Linda's Veggie Table

On Saturday myself and the lovely Jess from Simply Living Vegan headed into London for our first ever Linda's Veggie Table event. It was an event we'd seen promoted on their social media pages for National Vegetarian Week and we just loved the look of it. As a huge Linda McCartney Foods fan anyway I didn't need much convincing!

The event itself was held at the Oui Rooms in the centre of the West End and I didn't really know what to expect really, other than that we'd be getting to sample some Linda McCartney's food! It was also the day of the Royal Wedding so I felt like we were probably the only ones not watching it but that didn't bother me too much. The sun was shining, the temperature was gorgeous and it was the perfect day to be out and enjoying ourselves! 

Once inside the venue it was time to grab a cocktail and we were met with a whole host of different  delicious canapés. A favourite of mine was definitely the vegan shredded hoisin duck sushi rolls which I sadly didn't get a picture of because I was too overwhelmed with trying to take photos, vlogging and eating! But they were absolutely amazing and prior to this event I'd never tried the shredded duck product before so it's definitely something I will pick up next time I'm at the supermarket.   

Once we'd had some nibbles and settled in it was time to move into the main event room where benches of goodie bags awaited us. Inside the goodie bag was a Linda McCartney apron, wooden salad servers, a £2 off voucher and recipe cards. This was such a nice and welcomed surprise! 

After taking our seats it became clear how the main event would play out. Hosted by a Linda McCartney in house chef and Jay McGuiness from the band The Wanted, the pair proceeded to demonstrate how each of the main taster menu dishes are made. I can't say I'm amazing in the kitchen myself so it was actually quite interesting hearing how the dishes come together and it really gave me food for thought (in more ways than one!).  

The first dish created and served up for us was 'Jay's Miso-Glazed Portobello Mushroom & Vegetarian Beef Wellington' which was served up with a vegan béarnaise and roasted asparagus. I found this dish really interesting because I would have never thought out the box enough to mash up a Linda's burger and create a wellington from it. Such a good idea! And also super easy to make. I would love to make this on a Sunday as part of a roast dinner, it would go down so well.  

Next up the duo made the 'Spinach & Pine Nut Vegetarian Meatballs' which were served with an aubergine caponata and herby lemon Fregola (which, if like me, you don't know what that is - it's like a giant couscous!). This was another delicious dish which I could have easily eaten a lot more of. I also need to get my hands on some of the Fregola because it was so yummy and I can think of lots of nice Summery dishes that would work well with. 

The final dish of the afternoon was the 'Thai Scented Sweetcorn & Vegetarian Pulled Chicken Fritters' which were served with a mango and lime salsa, and ginger and sesame pak choi. It was so interesting seeing some of the Linda's products used in such inventive ways and really made me think that I need to start trying more new things at home like this. These fritters were so good and moreish! 

And the icing on the cake was Jess got to have a photo with Jay! I'm sad to say I didn't really know who he was before this event, and I was never really aware of The Wanted's work, but Jess brought me up to speed and it turns out he's quite a big deal. And a vegetarian! Regardless of all of that, it was lovely to meet him and chat to him after the event.  

I'm so glad we made the effort to go to this event as it was so much fun and a real eye opener to the ways in which Linda McCartney Food's products can be used. All the food was amazing and it was so good to see a tutorial of how everything was made. I'm definitely not going to be afraid to mash up my burgers and make them into something else going forward!