KNOW YOUR ONIONS ( AND OTHER VEG) GREENS, MANCHESTER ACORN VEGETARIAN KITCHEN, BATH THE 78, GLASGOW THE GATE, LONDON
Whether you’re a lifelong vegan or are just dipping your toe in, here’s all you need to know to get the very best out of veganism now
VEGAN- FRIENDLY RESTAURANTS
At this award-winning unpretentious restaurant, Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch presenter, Simon Rimmer, creates imaginative and innovative vegetarian dishes and vegan options, such as veggie spiced black pudding pakora. greensdidsbury.co.uk Four years ago, chef Richard Buckley took over the much-loved pioneering vegetarian restaurant Demuths and reinvented it. It’s now a sleek upmarket destination for vegetarians and vegans, where Buckley – whose book Plants Taste Better (Jacqui Small) is published next spring – serves beautiful meat-free food; think butternut terrine with pinenut risotto. acornvegetariankitchen.co.uk In a famously vegan-friendly city, this cosy bar/restaurant with armchairs, roaring fire and live jazz stands out. The 100% vegan menu includes tortillas, nachos and a burger. the78cafebar.com Since opening in 1989, this high-end vegetarian restaurant has become something of an institution, with branches in Hammersmith, Islington and Marylebone. There are plenty of eclectic vegan options on the menu (such as shiitake ginger gyoza), and it prides itself on its seasonal offerings. thegaterestaurants.com
LOGO LOWDOWN
Vegetarian Society In response to the rising number of vegans, the society recently launched a vegan trademark to complement the existing Vegetarian Society Approved trademark. It denotes products that are free from animal ingredients, cross-contamination during production, GMOs (genetically modified organisms), and animal testing, either directly or via commissioned processes. Vegan Society The Vegan Society developed its trademark to authenticate foods that are vegan-friendly. Its strict criteria cover both the ingredients and production methods. Vegan Society trademarked products are free of material from vertebrate or multicellular invertebrate creatures. The development or manufacture of the product must not involve testing on animals, and any genetically modified foods are free from animal genes or animal-derived substances. They can be GMO if it’s a plant GMO and do not need to be organic. There are more than 22,000 products listed with The Vegan Society worldwide. Peta Approved Vegan The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals vegan logo is a way for customers to ensure that the item they are buying is 100% vegan, so it appears on clothes, shoes and accessories that contain no leather, fur, wool, skin, exotic skins or other animal-derived fabrics. Fashion brands with the PETA-approved logo include Stella McCartney.
VEGAN COOKERY BOOKS
Over the past few years there’s been an explosion of vegan cookbooks, as home cooks grow ever more hungry for inventive recipes that are a world away from the lentil burger and veggie stir-fry stereotype.
l A self-trained chef and food photographer, Angela Liddon has an award-winning, approachable blog with thousands of fans. Her cookbooks, Oh She Glows and Oh She Glows Every Day (Michael Joseph) impress both vegans and non-vegans alike. l Discover new flavours in The Fresh Vegan Kitchen (Pavilion Books) by award-winning vegan street food champions David and Charlotte Bailey of Wholefood Heaven. The book’s globally inspired, vibrant recipes include everything from raw pad thai to churros.
l Taking plant innovation to new
levels is Smith & Daughters: A Cookbook That Happens to be
Vegan (Hardie Grant). It’s the first cookbook from Shannon Martinez and Mo Wyse, whose cult vegan Spanish restaurant in Melbourne, Australia, specialises in big, bold, flavoursome food.
l Young vegan fans will delight in the news that next spring will see the publication of Bosh! The Cookbook (HQ) by Sheffield schoolfriends Henry Firth and Ian Theasby, the creators of the vegan food channel Bosh! The boys’ super simple recipes range from plant-based sushi to BBQ pulled jackfruit burgers, and have won them more than a million Facebook fans.