Chunk Foods Debuts ‘Largest Piece of Plant-Based Meat in Foodservice’ with Pastrami Queen

US whole-cut meat analogues maker Chunk Foods has debuted The Prince, an iteration of its new Slab steaks, in partnership with New York City deli Pastrami Queen.

The site of Anthony Bourdain’s favourite pastrami sandwich now has a plant-based offering.

Chunk Foods, the startup making vegan whole-cut steaks, has collaborated with celebrated New York City deli Pastrami Queen to unveil its latest product, The Prince.

Made from cultured soy and wheat, it’s a $20 plant-based pastrami sandwich cut from the Chunk Slab, one of two new vegan steak offerings the brand has brought to foodservice this year. Touted to be the largest plant-based whole-cut meat to hit the restaurant market (weighing over 3 lbs), this marks the Slab’s debut in the US.

“‘The Prince powered by Chunk’ bridges the gap between the past and the future of food with the intersection of traditional Jewish deli cuisine with modern plant-based options, contributing to the dynamic and diverse food scene in NYC and local food culture,” said Chunk Foods CEO Amos Golan, who founded the startup in 2020. “The unique qualities of Chunk’s plant-based pastrami offer a taste and texture comparable to traditional meat.”

Pastrami Queen collaboration will help with texture concerns

Pastrami Queen has been feeding New Yorkers since 1956, starting with its original site on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Over the 70-odd years, it has carved a reputation as one of the city’s best delis, praised for its dedication to preserving the flavours and traditions of Jewish deli cuisine. It led the late Bourdain to proclaim the establishment as the “real deal”.

This is why it’s a big deal for Chunk Foods, a four-year-old startup, to team up with Pastrami Queen. The new vegan pastrami sandwich is available at the latter’s Moynihan Food Hall store. It is comprised of the Chunk Slab, New York deli mustard, rye bread, and a pickle.

The fermentation-derived slab steak was first introduced at Chicago’s National Restaurant Association Show in May, where it received a Food and Beverage (FABI) Award. Apart from the base of soy and wheat, the product contains coconut oil, water, beet juice, iron, salt and vitamin B12, a clean-label list catering to an increasingly conscious consumer.

Whole-cut plant-based meats are known for their fibrous texture and mouthfeel, since they replicate animal muscle fibres. Texture is among the main consumption barriers of plant-based meat. A 1,500-person survey this year found that 42% of Americans are deterred from choosing a meat analogue dish at a restaurant because they don’t think they’ll like the texture. However, 91% of those who have tried plant-based protein like its taste and texture and are satisfied with it, highlighting a major perception gap.

Debuting its product at a popular and acclaimed deli like Pastrami Queen will only help Chunk Foods assuage these concerns. “At Pastrami Queen, we pride ourselves on offering the best of traditional Jewish deli cuisine,” said manager Eric Newman.

“Partnering with Chunk Foods allows us to expand our menu with a delicious plant-based option that maintains the high standards our customers expect. ‘The Prince powered by Chunk’ is a great addition to our menu, providing a taste and texture that our patrons are looking for.”

Chunk Foods targets restaurants as whole-cut meat race heats up

This isn’t Chunk Foods’ first rodeo into meat-based foodservice. In 2023, it launched into Charley’s Steak House in Orlando, the first time a steakhouse in the US put a vegan analogue on the menu. This evolved into a wider partnership with the restaurant’s parent company, Talk of the Town.

The plant-based meat startup, which has raised $24M in funding (including a $7.5M injection earlier this year), has appeared on other restaurant menus in New York City as well, including Coletta, Anixi, The Butcher’s Daughter and Leonardo DiCaprio-backed chain Neat. And last month, it announced a partnership with popular fast-food chain Slutty Vegan and its sister establishment Bar Vegan.

Chunk Foods is also working on pork, lamb and poultry alternatives, and last year completed the construction of what it claims is one of the world’s largest factories of its kind. It has also gone international this year, linking up with plant protein company Better Balance to create new whole-cut meat analogues for the Mexican market.

Whole cuts are widely considered the “holy grail” of plant-based meat, with Juicy Marbles (Slovenia), Redefine Meat (Israel), Libre Foods (Spain), Green Rebel (Indonesia), Revo Foods (Austria) and Project Eaden (Germany) among a host of players.

That said, plant-based pastrami is a largely untapped market. The Corn’d Beef by Shark Tank alum Unreal Deli (formerly Mrs Goldfarb’s) and the Pastrami Style Slices by Squeaky Bean in the UK are among the few on the market.

Project Eaden is also developing a version made from wheat protein, which is slated for launch in 2025. The startup leverages fibre-spinning technology and is creating its own flavours.

“This has really changed the game, and has created deeper, more complex meatiness and more realistic roasting aroma,” its co-founder Jan Wilmking told Green Queen last month. “The combination of a blank flavour canvas with hardly any off-taste – and truly meaty taste notes on top – makes the products extremely tasty, without being too extreme or intense.”