The menu is a collaboration between vegan restaurateur Matthew Kenney and KBW Ventures, a mission-driven investment firm founded by environmentalist Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed of Saudi Arabia.

Focusing on ‘innovative’ culinary concepts

The multi-course menu is available at the hotel’s Après Spa Café and is said to focus on innovative creations inspired by a range of global culinary concepts – with an added Qatari touch. 

The menu boasts a selection of appetizers and entrées, including green papaya salad made with basil, cilantro, and spinach leaves, and topped with cashew dressing; and truffle pizza with Tuscan kale, wild mushrooms, cashew truffle cream, and lemon vinaigrette.

Chef Kenney has also crafted a selection of vegan desserts for the hotel, offering a combination of treats made from orange, chocolate, coconuts, banana, and cocoa.

“My mission has always been to empower, inspire and influence others to cultivate a healthy and conscious way of life through plant-based cuisine,” explained Kenney.

“Bringing vibrant food that is equal parts delicious, nutritious and sustainable to Four Seasons Doha is the latest milestone in our conquest to change the way the world thinks about food.”

Increased plant-based offerings in time for the World Cup

The menu has launched ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which will take place in Qatar later this year. As one of the five host cities, Doha is expected to attract a large number of tourists from across the world.

In a recent press release, Prince Khaled said, “It is fitting that Folia, crafted to appeal to palates that have eaten the finest in healthy cuisine, is being presented at Four Seasons Hotel Doha now that Qatar is preparing to welcome the world for one of the biggest sporting events in history.”

He continued, “I look forward to seeing the Qatari plant-based dining scene elevated with Chef Kenney’s inspired dishes.”

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“Mission-driven ventures in the food tech and green tech spaces don’t suffer from a shortage of vision or potential to scale. They lack the funding to scale to a point where their solutions become more affordable for consumers,” Prince Khaled commented.

Prince Khaled says we can make a difference with our food choices as well as our investments because what we eat is affecting the state of the planet.

For example, factory farming contributes massively to climate change, and industrial animal agriculture is responsible for 14.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

Prince Khaled: plant-based investing pays off

Prince Khaled is backing food tech startups because he knows not everyone is satisfied with a whole foods plant-based diet.

He wants to see more meat alternatives that are better for the planet.

Prince Khaled said, “There are now impact-driven businesses that will help you eat what you like, without all the nasty environmental repercussions.”

His investments in plant-based food alternatives include Rebellyous Foods chicken nuggets and Moku’s mushroom jerky to replace the beef snack.

And, he considers these to be conscious investments as well as potentially lucrative.

For example, the plant-based meat market has grown significantly in the past decade. In 2020 the market value of plant-based meat worldwide was estimated to be worth $6.67 billion. 

According to Statista it’s expected to increase over the next few years and reach $16.7 billion by 2026. 

The future of food and emerging markets

In addition to plant-based nuggets and mushroom jerky, there’s another protein alternative Prince Khaled is interested in – and it comes from laboratories.

Prince Khaled has invested in food technology start-ups producing cell-based meat as well as those using precision fermentation. 

The global cultured meat market size was estimated to be $206 million in 2021 and predicted to reach a valuation of $572 by 2026.

As well as his commitment to impact investments, Prince Khaled serves on the advisory board of a competition that aims to fund alt-protein solutions.

The XPRIZE Feed The Next Billion Challenge is a $15 million competition that incentivizes teams to produce chicken breast or fish filet alternatives. 

Prince Khaled hopes in the next few years that entrants from the competition will be producing sustainable chicken breasts and fish that will end up on dinner plates around the world.

Better for the planet

Cell-cultured meat is expected to use less water and land and may produce fewer overall greenhouse gasses, according to a recent study in NatureFood.

Prince Khaled’s asset management firm KBW Ventures made its first investment in cultured meat with Upside Foods, formerly known as Memphis Meats.

It produces chicken meat that looks, cooks, and tastes like chicken but is grown in a lab. 

Upside Food’s website says cultivated meat will use 77 percent less water and 62 percent less land than conventional meat.

KBW Ventures also invested in cell-cultured seafood firm Blue Nalu. And, Blue Planet Ecosystems, which promises to turn sunlight into CO2-neutral seafood.

Enough food for everyone 

In November, the UN World Food Programme warned that conflict, the climate crisis, and COVID-19 are driving up numbers of those acutely hungry. 

The world’s population is expected to surge past nine billion by 2050 with more than 45 million people teetering on the edge of famine. 

Prince Khaled sees mission-driven food tech companies as providing a potential answer to reduce inequality across geographies and populations.

He continues to seek startups that can produce high quality foodstuffs with less natural resources and lower costs and encourages others to do the same.

“It’s a promising opportunity for governments, private sector entities and startups to reimagine our food chains to be cleaner,  greener and smarter,” Prince Khaled said.

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Many of the attendees are championing a shift towards plant-based in a bid to make our food system less destructive to the environment.

Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed – entrepreneur and Saudi prince – is among the speakers, along with representatives from industry giants like Cargill, Tyson Ventures, The Kellogg Company, Meta, Danone, and Pepsico.

The CEOs of plant-based food companies Eat Just, Remilk, Evo Foods, Libre Foods, Meati Foods, Sundial Foods, and V2 Food will also attend as speakers. 

Further, three alternative chicken brands – Sundial, Meati, and Umiami – will partake in an interactive cook-off, followed by an audience Q&A. 

Alternative protein

Across various panels, speakers will discuss nutrition and health, food waste, paths to a net-zero economy, and alternative protein. 

The latter topic will cover plant-based meat, as well as fermented and cultured meat products. Panelists will look at the processes being used within the sector as well as emerging technologies that could improve categories that are “lagging behind,” such as cheese and fish, the conference agenda says.

Prince Khaled, who is a co-owner of Plant Based News, adheres to an animal-free diet. Environmental and ethical concerns are at the core of his motivations. 

At the upcoming conference, the entrepreneur will participate in an investor panel alongside the likes of Pae Wu, CTO of IndieBio and Partner at SOSV, Deena Shakir, Partner at Lux Capital, and Philip Erlanger, Managing Partner at Pontifax.

The experts will discuss profitable investments into sustainability, as well as the role of cryptocurrency and web 3.0 in food venture financing. 

Prince Khaled is no stranger to sustainability-driven investments. Last year, the prince was appointed to the advisory board of XPRIZE’s Feed the Next Billion.

The initiative seeks to award a total of $15 million to companies creating realistic, nutritious, and environmentally conscious alternatives to chicken or fish. 

Future Food Tech will take place in San Francisco from March 24-25, 2022. It will also be broadcast online. Those looking to register can do so here.

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