Vegan and plant-based catering

Vegan, plant-based and vegetarian: what we mean

These words get used loosely, so here is how we use them on menus and labels:

• Vegan: no meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey or other animal-derived ingredients, including in stocks, sauces, pastry and garnishes.
• Plant-based: a menu built mostly or entirely from plants. When a guest needs strictly vegan food, we label it vegan, not plant-based, so there is no doubt.
• Vegetarian: no meat or fish, but dairy and eggs may be used. A vegetarian dish is not automatically vegan.

Where animal ingredients hide

Most vegan catering mistakes are not the main dish. They are the small things a kitchen adds out of habit. We check for each of these when a dish is labelled vegan:

• Butter or ghee finishing rice, vegetables and flatbreads
• Chicken or beef stock in soups, grains and braises
• Anchovy in Caesar dressing and Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce in Southeast Asian dressings
• Egg wash on pastry, egg in fresh pasta, mayonnaise in slaws and sandwiches
• Honey in vinaigrettes and glazes
• Gelatin in panna cotta, mousses and gummy garnishes
• Yogurt or cream in curries, dips and marinades

Plant-based lunches that keep an office going

The common complaint about vegan office lunches is being hungry by 3 p.m. The fix is protein and fat, not bigger salads. A good plant-based lunch plate has a proper protein (lentils, chickpeas, white beans, tofu or tempeh), a whole grain or potato, something roasted, and a sauce with body such as tahini, romesco or a coconut curry base.

Examples that travel well in boxed lunches and on a hot lunch buffet: chana masala with jeera rice, mujaddara with crispy onions and cucumber salad, harissa-roasted cauliflower with chickpeas and freekeh, and miso-glazed tofu with sesame greens. We avoid leaning on nuts for protein in shared office meals, because tree nut and peanut allergies are common.

How much vegan food to order

If 5 of 50 guests are vegan and the vegan dish is good, more than 5 people will take it. Two approaches work:

• Order the vegan dish for more than the vegan count, usually a portion for about a quarter to a third of all guests, so it lasts through the line.
• Reserve named portions for the guests who need them: labelled boxes, or plates held back and served first.

For many offices the easiest answer is to make one of the two hot mains vegan for everyone. It also helps guests who eat halal, avoid dairy or simply prefer lighter food.

Fully vegan weddings and receptions

A fully vegan wedding does not need to announce itself. Guests remember whether dinner was good and whether there was enough of it. We design vegan wedding menus the way we design any other: a first course with acidity, a main with a satisfying centre, and dessert that is not an afterthought.

For a cocktail reception, passed items such as smoked carrot on rye with dill cashew cream, crispy chickpea panisse with preserved lemon, and mushroom and walnut pâté on toast hold up well over two hours. For a plated dinner, a charred cabbage wedge with white bean purée and salsa verde or a wild mushroom and barley risotto work as mains. Desserts built on dark chocolate, olive oil cake or poached fruit do not need dairy to be rich.

If some dishes use cashews or walnuts, we label them clearly and plan a nut-free option for guests with allergies.

Cooking with Ontario seasons

Vegan menus depend more on produce than meat menus do, so we plan around what is good locally. In late spring we cook with asparagus and ramps, and in early summer with peas and strawberries. By August and September it is corn, field tomatoes, peppers and peaches. Autumn brings squash, apples, pears and mushrooms, and in winter we lean on root vegetables, cabbage, dried beans and preserved flavours. A seasonal menu costs less and tastes better than forcing summer dishes in January.

Vegan guests at a mixed event

At most events vegan guests are a minority, so how their food is served matters as much as the recipe. On a buffet we put vegan dishes near the start of the line with their own utensils, so a spoon from the butter chicken does not end up in the dal. At a plated dinner the vegan meals are marked on the seating chart and plated from the same kitchen line, at the same time, so nobody waits while their table eats.