One of the largest hospitality groups in Dallas has taken the bold step of eliminating the use of seed oils in its entire portfolio of restaurants.
Harwood Hospitality says it is dropping seed oils from its menus and incorporating a nonalcoholic bar program with tasty mocktails. The move comes after one of its establishments, HG Sply Co., axed seed oils in March and redesigned its menu.
Seed oils have seen their reputation dwindle in recent years. The trend picked up steam when U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., set his sights on the popular fat, widely used in cooking. RFK Jr. even went so far as to say that soybean, corn, canola, and other seed oils are poisoning Americans.
Now, health-conscious Dallasites can enjoy dining out more easily, since Harwood’s extensive selection of restaurants in the city has dropped the oils.
In addition to HG Sply Co., patrons will no longer find seed oils or nut oils on the menus of Saint Ann, Mercat Bistro, NDA Brasserie, Harwood Arms, Poco Fiasco, Elephant East, Dolce Riviera, Tequila Social, Te Deseo, and Happiest Hour. An expansive nonalcoholic bar program is also joining the change, allowing for healthier beverage options alongside meal choices.
In place of seed oils, like vegetable oil, Harwood exclusively cooks with tallow rendered in-house from the HWD Harwood Premium Beef Program.
“Did you know that McDonald’s used to use beef tallow to make their fries from 1940 until phasing it out in favor of seed oils in 1990? This switch was made because saturated animal fats were thought to be unhealthy, but we have since discovered that seed oils are one of the driving causes of the obesity epidemic,” RFK Jr. wrote on X last year.