Anyone who thought that following a vegan diet was a passing trend is probably ready to admit that they were mistaken. A recent Mintel* report has found that a quarter of young, British millennials have stated that the recent pandemic has made a vegan diet more appealing. Add to this the record-breaking 500,000** participants of Veganuary 2020, it’s clear to see the potential revenue that caterers can draw by adding vegan dishes to menus – or even creating a vegan menu in its own right.

Vegan catering is no longer a niche nor a speciality – it’s accessible to all caterers and more importantly, consumers expect to see vegan dishes on the menu too.

14 of the 17 Uncle Ben’s and Dolmio Professional cooking sauces are suitable for a vegan diet- making it easier than ever before to cater for free-from diets. 

With 4 cuisines including Italian, Tex-Mex, Oriental and Indian, there’s no limit to how adventurous you can go. Perfect as the main base of a meal – creating curries, noodles, pies, and more – simply choose your sauce, and add protein, carbohydrates and vegetables (all of which are likely already in your kitchen). It’s really easy to start by making simple swaps: turn the Chicken Balti into a Chickpea Balti, surprise customers with BBQ jackfruit tacos instead of their usual beef. 

If you’re stuck for inspiration, the Uncle Ben’s and Dolmio Professional recipe bank contains hundreds of recipes – from vegan and vegetarian, to 2 of your 5 a day or Street Food. So if there’s any sauce left over, there’s never a reason for any to go to waste. Doubling as dipping sauces, sandwich fillings, salad toppings and more, these versatile sauces make vegan cooking fun, delicious and rewarding.

Make your menus as exciting as possible, and remember that not all vegans have the same motivation. In addition to animal welfare, many choose to eat less meat for environmental or health reasons. Whilst Flexitarians may consume the occasional meat-based dish, a vegan or vegetarian dish may be much more appealing- especially if it’s a more ‘healthy’ option.

The Uncle Ben’s and Dolmio Professional range contains no artificial flavours+, colours or preservatives, as well as 10 out of the 17 sauces being low in fat (less than 3g fat per 100g). The tomato-based Dolmio Professional sauces include an average of 75% tomato, whilst a 90g portion of the Dolmio Professional sauces contains one of the recommended five-a-day.

Try it for yourself – choose your sauce and recipe and see how easy it is.

Sources:
*Mintel consumer research, carried among 2,000 British internet users aged +16 between 23rd April – 7th May 2020.
** https://www.totallyveganbuzz.com/news/record-signup-veganuary/
+With the exception of Uncle Ben’s Hickory Smoked BBQ and Uncle Ben’s Texan BBQ