Vegetarians and vegans: What would you like to be served at a wedding?

[VegetarianWedding]

I'm helping to plan a wedding for a friend.

She's going to offer a vegetarian and a vegan option. Two separate meals so that the vegetarians can have dairy and/or egg.

What sort of dishes would you like?

TIA

We're not veggie or vegan but my DS is allergic to (amongst other things) dairy and eggs so he quite often goes for the vegan option if we're out. Can I make a plea re dessert? Quite often a nice meal is let down by the complete lack of a vegan option for dessert, or there only being plain fruit salad. It is true that good vegan cakes etc are harder to make but they are more mainstream than thet used to be, and being able to choose dessert always makes my DS's day!

I think a chocolate coconut pot garnished with berries would be a good dessert.

You can buy them ready made but I think they're just dairy free chocolate, coconut oil and sugar.

I agree about not making the vegetarian options 'healthy' eg wholemeal pasta or pastry, sweet potato instead of ordinary potatoes.

Agree. I am trying to reduce my carb consumption but a day of drinking requires some

One wedding I went to there was 4 hours of canapés and champagne but not one single canapé was vegetarian so I was pickled by the time I got to dinner. I had to pop out (thankfully city centre location) for something to eat after dinner...

I would like a veggie pizza! Bigger the better!

A vegetarian Wellington. I quite like a veggie tart, but I know not everyone does.
A veggie meze plate with nice bread, hummus, cheeses, salads etc?

"Another veggie meal was a square of pastry with a sliced tomato on it. Yes really!"
That doesn t sound good. But a properly made tart with tomatoes, loads of herbs and caramelized onions is a lovely thing.

Now that would be an idea.

Mezze selection so everyone gets a plate with the food nicely presented.

Same base of bread, dips, salads including potato and pulse based ones. Then add a choice of falafel, halloumi or chicken. Maybe put a bit more of the protein options on the table so people can have a mix of all 3.

Same idea would work for tapas style food.

If the meat option is a roast, don’t give me pasta for crying out loud!

Tbh I’m not going to a wedding for the food,so I’ll put up with most things. Most veggie options are pretty poor.

Veggie here:

Personally anything without peppers, mushrooms, aubergines and goat’s cheese.

Maybe a veg & cheese pie
Cheese souffle
A stew served in a loaf (not vey weddingy I accept)

I hate goat’s cheese, it tastes like goats smell. 🤮

I’d be very happy with a roast and all the trimmings, except meat. I love vegan cauliflower cheese with it.

No fake meat!
No bloody mushroom risotto.

This does remind me of my other bug bear which is when the sides are on the table but are not at all appropriate for the vegetarian option.

E.g. the vegetarian option is gnocchi and on the side are roast potatoes

Former vegetarian here, and I don't understand the hatred for mushrooms, lentils and goats cheese. They've been the go-to veggie options for decades because they're generally popular.

Clearly you wont' be able to please everybody. I hate roasts! But then because i am Indian, most weddings I go to have fantastic vegetarian Indian food with not a mushroom in sight.

@Robinbuildsbears , I don't mind mushrooms or lentils but don't see them as fancy. Like others I find that goats cheese smells and tastes goaty.

What I don't like is that someone somewhere decided that all vegetarians like
goats cheese, beetroot, sloppy risotto, butternut squash, mushrooms and sweet potatoes.

If I eat out, usually the menu has one vegetarian option and it will be one of the ones in my list.

I'm another one who doesn't like pastry. Pointless, empty calories and like eating cardboard. A pie or wellington with veg looks like a meal, but really it's a plate of veg. Well made, it's fine but it needs some protein.

I'm not one for carby food - so rice, pasta, and pastry aren't treats. I'm not sure I've tried gnocchi but arancini are barely inedible.

Most of the weddings I've been to, the food was fine. I was hungry and ate it. One or two stand out as being delicious.

Not mushrooms or goats cheese!!! Butternut squash risotto always gets a big thumbs up from me when it’s an option. Stuffed peppers or grilled aubergine type dishes are good too.

Just say no to mushroom risotto!

No to risotto and no to butternut squash.

No, they’ve been the go-to for decades because chefs are lacking in imagination, and wedding guests generally won’t be rude enough tell you if they didn’t like the food.

Agree no fake meat.

Otherwise presumably the caterers will have some set options.

When mass catering you will never please absolutely everyone.

I actually like mushrooms, goats cheese and lentils but I think mushrooms and lentils are hard to cook, especially mushrooms

They've been the go-to veggie options for decades because they're generally popular.
They get eaten because they're usually the only option on a menu. Because they seem to always be on the menu, people think it's what vegetarians want.

The dishes are ones usually made in advance, and a reheated risotto is not going to be good.

There are so many different squashes and many are far more interesting than butternut squash.

Some supermarkets sell vegan/gluten free Lemon Tarts or Salted Caramel and Chocolate Tarts that are absolutely divine - the brand is We Love Cake. Honestly, anyone would love them - with or without dietary restrictions. They are in the freezer aisle(defrost at home). They taste amazing :)