Vegetarians and vegans:What would you like to see at a buffet?

[WallabyWay]

I'm helping to arrange a buffet. There will be a mixture of hot and cold food. What foods would you like to see at a buffet please?

(Vegans and vegetarians and others with special diets will be invited up first, but we'll make sure that there's plenty because people who eat meat can enjoy vegetarian/vegan options too.)

TIA

Thanks for the tips everyone. I really appreciate them. There will be gluten free options in all categories. We have a few people with coeliac disease attending so I'll make sure of that and I'll be taking precautions to ensure no cross contamination.(Hence why they'll be served first and the gluten free foods prepared first, separately and wrapped.)

I'm getting hungry just reading everyone's suggestions.

Ideally a sort of make your own salad arrangements with all the ingredients separate.

Great idea thank you . I'll do that as well as some premixed salads.

We have access to a fully equipped kitchen which really helps.

I wouldn’t be faffing about making pulled jackfruit or coronation smashed chickpea.

Fair enough….. although coronation chickpeas is lovely, inside or outside of a sandwich . It can be really simple - mayo, curry powder, mango chutney and a tin of chickpeas is lovely.

Some good suggestions here. I would definitely avoid too much fake "meat" sausage rolls or sausages are ok. Interesting salads definitely, some of the above sound lovely. Personally, I'm not a fan of raw onion so don't use that in all the salads. Spicy snacks such as samosas or bhajis will go down well with a lot of people.
Do make sure cheeses are made with veggie rennet so parmesan is out so be careful with pesto too. M&S do a decent vegan pesto if you wish to use any.

A fantastic potato salad (cold boiled potatoes, red onions, chives, sweet gherkins, radishes, lots of tasty mayo)

Can't believe nobody said selection of raw salad veg & humus with crisps coz I love that stuff & would make a whole meal out of it: carrots, tomatoes, celery, lettuce leaves; Californians would also serve raw courgette, raw broccoli & raw cauliflower.

We'll make sure we have simple and fancier sandwiches. We have some seasoned vegans and vegetarians who'll be looking for something a bit special and some people who are plain eaters. I love Coronation chickpea personally. I eat meat but I also eat a lot of vegetarian and vegan food.

Whatever you offer, make sure there's enough for the meat eaters as well, not just enough to cover the veggies/vegans. I'm veggie and hate finding the veggie option has all been snaffled by carnivores leaving nothing for me!
Not too much pastry based, it all tastes the same!
Is it finger food or fork food?
Pasta salad, rice salad, cheese and crackers, nice bread and butter, veggie pâté, dips. Quorn savoury eggs, veggie cocktail sausages.
Agree, no need for faffy food.

Beetroot, walnut and goats cheese/blue cheese salad. Happy with either the vegan or veggie option for cheese

Hummus and pittas, carrots sticks, celery, sugar snaps and crisps

The gosh falafel range Is delicious with sweet chilli

Halloumi, yeah, just on its own

Coleslaw with apple and beetroot

Decent mini veggie sausages I.e. the quorn cocktail ones.

And lots of crisps!!

Is it finger food or fork food?

It's both. There will be a few hot dishes available as well as finger foods. There's also going to be soup.

Ooh, I wouldn't be keen on soup at a buffet! Too fiddly and messy, also people can be very particular over what soup they like.

Ooh, I wouldn't be keen on soup at a buffet! Too fiddly and messy, also people can be very particular over what soup they like.

Good points but In my part of Scotland soup is normal and very much welcomed at a buffet. We're a little soup obsessed plus we have some people on textured diets attending who can only have soup, blended foods and ice cream.

jamie oliver giant sausage roll filling is really tasty and vegetarian ....could be made smaller! ... Great breads, italian antipasto...good olives, sun dried toms, artichokes, mozzarella balls'
quality over lots beige bits!
falafal, baba ganoush, tzatiki..large beans,...

There's going to be a lot of people with various disabilities attending so we have a lot of different needs to consider. This thread has been so helpful though.

You’re being really considerate & the buffet sounds like it’s going to be lovely.

As a veggie who hates raw rocket but finds that it ends up in far too many veggie options, I think the make your own salad is a great idea.

Griddled aubergine, with a nice sauce, herbs and/or pomegranate seeds is a fun option for veggies, someone made it at a do recently and it was lush.

Really good signage. I don't want to peer at the pizza to work out if it has meat, or ask my partner to test the pie. Just because you think something is veggie doesn't mean it is (eg pesto is often wrongly labelled, cheese on a platter, Worcestershire sauce in dressings) so check. And fish isn't vegetarian. A lot of vegan things have nuts in so mark that too. And dairy free even if not vegan. And include desserts in labelling.
Also 50% isn't enough, I'd assume meat eaters were 50/50 and then cater for 'special diet' people on top.

Falafels
Houmous
Haloumi kebabs
vegetable samosas/spring rolls
Cheese and onion pasties
Vegetable tarts
Paneer Tikka
Pakoras
Pasta salad
Fatoush salad
Chickpeak and coriander salad
Cheese sambousek

Wedges and dips
Onion rings
Various finger sandwiches, cheese and chutney, pesto (scala do a vegetarian one), egg and cress and cheese sandwiches
Mini vege burgers
Mini pizzas
Bread and butter/dips

*NO fake meat products please
*Please keep the vegetarian food separate from the meat, it so annoying when someone has gone to the effort to provide vegetarian food but I can’t eat it because they have put it next to/touching the meat items.
*Distinct serving spoons for the vegetarian food e.g. green spoons to avoid cross contamination, the meat eaters sometimes use the meat spoon in the vegetarian food

Hummus, Guacamole, crudités, pitta bread, sweet potato bites, vegan sausage rolls.

Everything will be clearly labelled and we'll do everything we can to avoid cross contamination. A few of us(Including me) help to run some themed "cafes" meetups where food is served we have some people with different needs/dietary requirements and one of the hosts has coeliac disease, so we're used to dealing with that but additional tips are still very welcome. You can't be too careful.

I'm not vegetarian but had the most amazing whipped feta and mint dip recently. Definitely recommend (if you're buying stuff then M&S do one or there's loads of online recipes)

What a lovely thread! I'm a long-term veggie and buffet-lover, yet have still had some fab ideas from reading the suggestions.

And yes to the clear labelling. I don't know if it's the law in Scotland, but all catering in England must label for dairy, nuts, gluten and other allergens.

And yes yes yes to the ban on fake meat!!!

Please keep the vegetarian food separate from the meat, it so annoying when someone has gone to the effort to provide vegetarian food but I can’t eat it because they have put it next to/touching the meat items.

see “grazing boards”. 🤮

If it’s possible meat eaters might gobble all the veggie and vegan platters. Radical idea but maybe a 100% veggie and vegan buffet? All the suggestions of good sound amazing.

Falafel, hummus, pitta, veg kebabs and halo uni, Greek salad, Middle Eastern style salads