Vegan Practically

This week I was one of the fortunate few on my campus who got invited to be a guest at the Forward Food Culinary Training program. It’s a collaborative program among several universities in southern Ontario, co-sponsored by the Humane Society International | Canada and the host University.

I have worked at Western University in London, Ontario for decades, always requesting vegan options, and so the Hospitality Services folks know who I am. When I finished my term in an administrative role last year, they beautifully catered a fully vegan reception for me. Our Executive Chef at the University, Kristian Crossen, kindly made a point of inviting me to be a lunch guest at the Forward Food training.

The chefs attending the two-day training program spent the mornings preparing an abundance of delicious foods, fully plant-based, under the guidance of Chef Amy Symington (Culinary Specialist, Forward Food). They invited people from across campus to be their lunch guests each day, where the chefs would introduce their dishes for the guests to enjoy.

There were two enormous buffet tables on each of the days (I attended both days!), each with a unique spread. On the first day I had: French lentil and onion soup with a cheesy-melty crostini on top (just like the real thing that I have missed so much because it usually is made with beef stock and, of course, real cheese), deviled tofu egg salad sandwiches, tofu banh mi, roasted apples and brussels sprouts with shitake bacon, rainbow cole slaw, old fashioned potato salad with aquafaba mayo, pulled soy-ginger jackfruit sandwiches, pho noodle wrap (I had to pack that up to go), crabbyless crab cakes with a spicy mayo, and cinnamon bun cookies. I brought home three take out containers with a few of my faves, plus two blueberry muffins and a raspberry scone for breakfast the next day.

Day two focused on entrees and desserts. I was a bit more reserved in my indulgences, taking only a spoonful of most of the things just to try: Kung Pao chickpeas, pineapple and tofu fried rice, cream of chickpea pot pie, tempeh bolognese, seitan bourguignon with mashed potatoes and roasted brussels sprouts (brought some of that home because it was so good!), mushroom lentil stroganoff with roasted potatoes and cabbage. I also had butterscotch squash coffee cake (OMG so amazing) and took a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese icing to go.

Needless to say, I have not had to cook this week.

Besides the incredible food, it was just all-in-all an amazing time. There was a palpable buzz in the air as the chefs brought out the food and told us about their dishes. I think I was the only actual vegan guest at either of the lunches, and it was extremely satisfying to watch everyone indulge and enjoy the incredible food. Non-vegans really have a negative perception of what vegan food must be like, assuming it to be bland and unsatisfying. But I’m not the only person who rolled out the door that day in want of a post-meal siesta, take-out containers in hand.

It was also a great opportunity to explain why this was so amazing. One person at the table I was at, upon trying the incredible (truly!) creamy potato salad, said with a kind of “meh” tone, “It tastes just like…potato salad.” Now, I know that potato salad is an everyday item at every potluck and picnic, but it has been a very long time since I encountered a creamy potato salad I could eat. Vegans do not take these things for granted! So it gave me an opportunity to explain why having satisfying plant-based alternatives, even those that replicate the things we already love, like potato salad and tofu “egg” salad sandwiches, creates a more inclusive eating experience.

This point was driven home to me the next day when I was attending a lunch meeting where they forgot to order my lunch. So while everyone else tucked into their meaty meals, with the only veggie options being veggie lasagna with real cheese, Caesar salad with the dressing on the side, and plain white rice, I took a plate of romaine and decided I was going to leave early and go back for day two of the Forward Food training extravaganza! As I discussed with the Director of Hospitality Services, it would be great to reach a day where you don’t need to special order a plant-based meal. It’s just in among the options as a default expectation. For example, the lunch meeting where I didn’t have an option had veggie lasagna. They could just as easily had a tofu stir-fry or some other plant-based option that both vegans and vegetarians could enjoy. Of course not everyone will think of this, but Hospitality Services could start making catering recommendations that are more inclusive of a larger group of plant-based eaters. It’s 2023 — has the four-cheese veggie lasagna not sufficiently done its duty as “the” vegetarian option of choice at catered event?

Given the enthusiastic reaction to the Forward Food options over the two days, it’s clear that more than vegans would enjoy those alternatives. The event made it super clear that context is everything. If more delicious vegan food were easily available, more people would eat it. Because it’s good.

Finally, I was also fortunate enough to get the VIP package at Forward Food, which included a cookbook with all the recipes from the training program (in enormous volume, each recipe written to serve 36 people, so I’ll need to tweak them a bit). They also threw in the cookbook Vegan in Volume, a reusable bag, and a Meatless Mondays apron. Everyone got a gift bag that included an herb plant of your choice (I chose basil) and a little stuffy goose (not to be confused with a stuffed goose) wearing a Western hat.

Not only was Forward Food a tasty event for the guests, it was extremely heartening. It inspires optimism when the Hospitality Services units of four universities, mine included, demonstrate the desire to expand their knowledge of plant-based options and of why having them is important. Let’s hope that this is the beginning of a true commitment, not just a novelty that will soon be forgotten. The meeting where plain rice and undressed romaine were the only vegan options available was a sad and stark reminder of where we are. But the Forward Food luncheon, with too many plant-based options even to try everything (though we did our best), gave a glimpse of what the default settings might look like in a vegan’s utopian future.