Running on Empty: Vegan Chef Shortage
December 4, 2018

Running on Empty: Vegan Chef Shortage

by lovemevegan

As Veganism is taking the UK by storm, restaurants are left scrambling to find chefs who can provide delectable plant-based meals for patrons looking to avoid animal products. With 7% of Britain identifying as vegan and even more reducing their meat consumption, the culinary industry is ripe for change. But are there enough qualified chefs prepared to meet the demand? As it stands in the UK, the answer is no.
Chefs are being trained as they always have, with no real recognition of changing consumer preferences. Training to become a chef often requires working with meat as a prerequisite to completing the course. This poses an ethical dilemma for vegans: cook meat and become a chef or avoid it and forfeit certification? These requirements speak to how ingrained eating animals is in our society. It is as if to say that food cannot be served or enjoyed if it lacks animal products.
An increasing number of people are debunking this myth, but it must be experienced first hand. For the public to understand that food can be just as delicious without the need for meat, dairy or eggs; they will have to try these dishes themselves. This leads to a catch 22 situation where there are not enough vegan chefs available to create this culinary paradigm shift on a mainstream level. We need qualified chefs to put our best food forward, but are hindered by the outdated assumption that chefs must be trained with meat. Many are on the fence about going vegan and just need a well-made meal to turn the tide. Should we be pressuring culinary establishments to allow people to abstain from working with animal products as part of their certificate? Or should we circumvent these barriers and mentor vegans to master the art of food without animals through apprenticeships? We must pursue both avenues if we wish to meet the insatiable demand for vegan products in the very near future. While there are vegetarian and vegan courses offered by local colleges like George Brown, we require a complete overhaul in thinking when it comes to food. While most consider animal products to be food, those who are awakened to reality see they are a product of violence. No one should be forced to participate in this cycle of cruelty in their career pursuits. While we wait for bureaucratic institutions to catch on to rapidly shifting consumer demand, more trained chefs must be willing to share their knowledge with others. We should be encouraging those who are trained at vegan restaurants to stay in the industry and perhaps open a kitchen of their own. Placing vegan restaurants in small communities, making them accessible by public transportation and reducing the cost to consumers are all ways to make vegan food more appealing to those who have yet to try it. We should also be working to help restaurants transition from meat-centric to plant-based cuisine. While we are trained to see others in our industry as competitors, we have to remember that when we help others makes the switch to veganism, humanity as a whole has something to gain.

14,553 comments