Want To Have A Vegan-Friendly Event? Follow A Few Tips For Working With A Caterer
Whether you are planning a wedding, baby shower, birthday party, or company event, you want to make sure that everyone is accommodated, especially when it comes to food. The last thing you want to do is force your guests to bring their own food due to a lack of options. However, if you are not too familiar with veganism, or more food-related, plant-based diets, you may not know how to handle these guests.
Before you start working with a caterer, you want to know some crucial details related to vegan food.
Know the Rules for Vegan Food
The first step to hosting a vegan-friendly event is to find out the rules of vegan food. The concept is simple; vegans do not eat anything that includes animal products. This means that meat, dairy, eggs, and honey are off the table. Also, there are several byproducts that make it into foods which are not considered vegan, such as gelatin, which is commonly found in marshmallows and candies. Another example is casein, which is a dairy derivative, although its inclusion can still mean that something is lactose-free, just not vegan.
Mock Meats Are Not Necessary
If you ever take a look at everything in the refrigerated or frozen section at your local grocery stores, you are likely to come across mock meat products. You can also find vegan cheeses, mayonnaise, sour cream, cream cheese, and more, but none of these food products are needed to accommodate a vegan.
It is easier to focus on whole foods when working with a caterer, such as some high-protein vegetables. Lentils go great in soups and stews, broccoli is superb in stir-fry's, and asparagus is an Italian staple. Beans, rice, and pasta are other foods that have plenty of substance to use as a base for many dishes.
Consider a Vegan-Friendly Cuisine
Although you can work with almost any caterer and have them provide a variety of vegan dishes at your event, you may want to look at certain cuisines, focusing on the ones that are easier to customize plates. Indian, Chinese, and Japanese are great options as they do not typically use milk in their dishes. Also, Japanese cuisine commonly includes tofu as a meat option, which is naturally vegan.
Hosting a vegan-friendly event may seem a little intimidating at first, but it mainly comes from a lack of knowledge. Once you learn about it and start working with a caterer (such as Giuseppe's), it will be a stress-free experience.