Photo of
January 9, 2018
vegan
Bread Street Brasserie runs a three course vegan menu on the first Wednesday of every month. Pic: [Facebook][1].

In between Christmas and New Year, the 5pm Dining blog pinpointed veganism as being one of the more significant food trends for 2018.

We were hardly sticking our necks out. Over the last few years, we have been saying that increasing numbers of people are choosing to eat less meat and dairy than previously.

Whether significantly more people will choose to identify as vegan or vegetarian is perhaps another matter.

A survey from The Vegan Society reckons that more than half of UK adults are adopting what it calls ‘vegan-buying behaviour’. A further fifth said they would consider becoming vegan.

This blogger suspects it will be a very long time before anything like a majority of people in the UK would call themselves vegetarian. Never mind vegan.

However, it is easy to see which way the wind is blowing.

High street offers more vegan options

There certainly seems to be a lot more buzz about meat and dairy-free meals than in previous years.

Perhaps it’s because Veganuary is in full swing but we’re noticing a lot more related news stories and press releases.

And a lot are from mainstream, high street companies. To celebrate/jump on the bandwagon of Veganuary, Yo! are now offering an extended range of plant-based dishes priced at £2.80 a plate, Monday to Friday until 19th January.

Yesterday, Tesco announced they were launching their own brand range of 100% plant-based meals.

Apparently, their Wicked Kitchen range features eighteen vegan-friendly ready meals.

Not every supermarket has been quite so sure-footed as they try to court the vegan/veggie pound.

Marks and Sparks has been in the firing line recently after selling a slice of ‘cauliflower steak’ for £2.50. Quite a mark-up when you can buy a whole cauli for about 70p.

The M&S steak does come with a sachet of lemon and herb drizzle. Perhaps predictably, this hasn’t stopped many knockers from beginning their snarking with a riff on the supermarket’s ‘this is no ordinary cauliflower’ strap line.

Vegan takeaway in Glasgow

Switching our attention to more local concerns, Glasgow Live has a report on Tomillo, a soon-to-launch vegan takeaway and delivery service operating from Speirs Wharf.

And, if you want to delve deep into the vegan lifestyle, you could always sign up for free tickets to the Just V Show.

Taking place in the SEC on 3-4th March, visitors will be able to purchase lots of veggie and vegan products as well as listening to talks from ‘thought leaders in the veggie and vegan’.

You can download and print off as many free tickets as you need from this link.

Of course, 5pm Dining has plenty of restaurants that offer veggie and vegan dishes, You can browse them here.

One date for the diary is the monthly vegan menu night at the Bread Street Brasserie in Edinburgh.

Taking place on the first Wednesday of each month, the kitchen offers thoughtful menus serving dishes such as whole roasted carrot with carrot star anise purée, hummus and toasted nuts.