The value of Veganuary
Veganuary is now a mainstay on the global catering calendar with a record 25million people taking part in the campaign in 2024.
The month-long pledge to follow a plant-based diet provides the perfect opportunity for consumers to try something new – and it’s therefore vital that caterers provide enticing vegan menus.
However, a survey of participants this year found many eateries were failing to achieve this, stating a lack of options as a major bug-bear.
Creating appealing vegan dishes can seem daunting, but there are lots of fantastic products available to make the process easy, says Samantha Rain, Head of Innovation and Training at leading ingredients supplier Henley Bridge.
“Consumers expect exciting vegan dishes to be on the menu, and they are often also enjoyed by people who aren’t following a plant-based diet too, so it’s worth investing time and effort into creating them,” she advises. “It’s important to arm yourself with a few key vegan ingredients – for me, these include great quality vegan milk and white chocolates, such as Belcolade or Chocolat Madagascar, and Sosa’s vegan mousse gelatin powder is a must. In fact, the Sosa range is a brilliant toolbox for vegan cookery, and includes emulsifiers, thickening and gelling agents, that allow chefs to replicate culinary processes in a plant-based way.”
Making pastry is time-consuming and requires a certain level of skill, so ready-to-fill vegan pastry cases, such as those from Pidy, free up time to concentrate on the all-important fillings.
Vegan ice cream is another good option, continues Samantha. “Rubicone and Irca both offer vegan ice cream base mixes, which can then be flavoured with vegan flavour pastes, and it’s genuinely hard to tell the difference between vegan and non-vegan varieties.”
