Vegmas: A Plant-Based Christmas Feast By Tesco and Vegan Cooking Influencers, BOSH!

A VERY MERRY VEGMAS:

Scallops made from mushrooms, plant-based pigs in blankets and vegan wine: it’s Christmas dinner as you’ve never seen it before, as Tesco pairs with vegan cooking duo, BOSH!, to present ‘Vegmas’, a special five-course plant-based festive feast designed to help people catering for vegan and vegetarian guests, or looking to add more plants to their table.

Taking place on Tuesday 4 December 2018, the exclusive event will see diners immersed into a clandestine, plant-filled space in the most unlikely of urban environments. Hidden beneath the railway arches in Shoreditch, London, vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike will see nature take over, as they enjoy a plant-based Christmas dinner from a menu specially designed by BOSH! and curated by Tesco Executive Chef, Martyn Lee and Tesco Head of Plant-Based Innovation, Derek Sarno.

Putting plant-based spins on classic festive dishes, guests will enjoy vegan wine and canapés, king oyster mushroom ‘scallops’ to start and vegan ‘bangers in blankets’ as part of their main course. Certain dishes in the menu will also include items from the Tesco vegan Christmas range, such as the Vegan Stuffed Butternut Squash, which is stuffed with a tangy beetroot and apple filling, and topped with crunchy, colourful pumpkin and sunflower seeds – ideal for vegan hosts or those looking to impress guests.

Parts of the menu will even be ‘crowd sourced’, with BOSH!’s 364,000 Instagram followers being asked to vote for the dessert to be served to guests on the night: Christmas-spiced sticky toffee pudding or a mincemeat tart, both served with a luxurious cashew brandy cream.

Britain’s Christmas table is changing rapidly, with more than 11.8 million people in the UK set to cook Christmas dinner for a vegan or vegetarian guest this year[i]. Added to that, searches online for meat-free Christmas recipes have increased eight-fold since 2012[ii]. Tesco Vegmas is designed to inspire people cooking vegan and vegetarian dishes this festive season, showcasing the range of options available for everyone, from novice cooks to competent chefs.

Henry Firth and Ian Theasby, better known as BOSH!, are renowned for their ultra-tasty and super simple plant-based recipes, including crowd-pleasing party pieces, hearty dinners and sumptuous desserts.

Firth, commented: “Christmas dinner is without a doubt our favourite meal of the year. It should be warming, indulgent and exciting. Whether you are a vegan or just fancy trying something different this year, we’ve teamed up with Tesco for Vegmas to create delicious, plant-based, festive food that everyone at the dinner table will be able to enjoy.”

American-born chef and Director of Plant-Based Innovation at Tesco, Derek Sarno, commented: “There has never been a more relevant time for an event like Vegmas, with plant-based eating on the rise in the UK, and many people choosing to eat meat more mindfully each week. Holidays can be a time when already stretched home cooks can feel overwhelmed with cooking for everyone. Vegmas is designed to show how easy Tesco makes it to cater for all dietary needs and add more plants to your holiday tables – whether via easy and impressive pre-prepared items such as the Tesco Vegan Stuffed Butternut Squash centre piece – or by using some recipe inspiration”.

There is a recommended donation of £15[iii] for tickets. All proceeds from ticket sales will go charity partners of Tesco – The Trussell Trust, which supports a network of foodbanks across the UK to provide emergency food to people in crisis and FareShare, who redistribute surplus food to charities that turn into meals.

Tesco Vegmas follows the unprecedented success of the new Tesco plant-based ready-meal range, Wicked Kitchen, which was launched by vegan chef Derek Sarno, and