Lucy Watson’s vegan recipes

Everyday eating was the focus before, but Lucy Watson’s follow-up vegan cookbook is all about entertaining. Prudence Wade finds out more

LUCY Watson might have found fame as a no-nonsense straighttalker on Made In Chelsea - but her reputation has definitely mellowed since leaving the hit reality series, as she’s found her niche in vegan cooking and paved a new career path. Far from just a passing food fad, plantbased eating seems to be here to stay, and Lucy’s just released her second cookbook, Feed Me Vegan: For All Occasions. Where the 27-year-old’s first book, published last year, was all about finding vegan-friendly versions of her favourite meals, now that she’s more experienced, her focus has shifted to entertaining - something she says she can’t get enough of. Indeed, the only gossip she seems really interested in these days is around animal activism, rather than who’s dating who in the Chelsea set. Here, she tells us about how she’s really getting into her vegan groove...

Her love of entertaining

Now that Lucy has mastered basic survival on a vegan diet, she’s enjoyed being able to switch her attention and indulge in what she really loves: entertaining. “Growing up, I was always the one at school having parties because I love socialising, but I was never really into cooking for friends,” she recalls. “Now I’m obsessed with it - I’m literally designing my kitchen around entertaining because that’s all I want to do. I want to have dinner parties all the time!” Since her first book, Lucy’s attitude towards food and eating has shifted; she’s taking more pleasure in the process now. “The time I’m willing to put into cooking has changed, and I’m not all about the quick and easy life as much as I used to be. I increasingly want to make stuff that requires a bit more patience - like fermenting food overnight, or spending a whole day preparing a roast,” she explains. The joy of cooking for her friends is a big part of it, but there’s a practical element to hosting too: “As a vegan, it’s easier if you’re entertaining because you don’t have to be difficult sitting at someone else’s house telling them what you can’t eat - everyone can have vegan food!”

How veganism has boomed

It’s perhaps no surprise Lucy chose vegan entertaining as the theme for her new book. “Veganism has definitely turned into a trend,” she agrees, citing the record-breaking success of this year’s Veganuary - the campaign to get people to eat plant-based for the month of January grew by 183 per cent in 2018, with 168,542 people signing up. “If people weren’t vegan, they’ve at least heard about it, had friends who were doing it or were considering it themselves,” says Lucy.

On sharing her views

This is where Lucy really warms to her topic; although she loves cooking, it’s animal activism that really fires her up - and she’s by no means quiet abou this on Twitter. “Even if I wasn’t in this job, I’d still be compelled to speak out,” she says. “I’d still be trying to do my part, maybe even getting more involved and actually saving animals in undercover trips, or something like that.” She appreciates that the topic of diet can be a deeply personal one, and things can easily get heated on social media. Pausing to reflect, she says: “It’s a really tricky subject and the aggression can go both ways. No vegan is the same as the other one; from my point of view, as long as I try to handle things with a gentle but factual approach, normally the response is pretty similar. It’s when activists get aggressive that they are met with aggression, and vice versa.”

Travelling as a vegan

Veganism might be more mainstream now, but that’s not to say it’s a complete walk in the park - and travelling is still something that can prove challenging. “There are definitely countries that are trickier than others,” Lucy acknowledges with a sigh. “Places like France and Spain, which traditionally love meat and cheese.” In fact, she was recently turned away from a restaurant in Spain, which “point blank said they wouldn’t cater for me”. She’s positive about the progress that’s being made though, and says incidents like that are rare. “It’s getting so much easier. In the last year, I’ve found the response from waiters to be a lot more welcoming. They’re not as unfamiliar with it, it’s not something they can really ignore any more. “This is happening and people all over the world are going vegan,” she states. “So you have to accept it.”