazing, or barbecue cooking.

Each technique transforms texture as much as flavor.

UMAMI, THE TASTE WE ALL SEEK

When discussing plant-based cuisine, one word often comes up: umami. Umami is what creates a deep, satisfying sensation — something that fills the mouth and makes you want another bite.

Mushrooms are a perfect example, as is miso, as well as certain ferments, sauces, or aged preparations. A significant part of our work is precisely about building this aromatic depth — not to imitate something else, but to reveal the full potential of plants.

A SKILL THAT MUST BE LEARNED

The paradox is that this cuisine is still rarely taught, even though expectations are evolving rapidly. The same barometer shows that 44% of Belgians feel they lack knowledge in plant-based cooking — a reality that also concerns part of the hospitality sector.

Working with plants requires specific skills: understanding cooking methods, fermentations, combinations, textures, and balance. Building a memorable plant-based dish is something that must be learned, yet it is still rarely taught in culinary schools.

BEYOND LABELS

At Entropy, we often speak of plant-based cuisine rather than vegan cuisine. We find the word vegan to be highly political today. For us, plant-based cuisine represents a continuation of the world of tomorrow. We use this term not to avoid the subject, but because what matters most to us is experience, pleasure, discovery, and taste.

Our guests come from all backgrounds. Most do not follow any specific dietary regimen. They come because they are curious, because they want to discover a different way of cooking. And ultimately, that may be what brings them together the most.

In the end, labels matter little.

What matters is what happens when the dish arrives at the table.