Tacos, burgers, hot dogs, kebabs, ramen… The fact that meat is an essential ingredient on restaurant menus around the world is undeniable. It is present in every type of cuisine in the global food service industry, from the most international to the most local. It succeeds in countless formats and among consumers across all income levels.
Meat is intrinsically linked to the restaurant industry because it is more than just food: it is a social experience, a way of celebrating, an identity. Gathering around a delicious meat-based dish is one of the most universal rituals there is, and understanding this relationship between meat and the world of food service is key to also understanding the future of this highly demanded protein.
Meat and food service have always gone hand in hand
Looking back, the growth of the restaurant industry and meat consumption have evolved completely in parallel. American steakhouses emerged in the 19th century as a symbol of prosperity, Argentine grills made “asado” part of national identity, and in Europe, the entrecôte has also become a widely enjoyed symbol among all types of diners.
Our taste for meat has helped define the identity of many restaurants. How many restaurants do we know whose identity revolves almost entirely around how they treat meat? The product itself, aging, breed, cut… There are even establishments entirely dedicated to exploring its specific characteristics.
Chefs around the world have played an important role here, pushing boundaries to take meat into new sensory dimensions: fermentation, slow smoking, or extreme aging techniques. Culinary innovation and meat have always gone hand in hand.
How we will continue to meet this demand?
The reality is simple: we like meat. We consume it at home, in restaurants, at events, and in street food settings. From traditional consumption to fine dining, meat continues to be part of the gastronomic experience, and all indications suggest it will remain so for many years to come.
For this reason, the debate should not focus on its disappearance, but rather on how to ensure its continuity. global consumption continues to grow, and at the same time, so does the need to find models capable of meeting that demand in a more efficient and balanced way.
Gastronomy has always evolved to adapt to new contexts, and meat is undergoing exactly the same process. That is why we now see that meat consumption is no longer driven solely by flavor or tradition, but also by innovation, production methods, and the search for alternatives that allow us to continue enjoying it without losing its cultural and gastronomic significance.
The proposal from BioTech Foods
In this context, new research lines such as cultivated meat from BioTech Foods are gaining momentum. In our case, the goal is not to replace plant-based meat or reinterpret the experience through a different raw material, but to preserve its essence with real meat developed from animal cells.
The approach is also not about replacing what we already know (burgers, stews, tacos…), but about exploring how these same culinary experiences can be sustained over time in a scenario of growing demand and increasing resource constraints.
Far from being a break with culinary tradition, this technology is better understood as an evolution within the history of food itself. just as other advances have changed the way we eat throughout history, our proposal is not about changing what we eat, but how we can preserve, distribute, and make it more accessible. In this sense, cultivated meat opens a new layer of continuity, ensuring that meat and gastronomy remain central to our food culture.
