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"The Green Mountain" - meatless burger without compromise

06.09.2019 Pleasure & quality
Looks like meat, tastes like meat, but is actually a vegetable: "The Green Mountain" offers the first plant-based burger developed and produced in Switzerland. This makes the new product from the Hilcona Taste Factory start-up a real alternative for anyone who occasionally wants to consciously avoid meat. It is available in "The Butcher" burger restaurants and in establishments belonging to the ZFV catering group.

Not only the name of the new manufactory "The Green Mountain" is inspired by the mountainous surroundings of the village of Landquart, but also the concept: "Green stands for original, healthy and sustainable - Mountain symbolizes the origin and regional production and is a promise of taste," explains Werner Ott, project manager of "The Green Mountain"

Optics, taste and bite

The first result of the start-up's intensive work on plant-based innovations has been available to Swiss restaurant visitors since this spring. in terms of appearance, taste and bite, "The Green Mountain Burger" is indistinguishable from its minced meat counterpart. It can also be prepared in different cooking stages, just like a meat burger. The new product is also rich in fiber and protein, while scoring points with its low fat content. Food technologist Julia Sackers and a young team of chefs worked on the perfect recipe for over a year. It is based on pea and soy protein. The latter is 100% organically grown.

Enjoyable, high-quality and made in Switzerland

And when selecting the other ingredients, the product developers also paid attention to the highest quality and - in terms of sustainability - also to short delivery routes. The Swiss sourced all ingredients, with the exception of the coconut fat, from neighboring European countries. The target group for the new burger is primarily flexitarians who want to consciously eat a purely plant-based diet from time to time. "With 'The Green Mountain Burger', we are offering consumers an enjoyable, high-quality alternative to meat that is produced in Switzerland," explains Werner Ott.

The burger has been available in around 130 establishments belonging to the Swiss food service group ZFV since April 9. And the first burger restaurant chain is already offering the veggie version: guests can order the new product in all branches of "The Butcher" in Zurich, Zug and Bern. "The Green Mountain" is an internal start-up of the Hilcona Taste Factory based in Landquart, Graubünden. As a competence center, the manufactory is driving forward the development and production of plant-based foods. The burger premiere will soon be followed by further meat-free innovations.