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The week to give meat its marching orders!
Britain's favourite dishes are all about meat – shepherd's pie, fry-ups, even chicken tikka masala.
But there are almost two million people in the UK who are committed vegetarians, cutting all meat and fish from their diets.
The week is National Vegetarian Week, a celebration of the meat-free diet and an annual event to encourage people to try vegetarianism.
To mark the event The Pheasant in Keyston, the runner-up in Gordon Ramsay's The F Word TV show, is offering a vegetarian menu for the week, using the freshest veggie ingredients.
Diners can choose from dishes including watermelon and feta cheese salad, leek and cheddar cheese tart, gnocchi with tomato, basil and baby artichokes, and linguine with courgettes, mint and pine nuts.
Also taking place in Northamptonshire for National Vegetarian Week is a 'veggie' tasting evening on Friday at the Hind Hotel in Wellingborough.
The event is organised by the new Northants Veggies group.
Jonathan Hornett, of the club, said: "Northants Veggies is a group that was going about 10 years ago but it kind of fizzled out. What I have done is talk to the Vegetarian Society and brought in a lot of other people from around the county and formed a new group under the same name.
"Our aim is to meet every month to do something 'veggie'.We want to promote vegetarianism rather than a campaign against eating meat, like some animal rights groups. The message has got to be positive and about how a vegetarian diet can be for you."
Jonathan has been a vegetarian for more than 20 years. He said: "I've been veggie since I was 11. I used to go gardening with my dad over the fields and there was an abbatoir nearby where they killed pigs.
"I used to hear them screaming all day and I couldn't understand what was worth that pain. It just turned me right off.
"Twenty years ago there wasn't much vegetarian food around but now there are companies like Redwood, which specialise in veggie food. It is a healthy diet. My wife and my kids are all vegetarian and I used to be a good rugby player and being vegetarian never did me any harm.
"But National Vegetarian Week isn't about telling people to give up meat. Just try it and see if it works for you."
National Vegetarian Week is an annual event organised by the Vegetarian Society and this year sponsored by Cauldron Foods, which has been making vegetarian products for 25 years.
Sarah Riddolls of Cauldron said: "With so many people now advocating a vegetarian diet for environmental reasons, it's really important we show people that a meat-free diet can be delicious, varied and inspiring."
Liz O'Neill, of the Vegetarian Society, said: "You don't need to be veggie to enjoy National Vegetarian Week, but you do need to love flavoursome food. Veggie food is different – it's often the cheaper option, the greener option, the healthier option and it's always the best choice if you care about animals. Try being different for a week – it just might be the best choice you ever make."
For more information, including vegetarian recipes, go to www.nationalvegetarianweek.org or call 0161 925 2000.
A vegetarian tasting event will take place at the Hind Hotel in Sheep Street, Wellingborough, on Friday from 8pm.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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