Here's a new 100% meat-free burger made in Fife and sold by Smashburger

Edinburgh entrepreneur, Tracey Gehlan, UK Managing Director of the rapidly growing Smashburger chain, has developed The Alternative Burger from all natural, 100% plant-based proteins that can also be smashed on the grill.

Gehlan, a former Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Burger King EMEA, wanted to create a truly inclusive burger that can be eaten by literally anyone - from vegetarians and vegans to the growing wave of flexitarians, healthy-eaters, meat-free Monday observers and customers who, for religious reasons, can’t normally enjoy a burger because it’s not Halal or Kosher.

Smashburger’s Sauchiehall Street store in Glasgow launched the revolutionary new product which looks like tender beef, cooks like beef – searing on the grill and offers a rich umami flavor and contains only 92 calories.

Importantly, the product aims to make headway in reducing the significant environmental impact of global beef production, which currently accounts for some 30% of the earth’s land surface and is responsible for methane emissions from a global cow population of over 1.5 billion.

“Quite simply, the global demand for beef is unsustainable, but as the market innovates to follow changing tastes and behaviours, no-one until now has produced – entirely in the UK - a credible, tasty, healthy and quality alternative from simple, bespoke, all-natural food ingredients including mushrooms, beetroot, kidney beans, chick peas, golden beet, bulgur wheat and soya beans,” said Gehlan.

“The market has seen limited and very standard vegetarian burgers on menus for several years now, but the key has been creating a product that has the ‘Wow’ of the contemporary burger build and a taste experience that people love and can be eaten by literally anyone.

“Other meat-free options are beginning to arrive on our shores from overseas – some hindered by GM food ingredients - but we believe it’s important that the UK market now delivers this new, exciting and sustainable category both properly and swiftly. We will still sell beef for the timebeing, but this is an important step forwards in a journey that the entire industry needs to take. It was important to us as a business to use family owned farms in Scotland that share our vision and ways of doing things.

The new menu is being rolled out at Smashburger’s UK stores within the next few weeks.

Click here for more on The Alternative Burger and the Smashburger menu: https://smashburger.co.uk/menu