A vegan butcher and plant-based pastrami: How colleges are making the most of meatless offerings

When the University of Oklahoma (OU) was envisioning the sorts of microconcepts it would house in its new Acre Provisions marketplace, the dining team wanted something that would be a bit of an attention-grabber. At some point during the ideation of the food-hall concept, a vegan butcher came to mind.

“We just kind of threw that [idea] around, playing with that concept [and] what would make it different,” says Frank Henry, food services executive director for the Norman, Okla., university.

And so was born Farmer & The Kale, the only entirely vegan spot on OU’s campus. Cauliflower steak, barbecue “ribs” and a version of eggplant Parmesan are some of the dishes served at the eatery, which debuted last fall and is open for lunch and dinner five days weekly.

Within Acre Provisions, Farmer & The Kale has a few neighbors: a kebab concept, a grilled sandwich station and a retail section where students can buy fresh produce and a range of healthy-skewing snacks, such as kale chips. The Eataly-inspired market is located in a residential building for upperclassmen, who aren’t required to have meal plans.

Photograph courtesy of Alee Strong and Lauren Van Otterdyk for OU Housing and Dining Services

In an effort to keep food dollars on campus, Acre Provisions caters to the living arrangements upstairs, even selling cookbooks that students can “incorporate into their cooking adventures,” Henry says. (Each apartment has a small kitchenette, and common areas on every floor provide space to do laundry, cook meals, study and socialize.)

The idea being, he says, that if a recipe calls for green pepper, students can buy that pepper in the market and bring it to the veggie butcher to be sliced or diced as part of their meal prep.

Beyond burgers

OU isn’t the only noncommercial operation taking a creative approach to appeal to vegans, vegetarians and the growing number of folks who are simply interested in eating less meat, whether for health or environmental concerns, or other reasons entirely. Half of consumers now say they eat a vegan or vegetarian dish at least once per month, according to data from FSD sister research firm Technomic.

Last fall, Rice University in Houston began offering plant-based charcuterie to students, with a lineup that includes turkey, pastrami, roast beef and even barbecued brisket. Instead of leaning on prepackaged meat analogues, Senior Executive Chef Roger Elkhouri and his team went the from-scratch route, developing their own recipes for plant-based meats.

Though some of the recipes have since been tweaked, they rely on powdered mushrooms, wheat gluten and liquid smoke, among other ingredients, to rival meat’s taste and texture. The “meats” are complemented by a selection of plant-based cheeses, including herbed cream cheese and provolone, which were also developed in-house.

The charcuterie is served twice a week at a lunchtime action station manned by Elkhouri, who is on hand to answer questions students might have about the products or plant-based options in general.

Feedback has been “overwhelmingly positive” among carnivores and meat-eschewers alike, says Elkhouri: “Students that eat plant-based will come from all over campus to eat lunch on these days, but also students that normally would not consider eating plant-based try something new and love it.”