insideKENT Magazine Issue 49 - April 2016 | Page 44

FOOD+DRINK

why 2016 is the year for

vegetarianism

DINING OUT OPTIONS FOR VEGETARIANS HAVE NEVER BEEN GREATER

Every vegetarian will be familiar with the following
dilemma: you arrive at a nice restaurant for a
special meal and upon reading the menu you
discover that your choices are limited to a goat’s
cheese tartlet, a risotto, or perhaps a bean chilli
– whereas your dining partner has the pick of
braised shanks, marinated chicken or delicately
pan-fried fish. These techniques can be used to
prepare fresh, seasonal vegetables too – so why
haven’t these dishes been appearing more often
on menus?
The link between vegetables, human health
and the protection of the environment has never
been more prevalent in the media, with concerns
of GM food and toxins within the meat we’re
consuming regularly appearing in print. Therefore
more and more people are choosing to have
several meat-free days a week in their homecooking regimes to promote a healthier lifestyle
and easier digestion.
This shouldn’t have to be compromised
when eating out at a restaurant; on the contrary,
dining at a high-end restaurant should be an
opportunity to gain inspiration and pick up new
cooking techniques for next time you’re creating
a vegetarian masterpiece at home.
At The Ambrette, chef Dev Biswal is
particularly keen to demonstrate how diners can
prepare local, seasonal produce on a day-to-day
basis, and this is why the restaurant’s spring and
summer menus will be inspired by vegetables,
rather than meat. Dev says: “I’ve been designing
dishes around the core vegetable ingredient and
complementing this with carbohydrates and
proteins – the inverse of many restaurant menus.

“I believe that the restaurant industry also
has a responsibility to acknowledge the
environmental impact of excessive meat
consumption and sourcing – particularly
concerning beef and lamb – by taking steps to
add variety to their menus and therefore reduce
overall global demand for these ingredients.
“Placing the focus on vegetables also makes
financial sense for restaurants – they’re cheaper
and the margins are greater! For the diners, this
means they can sample high-end cooking
techniques, textures and tastes without a hefty
price tag. Sourcing vegetables from the
surrounding area supports the local economy,
too – what’s not to love?”
The importance of finding fresh,
seasonal produce
Sourcing vegetables is a difficult task for any
restaurant, and if you want to serve up fresh,
seasonal produce from the local area then things
get even more complicated! But it’s worth the
time and effort to present crunchy fruit and
vegetables, and fragrant herbs that have travelled
just miles.
Many of The Ambrette’s suppliers are based
in Kent and can provide them with potatoes,
rapeseed stalks and cauliflowers for their dishes.
If they can’t source it from The Garden of England,
they will go slightly further afield to London – to
the vegetable markets of Spitalfields and Covent
Garden – d where many of the vegetables on
offer were grown in Kent.

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Ones to watch in 2016
As vegetables rise in popularity this year, Dev
says: “I predict that there will be some who steal
the limelight more than others. The first being
celeriac, which I will be introducing to The
Ambrette menu and my diners in a number of
forms. I like to infuse this vegetable with fenugreek
leaves – for example my favourite celeriac dish
would have to be celeriac, aubergine and okra
flavoured with fresh fenugreek leaves served on
a bed of spiced celeriac purée.
“Then there’s tenderstem broccoli, which
will continue its popularity from 2015. Its attractive
colour makes it an interesting addition to all sorts
of plates and it also lends itself to a number of
different cooking techniques.
“Looking at the response we’ve had to our
vegetarian and vegan menus at The Ambrette,
and the popularity of vegetables over the pond
in the US, 2016 is definitely turning into the year
of the vegetable!”
www.theambrette.co.uk