O potencial da oferta de pratos vegetarianos na Quarta Colônia/RS - Brasil: análise dos cardápios dos restaurantes do território

Abstract

This dissertation has the primary goal of identifying the restaurants from Quarta Colônia that have vegetarian options on their menus. Culinary tourism is a growing sector in Brazil for the last decade, and the tourists that search for this type of diet could also seek the Quarta Colônia tourist destination. Vegetarianism is becoming increasingly common in the country, around 14% of Brazilians already declare themselves as vegetarians. This type of food philosophy is based on the exclusion of animal products, having different motivations for each person. Alongside managers from the restaurants of the Quarta Colônia, it was asserted if there was a demand of vegetarian tourists in the region and if it was possible to add vegetarian alternatives to the menu. As for the methodology used, the research is defined as qualitative, in which the data collected originated from primary and secondary sources: papers, dissertations, and other published studies, alongside a semi-structured interview with one selected restaurant from each city from the Quarta Colônia. Among the main findings, it was noted that there were labeled vegetarian dishes on the menus of a few restaurants, especially those that already had a high demand of tourists from this group. As for the restaurants with low demand, it was noticed that some establishments could indirectly serve this public due to them already having some meat-free dishes. Moreover, it was noted that there are restaurants that don’t feel motivated to provide alternatives due to the low demand of vegetarian clients. Lastly, a model menu was proposed with suggestions so that the restaurants can add vegetarian dishes that refer to Italian and German traditions in their current menu.