Q&A: CHEF DAY RADLEY / VEGAN CHEF SCHOOL
Want to cook great vegan meals? Or improve your vegan cooking skills? Then The Vegan Chef School could be the answer, with recipes for every occasion from breakfast to dinner and cakes in between. These are the courses currently offered by The Vegan Chef School.
Vegan Cooking Diploma – everything you need to cook amazing vegan food every day of the week.
Vegan Chef Diploma aka Fast Track Vegan Chef course – online – This is an online course for people who want to move into a career in vegan food. The course has specific start dates throughout the year.
Vegan Chef Diploma aka Fast Track Vegan Chef course – in-person – This course has the same content as the previous course and is taught in North London.
Vegan Nutrition Diploma – This course has been designed for both chefs and home cooks. The course has been developed with a professional Nutritionist from Plant Based Health Professionals UK.
We chat with founder Day Radley, who created The Vegan Chef School to help forward the vegan movement.
What inspired you to set up The Vegan Chef School?
I decided to make vegan cooking my career. But this was in 2010, prior to the meteoric rise of veganism in the UK. When friends heard about my new career they asked who I would cook for, because there were hardly any vegans. But that didn’t matter to me. I had finally found a career with a purpose I believed in, doing something I thoroughly enjoyed. I was aware that my new career choice wouldn’t be easy so I got involved in food in any way that I could. I photographed food, I wrote for a food magazine, I continually developed recipes.
In 2010 I had a photography exhibition at a café. The owner asked me to make cakes and pastries for his café and I happily obliged. I baked all day, at home and I was in heaven!
I adored being a new professional chef. I was paid minimum wage, the work was sweaty and exhausting, my body ached all the time, but I loved it! Over the next year I worked my way up to head chef and then moved abroad to work in Asia and Africa. I launched a vegan restaurant in Kuala Lumpur and worked on a monkey foundation in South Africa.
In 2013 I moved into private chef work. I worked for families, in their homes, creating food for them. For the next five years this was my profession.
It was throughout this time I truly developed my food style. It was a period of great creativity for me, a time where I could experiment with clients giving me feedback.
I have been teaching for several years now. Initially, home cooks and then, with the creation of The Vegan Chef School, aspiring chefs. I know how amazing vegan food can be, how the possibilities are endless, how we are only at the start of developing this ground-breaking world-changing cuisine.
Why Vegan?
I became vegan for animal ethics. In 1995, at age 17, I went to a protest against the live export of veal calves. A protester gave me a flyer that detailed the life of a dairy cow and her calf.
I didn’t realise, until that time, that cows had to be impregnated to produce milk. It had never occurred to me! Once I learnt the suffering and pain caused by the dairy industry, I knew I had to be vegan. It was the only way for my actions to be aligned with my beliefs.
How does following a full or partial vegan diet help the environment, people and wildlife?
A vegan diet is the single biggest way we can reduce our carbon footprint and return land used for animal agricultural back into areas for wildlife. I see the impact on people as having many angles. Eating wholefood plant based is wonderfully healthy, so not just eating a vegan diet but also whole foods that are mainly home cooked. Being vegan makes you pay more attention to what you are eating and, often, it opens us up to a wider variety of foods. Many people find that when they go vegan, they have more food options, not less.
If you want to begin learning how to cook delicious vegan food – where should you start?
With your favourite food!! Start by adapting your favourite non-vegan food with easy swaps. If you do this, you will see that you won’t be ‘missing out’. You should look for easy but effective recipes to make, so you can have some easy wins and no recipe fails.
Every Saturday I make a recipe on Facebook live where viewers cook-along with me. The recipes are always fairly easy to make and you can ask me questions as we cook together. This is a good place to start cooking as you have a pro-chef on hand to help you.
Please can you give us a little taster of the recipes included in your course?
The series of seven Vegan Cooking Diploma are:
Luscious Cakes – Learn how to bake like a demon – egg and dairy free. From simple light sponges to devilish sweet treats. Learn insider tips and tricks for cakes that you will never know are vegan.
One pot dishes – A game changer for anyone who is short on time and wants to eat healthy tasty food every day of the week. Tasty, easy and a way to make sure you are getting your 5 a day at least!
Tasty Tofu – Tofu can be FANTASTIC! A misunderstood high protein, low fat ingredient that is documented dating back 2000 years.
With just a few simple tricks and a handful of great recipes you will be able to make terrific tofu dishes.
Healthy Breakfasts – These powerhouses of nutrition will start your day with a bang and do not take much time to make. Delicious vegan breakfasts that are healthy and will keep you fuller for longer – as well as giving you an energy boost in the morning.
Vegan Cheese – Our simple cheese recipes are a perfect start to delving into the world of vegan cheese. Impress your family with your own vegan ricotta cheese, a tangy stretchy dairy free cheese, a feta cheese and more.
Easy meals – Family friendly recipes that you can make at home with simple ingredients that can be ordered online or found in supermarkets. Chef Day takes you step by step so your meals from scratch can look and taste like they were created in a restaurant.
Delicious Desserts – Effective recipes that teach you how to create perfect puds, mousses and meringues. Desserts are the biggest bugbear of vegans everywhere who are fed up with a fruit salad! These step-by-step recipes show you how to create fantastic dairy and egg free delights.
Your Coconut Raspberry Porridge is my new go-to breakfast – what’s your personal favourite recipe?
It’s so hard for a chef to choose just one favourite recipe! But, the one I make the most often is a one pot chilli. I serve it on tortilla chips with a big dollop of vegan yoghurt. It’s a great meal for film night.
What next for The Vegan Chef School?
We are launching a vegan nutrition diploma which I’ve developed with a nutritionist from Plant Based Health Professionals UK. This is a really exciting course as many chefs are now asked to create recipes and menus that are nutritionally balanced. Ongoing, we will continue to run the online courses and train more people to become vegan chefs.
Where can we find out more?
I have jam packed information on my website with tons of free recipes for everyone to try out. Join me on Facebook for regular Facebook lives as well!
theveganchefschool.com
facebook.com/theveganchefschool
instagram.com/theveganchefschool/