106 TASTE SEPTEMBER 2019
Who is this book for?
It’sforeveryone!Obviouslyit’sfor
veggies,butimportantlythisbook
is alsoformeateaterswhowantto
includea bitmoreof thegoodstuff
intheirweeklymeals.It’sa fullymeat-
free,veg-basedcookbookwitha good
wodgeof veganoptionsinthereas
well.I wanttomakethatsomething
tocelebrate,nomatterwhoyouare.
Thisis simplyaboutputtinggoodfood
first, and making people feel happy.
Whymeat-freenow?
I believewe’vereacheda critical
masswhenit comestowanting
veggieideas.Veg-basedfoodis no
longeran“alternative”;it’struly
mainstream,andmyjobis toservethe
widestpossibleaudiencewithbeautiful
recipesthatanswerthatdemand.It’s
interestingthatI firststartedwriting
thisbookeightyearsago,whenit was
stillseenas a bitdifferent.That’sno
longerthecase– sometimesinlifeyou
have to sit tight until the time is right!Areyou100%veggie,then?
Notat all.Everyoneinmyfamilyeats
meatandfish,butforthelastfiveyears
we’vealsobeentryingtoeatvegetarian
meals– at leastthreedaysa week,and
sometimesmore.It’spurelybecause
veg-basedcookingtickseverysingle
boxwhenyou’refeedinga family.
Andat nopointareyoucompromising
onflavour.Puttingvegat thecentreof
yourplateis oftenhealthier,andit cuts
a largeamountof shoppingbudget,
whichyoucaneithersave,oruseto
spendonbetterqualitymeat– if you
doeatit.Forme,buyingless,but
better-welfare, meat is fundamental.Is thereonerecipeinthe
bookthatcouldconvertany
veg-sceptic?
That’sa hardonetoanswer,butthe
recipeshavegonedownreallywell
withourtesters,whowerea mixof
meat-eatersandveggies.Thecurry
chapterhasloadsof knockouts,and
myversionof a veggiepastywasa real
hit– I thinkpeopleweresurprised
bytheamazingdepthof flavour.
Thebeautifulallotmentcottagepie
reallyshiftedsomeperceptions,too.
Butreallythere’sa wholeworldof
delicious veggie cooking in there.Whatwouldyoulikepeople
totakefromit?
I wouldlikeeveryonetotakeawaythe
knowledgethatvegetablescanbetruly
joyfulandfulfillingif they’resimplygiven
thesamelove,careandattentionthatyou’d
giveto a primecutof meat.Thegreatthing
aboutdelicious,well-thought-outvegmeals
is thateverybodyis welcome,andanyone
canbeincluded,nomatterwhattheir
preferencesare.And,whetherornot
we eat meat, we all want more choice.EXCLUSIVE COOKBOOK EXTRACT“Veg-basedcooking
tickseveryboxwhen
you’refeeding
a family.It isoften
healthier andcuts
a largeamount
of shopping budget”