As I write this, the posters and adverts extolling Veganuary are abound, and many customers will be heading into our restaurants with a least one on healthier options.
As a Cornishman who when finding only butter in the fridge will consume it as a late-night snack, I’m not ready to give up meat and dairy entirely, but increasing Vegan and meat free options on our menus makes sense on many levels.
Firstly, as Chefs it gives a much wider bounty to work with, not less. The diversity of vegetables, grains, nuts and legumes is staggering, and the textures and flavours just sparkle. However just as it is easy to fall in to the trap of Salmon, Chicken and Steak when thinking about meat, it’s equally easy to think Green Beans, Spinach or Kale. Think celeriac baked in salt and served until fudgy; or artichoke gnocchi with sprout tops and toasted almonds in a vegetable broth.
That diversity that we have to play with is what actually makes this way of cooking more interesting. However, I know that many chefs balk at the premium that some of the more unusual varieties cost, yet even organic heritage varieties will always come under the cost of meat.
Slow Food is part of the Eating Better alliance, which seeks to encourage using less meat both in terms of the environment (Meat production releases more emissions than all transport combined) but also in terms of health – most of us eat more meat and less vegetables than perhaps we should.
By using meat as an accent – almost as a garnish – on ourother dishes, we can still make GP when buying the very highest welfare meat, raisedon pasture, from heritage breeds sustaining the very best of British farming.
Good for our health, good for our palates, good for the environment, and good for our GP? Now that is something worth doing beyond the month of January.
You can follow slowfood on twitter @slowfooduk, and you can follow the Eating Better Campaign @eating_better
