Vegan food festival set to hit the streets of Dublin this month
January 10th, 2017
A weekend-long Vegan Foodie Festival is coming to Dublin this month to showcase the best of Irish vegan food.
The first of its kind in Ireland, the festival will see a mix of completely vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants getting involved to offer discounts on delicious vegan grub. Vegans do not eat meat, consume or use animal products such as dairy, honey or leather.
To take part in the event all you need to do is book a table at one of the featured restaurants between 19 and 21 January, share your dining experience and vote for your favorite meal! No tickets or registration is required.
So far, 9,000 people have expressed their interest in taking part in the festival across 17 restaurants, including Sova Vegan Butcher, Brother Hubbard and On the Pig’s Back Eatery.
Speaking to The Green News, the organiser of the festival, Katy Morgan, said that she hopes the event will educate restaurant owners about all things vegan. “I want restaurant owners to know and understand what veganism is and to help them realize that vegan food is the future,” she added.
Don’t fear if you’re not vegan as everyone is more than welcome to participate. Ms Morgan’s advice to non-vegans is to come and try the vegan options available at the restaurants, many of which are award-winning restaurants.
Photo: Vegan Foodie Fest
2018: Year of the Vegan?
According to Ms Morgan, one of the main aims of the festival is to dispel the perception that vegan food is boring. “There is plenty of choices, vegan food is really amazing and worth giving a shot,” she added.
“If you want meat substitutes; we have them, and they taste so good! So many restaurants offer now delicious vegan dishes. These days, we can substitute almost everything to be vegan-friendly”.
Food delivery website Just Eat recorded a 987 per cent increase in demand for vegetarian options and a 94 per cent increase for healthy food in 2017. The survey results indicate that vegan options are set to be the food trend of 2018, with one-third of Just Eat restaurant partners now providing vegan and vegetarian options on their menus.
Just Eat Marketing Director, Edel Kinane said: “The results from this year are a good insight into the future consumer trends and while convenience will continue to be key for consumers next year and beyond, we know that they are increasingly looking for more diverse, healthy, gluten free and plant- based Vegan options”.
Veganuary
The festival lands in the month of January which coincides with Veganuary. Set-up in 2014 by Matthew Glover and Jane Land, the aim is to encourage people to go vegan for the entire month.
So far, 150,000 people worldwide have taken the pledge to follow a vegan diet this January. The movement has ambassadors such as Irish Harry Potter star Evanna Lynch and Chef Derek Sarno. Chef Sarno has teamed up with Tesco to create an entire vegan range called Wicked Kitchen in celebration of Veganuary.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/240479044
Irish rugby International league player Anthony Mullally is also promoting Veganuary. The Leeds Rhinos player turned vegan due to his concerns with the environmental impact of the egg and dairy industries.
For the entire list of restaurants participating in the Vegan Foodie Festival, please click here.
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