FOOD&DRINK

Did you know that dairy-dodging vegans can still eat cake? Tony Benjamin finds out more about the pleasures of animal-free living.

This time last year a small group of Bristol vegans rented a hall in Broadmead shopping centre. Their aim was to give away animal-free foodstuff while giving people the chance to find out more about the vegan lifestyle. It was a modest idea but they’d hoped around 400 people would visit their Free Vegan Food Fair to sample the goods and planned to take any leftovers up to the Kebele Centre in Easton. “We got more like 650,” recalls Caroline McAleese, one of the organising group. “So there wasn’t much left at the end of the day!”

After such an encouraging start, it’s hardly surprising that they’re repeating the exercise on a larger scale this year. “We had a lot of feedback that it was too crowded so we’re hiring more rooms,” Caroline explains. “We’ve got extra stalls from food producers, we’ll be having films and talks, cookery demos and a nutrition surgery to answer people’s health queries about things like calcium, omega 3, vitamin B12. The dairy industry is a really powerful lobby and people don’t get to hear that you can also get calcium from sesame seeds and dark green vegetables. Our hope for the fair is that non-vegan people will find out what the vegan life is like, including the whole range of food we eat. I think it’ll surprise some people that we eat chocolate ice-cream and lemon cheesecake.”

Caroline made the choice to be vegetarian in her teens but it was when she went to a vegan ‘feast’, aged 26, that she learned more about the issues – and tried the cake. “It was a great lemon cake!” The experience persuaded her to adopt veganism and made her realise how important it was to have events where people could discover the hows and whys of a plant-based diet. And to have cake. This year’s new, improved Free Vegan Food Fair has got support from a wide range of local businesses, including mezze bar Biblos, Indian food shop Dil Se, highly veg-friendly takeaway Dragon Express, the wonderful Falafel King and veggie supremos Café Maitreya, while the organising group have raised funds through benefit gigs, a clothes swap and a dairy-free chocolate-tasting evening. There’s a strong emphasis on counteracting the earnest, worthy and (frankly) dull image that vegan food has had for many people. “We want this to be an enjoyable event, really good fun, with things for children to do and lots of good stuff to eat. Things are really changing in the vegan world – if you go to places like Café Kino (just off Stokes Croft, Bristol), you’ll see they’re more imaginative in what they serve.”

But what about those ‘not-really-meat’ products? Some people find it a bit odd that vegans would eat them. Caroline’s not too fussed either way. “I know there’s some concern about soya production but most soya production is for animal feed. I think that, in moderation, (meat substitutes) are fine – they’re ethically sound and it can stop some people from lapsing. There’s some sage and marjoram sausages you can get that are delicious, whether you’re vegan or not.” There’s no real surprise when Venue asks Caroline what her idea of good vegan food is, though she does pretend to think before answering: “Well, I do like cake…”

THE FREE VEGAN FOOD FAIR TOOK PLACE ON SAT 30 OCT AT BROADMEAD BAPTIST CHURCH, BRISTOL.

Copyright Tony Benjamin 2010

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