In January 2018 I decided that after 15 years or so being vegetarian I wanted to take the next step and join in Veganuary – giving up all animal products as part of the month long challenge.
I have to admit that since then I have mostly had basic vegan meals made up of simple veggies and protein options (often meat substitutes which require little to no cooking). So when I spotted a Vegan cookery class taking place at nearby Bore Place I was super excited to go along and see if I could learn some new, more exciting dishes.
The day-long class was led by professional patisserie chef and dedicated vegan Joanna Owens from The Organic Cakery at Bore Place, a 500-acre estate working towards sustainable solutions in farming, food and education. We were taken on a tour of the estate and had the chance to see their buildings, the farm and the fantastic gardens where they grow all manner of edible treats.
On arrival we were greeted by Joanna and offered refreshments whilst we discussed the benefits of a vegan diet and went around the group saying why we were attending. I was the only vegan (along with Joanna), and the others in the group were in various stages of giving up animal products and wanting to learn more.
The menu for the day was:
- Creamy garlicky red bean, mushroom and kale soup.
- Lasagna with vegan cheese sauce, whole wheat lasagne and a green lentil sauce.
- Herby garlic bread with a parsley cashew cream and vegan Parmesan
- Chocolate brownie with banana and peanut butter ice cream.
I have never been in a professional kitchen before so all the equipment was a bit overwhelming but Joanna was able to talk us through the recipes step by step giving us great tips to make the best vegan dishes we could.
I particularly enjoyed making the bread; a vegan wholewheat loaf made from only four ingredients which made the perfect base for slices of delicious garlic bread to accompany the lasagna.
We made the bean soup for our lunch which we enjoyed alongside salad (some from the Bore Place gardens) and some super tasty wholewheat bread made especially for us.
A lot of people might think that vegan cooking is hard or that a recipe will be complicated and have millions of ingredients to ‘make up’ for the lack of animal products. However, the dishes I made during the class were pretty simple and the recipes were easy to follow – not forgetting totally yummy!
I would love to go back to Bore Place and attend more of their cooking classes, especially the artisan bread making course as I would love to be more confident and make my own bread at home!
Overall I really enjoyed the vegan cookery class – we had a really great tutor who was patient, knowledgeable and made the learning process fun. At the end of the class I went home with a couple of days worth of delicious plant based food which kept me happy! I award the vegan cookery class at Bore Place 5 out of 5 stars.
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