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Food

The vegetarian option is no longer the short straw when it comes to simchah catering

Side orders are taking centre stage, says Victoria Prever

November 28, 2017 15:58
Crudité garden by Celia Clyne
4 min read

Vegetables are no longer a second-class food group. We still love our fish and meat and, despite the rise of vegetarianism and veganism, few would be brave enough to dispense with them — but veggies are not just the understudies. They add colour, texture and flavour to menus and are slowly taking more limelight.

Matt Rickard of kosher caterer Food Story is fully behind the trend: “Great restaurants aren’t just serving meat and three veg on a plate any more. Vegetables (and fruit) are key and our menus reflect this. Today’s best food lets the produce shine.”

Influential in this move is the Ottolenghi effect — with its Middle Eastern-influenced salads and mezze dishes full of colourful fruits and vegetables — and a greater availability of heritage (or heirloom) vegetables — traditional varieties that may have different shapes and colours from the vegetables and fruits we have been used to and which may have fallen out of favour until recently.