Is catering for special diets a headache? - be inspired.

Cooking without meat, fish, eggs, milk and cheese sounds daunting but it often takes just a few small changes to make vegan food available and in the process improve business. As well as bringing in new customers, most vegan food has the bonus of being affordable, and often provides big profit margins. The Cordon Vert School’s Vegan Chef Workshop, is designed to help professional chefs cater more creatively for special diets and tap into the growing vegan market. More information about courses, dates and prices is available at www.cordonvert.co.uk or call Jane on 0161 925 2014 email jane@vegsoc.org

To whet your appetite try this recipe taken from the workshop:

Smoked Bean Curd Medallions with Shiitake & Walnut Stuffing
Serves 6
Vegan

Medallion ingredients

Stuffing ingredients

To make the bakes

1 Preheat oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

2 Grease 12 ramekins.

3 Heat the oil in frying pan and sauté onion, garlic and celery, until soft.

4 Add basil, thyme, tumeric and tamari and stir well.

5 Place this mixture in a food processor together with the tofu and ground cashew nuts and 2 tbsp water and process until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

6 Season to taste.

7 Divide evenly between the 12 ramekins and press down well.

8 Bake for 15 minutes or until firm to the touch and filling comes away from sides of ramekin easily.

9 Turn out onto 6 individual serving plates.

To make the stuffing

1 Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a large frying pan and sauté the shallots until soft.

2 Remove the tough stalks from the shiitakes and discard. Finely chop the shiitakes.

3 Add the shiitakes, yeast extract and oregano to the shallots.

4 Cook gently for 5 – 10 minutes allowing much of the moisture to evaporate.

5 Add the walnuts and breadcrumbs, stir and season with black pepper to taste.

To serve: Sandwich a layer of stuffing between 2 medallions, garnish and serve immediately with Rich Mulled Wine Reduction or gravy.

© The Vegetarian Society – (recipe created by the Cordon Vert cookery school) www.vegsoc.org.

This one-day workshop provides a thorough understanding of what vegans do and don’t eat and will give you the confidence to be able to offer vegans a diverse menu. You will learn what to consider when making pastry, pancakes, mayonnaise and sandwiches as well as how easily everyday recipes can be made vegan by substituting simple ingredients.

The course is a hands-on workshop in which chefs will make a variety of dishes covering a range of catering needs from gastro-pub, small hotel or guesthouse entertaining to fine dining, buffet dishes and creative sandwich fillings. Desserts will include panacotta (using a vegan setting agent) and vegan pancakes.

Registration is at 9.30am, course commences at 10.00am with an aproximate finish time of 4.30pm.

The Cordon Vert school has an unrivalled reputation for excellent and innovative vegetarian cuisine drawing on a variety of international flavours and ingredients reflecting current trends in world cuisine with fresh and imaginative ideas.

Courses run throughout the year and are taught by Cordon Vert's team of highly qualified and enthusiastic tutors. A relaxed, friendly approach ensures an atmosphere in which individual talent and creativity are positively encouraged.

The Cordon Vert school, based in Altrincham, Cheshire, has been feeding the imagination since 1982.

Notes for editors

· For press information, course dates, tips, recipes, information or pictures please contact the Press Officer on 0161 925 2000 or press@vegsoc.org, mobile 07973 108 165/7, visit www.vegsoc.org/press

· World Vegan Day is the 1st November, the start of World Vegan Month.