Espoo Catering and BioMush have joined forces to create a flavorful vegetarian dish served in selected schools across Espoo, as well as during Espoo Day this autumn. The collaboration was inspired by BioMush’s innovative Nordic Umami product, developed to enhance the richness and depth of vegetarian meals. What began as an experiment quickly turned into a success, introducing new flavors to thousands of students and demonstrating that plant-based meals can be nutritious, sustainable, and delicious.

Espoo Catering curated a delicious vegetarian meal, a vegetarian lasagnette, that was served in over 50 000 portions across Espoo.

Boosting the Popularity of Vegetarian Meals at Schools

Vegetarian dishes in school lunches are not always the most popular choice, especially if the flavor doesn’t meet the expectations of the students. Espoo Catering aims to increase the popularity of vegetarian meals by making them more flavorful and appealing. The idea to collaborate with Nordic Umami by BioMush emerged from the need to make vegetarian school meals both tastier and more attractive.

While the popularity of vegetarian meals was previously growing, it has recently plateaued. Today, around 25% of students choose vegetarian options daily, which is still a solid start. Once a week, Espoo schools have a dedicated vegetarian day, offering two meal choices.

Feedback and Reception: A Successful Collaboration

The feedback from this collaboration was highly positive and encouraging. Both the staff at Espoo Catering and the students have provided positive feedback. One of the kitchen staff described the lasagnette as “the best vegetarian pasta dish we’ve made.” During Espoo Days, city residents also gave a lot of positive feedback on the dish.