Check out Stephen Hui, author of Veg Coast, he’s shared his post with us about making restaurants more vegan friendly. I sincerely hope restaurants would listen to him as he makes great valid points. Stephen is a journalist living in Vancouver. He blogs about vegan food on Veg Coast, which launched in October 2012. Please follow Veg Coast on: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Welcome Stephen!
Vegan mini tacos at the Parker, a vegetarian restaurant in Vancouver. (Stephen Hui)
These days, vegan food is more popular than ever. As vegans make up a small fraction of the population, many vegetarians and omnivores are clearly helping drive the trend.
Nevertheless, there’s still a lot of restaurants out there that either don’t cater to vegans (and vegan-food lovers) or don’t do it well. If your eatery is one of them, I’ve put together the following list to help you broaden your customer base.
Here’s 10 different ways you can make your omnivore or vegetarian restaurant more vegan-friendly.
1. Offer more than just a token vegan option
Contrary to popular belief, not all vegans like salad (or subsist on veggie burgers).
2. Label vegan options clearly on the menu
The word vegan or the letter V (defined as meaning “vegan” somewhere on your menu) will do.
3. Say good-bye to vegan options that involve removing ingredients from omnivore or vegetarian dishes
That’s just sad. Instead, you could offer substitutions, such as vegan versions of mayonnaise and bacon, and—even better—dishes that are vegan by default.
4. Don’t charge extra for vegan options
Surcharges for dairy-free cheese and plant milks are the opposite of vegan-friendly.
5. Have a separate vegan menu
Vegans love fully vegan restaurants because they can order anything off the menu. This is the next-best thing.
6. Don’t confuse vegan and gluten-free
For some reason, many restaurants seem to think vegan and gluten-free are the same or related. But they’re entirely different things.
7. Make sure the vegan options are actually vegan
Did you know most margarine isn’t vegan? Meat, fish, eggs, dairy, and honey are definitely not vegan.
8. Keep vegan ingredients in good supply
You always seem to have enough hamburger meat and cow’s milk cheese on hand, so why would you (frequently) run out of vegan cheese and coconut milk ice cream?
9. Test vegan options on omnivores
If they don’t like them, neither will many vegans. Plus, many vegetarians and omnivores, who may observe Meatless Monday or just enjoy the food, will order a great vegan dish.
10. Stop serving foie gras
Even if there’s a separate vegan menu, many vegans won’t dine at any restaurant that serves force-fed duck or goose liver, also known as “torture in a tin”.
