A restaurant chain will put simulated meat on the menu in St. Petersburg

The idea is to test whether the customers will like it.

A restaurant chain is going to offer simulated meat. During the test period, the company will include in its menu pancakes with cutlets made of simulated meat supplied by an American company that has already gained a worldwide publicity for producing simulated meat and poultry products from vegetable ingredients. The dish will not be cheap.

For the Russian market, this will be a new story. The restaurant chain says it just wants to see how its customers will like the taste of simulated meat and the very idea of replacing natural meat with a vegetable substitute. First, the company will try the Moscow market, and if clients appreciate the new dish, St. Petersburg customers will also get a chance to taste it.

Simulated meat will be supplied from the United States, however, St. Petersburg’s ITMO University has also been involved in developing similar products for some time. The technology is no problem, experts say, what Russia lacks is the ingredients.

According to Alexander Ishevsky, professor at ITMO, to imitate meat, a special sort of soya flour with a high concentration of protein, up to 90-95%, is necessary, and the monopoly is held by a US manufacturer.