Restaurant critic Jay Rayner goes vegan for a week

[wildcatstrike]

From what i gather, this guy is notorious for being a bit of a git, but he's giving veganism a go for one week and keeping a diary which, although pretty ghastly in places, gives lots of exposure to veganism :D

He seems to think it is impossible to be vegan and happy - oh how little he knows! Should be interesting!

EDIT - This link is better as it actually works....

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/food/200...egan_hell.html (http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/food/2008/06/my_vegan_hell.html)

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Pix/pictures/2008/06/19/jay372x192.jpg

[nickysr]

just so you know - I am the Nikki he speaks about in the article! Initially when Jay told us about his assignment we were hesitant to be mentioned as we thought this would be another - silly vegans - article but actually he did try hard and I actually think he made some very salient points in the article - his blog is good reading too.

[nickysr]

http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/food/story/0,,2286171,00.html
The article...

[Glossgirl]

Cool :) :)

[emzy1985]

Am I reading the wrong article here guys? He seems really shitty about vegan food.

One of the comments said something along the lines of it driving vegans mad that they added dairy to everything. From what I can gather the commenter was not vegan!

[erfoud]

I very much doubt anyone will be tempted into veganism after reading this diary, as it portrays it as an almost heroic feat, an ordeal not to be reccommended to sane folks. I believe he misses the point completely

[Pilaf]

Indeed.

Vegan is normal. (Love that campaign)

[nickysr]

Am I reading the wrong article here guys? He seems really shitty about vegan food.

One of the comments said something along the lines of it driving vegans mad that they added dairy to everything. From what I can gather the commenter was not vegan!

Hi there - In the article I said the bit about finding it infuriating that dairy crops up in the most unlikely places, cereals, bread, drinks - and I DO find it annoying that milk powder is used willy-nilly in foods that should be vegan naturally....
Jay was using the info he received from myself and my husband - both longtime vegans.
Also it IS harder to be vegan in our society than not - I always have to make that extra effort when going out for meals, travelling, attending events etc...
I am not saying I struggle, actually I eat amazing food 90% of the time - but when I travel on business or even go to a friends house - my quality of food is compromised. I love being vegan but it is not the easy route but the effort is worth it.

[harpy]

I think it's a fair point that manufacturers add dairy produce to foods that needn't include them and that this makes life slightly harder for vegans who are trying to buy manufactured foods - although of course you soon learn which products don't contain them and/or get out of the habit of buying manufactured foods.

However I thought overall the article made veganism out to be a lot more difficult than it really is (for someone that is actually motivated to go vegan, that is, as opposed to a food journalist looking for an "angle" :D ). As one of you said, it's about doing the best you can.

This link to the original article may work now:

http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/food/story/0,,2286171,00.html

[nickysr]

Hi there Harpy - I agree, Jay made rather a 'meal' out of going vegan...
But knowing him and his views, we knew he would find it really difficult as he is such a committed meat eater. We worried that his article was going to be very dismissive about veganism and while it was not a glowing recommendation for it by any means, at least he put in some good facts about the environmental benefits of going vegan.

[harpy]

Hi - Yes, it wasn't as negative as I expected after his Saf review - you must have been a moderating influence :)

Maybe as you have his ear you could suggest he considers mentioning in his reviews whether restaurants have any provision on the menu for vegetarians and/or vegans. It would be great if even one national newspaper would do that, I think. It's so annoying the way they publish these environmental articles advocating eating fewer animal products but then the rest of the publication completely ignores the idea.

[Declan]

Judging from the diary, he doesn't seem to have gone very "Vegan for a week" at all. He lasted five days and even then managed to get shrimp in half way through AND eat beef.
Nickysr, how was the dinner party?

[Ruby Rose]

I don't have much respect for Jay Rayner generally, so I assumed he'd just do a hatchet job on veganism. I think it reinforces our point that veganism isn't a diet - it's a whole way of interacting with the world based on ethic principles - and so it does feel restrictive and difficult if you aren't committed to the principles behind it.

I think he's bloomin' lucky to have vegans as neighbours!

[nickysr]

Nickysr, how was the dinner party?

Hi there - it was probably one of the best meals I have eaten at any dinner party.
Tons of chargrilled asparagus to start (with an asian marinade)
Then a really amazing Thai green curry with baby Aubergines and butternut squash. Then exotic fruit and homemade Chocolate and Hazelnut Biscotti.
Plenty of vegan champagne and wine. Really good food that as Jay said - 'happened to be vegan'.

[Declan]

Mmm, maybe it would have been better to wait until AFTER lunch to read that; I'm drooling at my desk now.