Plant-based, vegan bakery delights during Giovanni’s Sunday Brunch

Over the years, there has been a noticeable shift toward healthier dietaries along a growing focus on personal wellness. This change of personal wellbeing is reflected in the dietary choices made by individuals, where the emphasis is to consume consciously healthier. People are interested on nutritional facts and now increasingly on the origin of its isolated food items.

As part of Hyatt’s commitment to advance self-care, the culinary team at Hyatt Regency Saipan has been proactive in addressing the changing preferences and dietary restrictions of guests, yet being able to achieve an authentic gastronomical experience.

The team has been empathetic to requests for vegan and plant-based cuisine, ensuring that these options are readily available for guests. This approach was initiated by Jody O’Sullivan, Hyatt’s chef de cuisine—pastry and a vegan himself. O’Sullivan is now sharing his believes and creativity along plant-based bakeries and desserts at Giovanni’s Sunday Brunch.

“Health and wellness-based foods have been around for a while now…the plant-based desserts are not any “healthier” than their regular counterparts, but that is not the point of a dessert, it is supposed to be an indulgence,” he said.

“The whole pastry landscape is changing and adapting, however, being able to still offer quality desserts without the need for animal products is the biggest challenge facing the pastry industry at the moment. Being able to offer these desserts now becomes more important so that our guests can understand that the quality of what we serve is going to be no different to a traditional recipe. We are changing ingredients so that we can create the best possible experience on a consistent basis,” he continued.

In addition, “sustainability is something we need to be really conscious of in the pastry. As prices of goods, shipping costs and utilities continue to rise, we need to look at how much our products are valued and, wherever we can, provide a quality alternative… With the continuous global climate change, things that are usually readily available for standard desserts are already more expensive and harder to come by,” he concludes.

According to O’Sullivan, a plant-based dessert is a dish prepared using no animal products whatsoever. “Ingredients such as butter, eggs, cream, milk, etc. are replaced by plant-based alternatives like soy milk or plant-based oil,” he said.

At Easter Sunday Brunch, one of the desserts that O’Sullivan presented was a home-made pecan pie.

“The traditional ingredients in pecan pie contain both eggs and butter. Eggs bind the ingredients in the pie together owing to being high in protein, fat, and cholesterol. Butter adds richness and mouthfeel.”

“We needed to replace these functions with plant-based ingredients such as tofu, a really high-protein food, and substituted olive oil for butter. They are simple replacements that do not change the quality of what we offer but make them more sustainable and consistent.”

Plant-based dessert offerings at Giovanni’s started early this year. “Every week there is one plant-based item our guests can enjoy from. It is my passion to share my recipes with our guests but also with my team. We will keep growing our repertoire with a rotation of cookies, cakes, crème brulees, and pies,” O’Sullivan added.

Giovanni’s Sunday Brunch highlights international and local cuisine with free-flow of sparkling wine and beer every Sunday, 11am-2pm. For reservations, visit saipan.regency.hyatt.com. (PR)