"Food in the kitchen"

That's a phrase I hear with some regularity at my office. Working in a radio station, one of the perks is that restaurants often bring in food for the airstaff and we get to eat the leftovers. EXCEPT....that food is usually meat, and almost never vegan.  Today it's burgers and fries. Not that it really bothers me that much that everyone else gets free food and I'm left out. Being vegan is my choice, I don't hold it against anyone else.  It just makes me kind of sad and a little sick to see everyone hovering over it like vultures.  I did think that since everyone else was getting a freebie I'd take some company time to blog about it. There. Done.

Vegan Test

I experienced a real test of my resolve as a vegan this past weekend. A friend of ours who is an incredible pastry chef is opening a restaurant in town later this year, and she was having a photo shoot of her creations for their website. Naturally that meant making a lot of food, and I was one of several lucky people invited to help eat the extra.  While most pastries are not vegan,  she tries to cater to all tastes and usually she has vegan options, so I broke one of the cardinal rules of vegan life and I assumed there would be something for me to eat there. And I was pretty darn hungry when I got there at 10am after a 6 mile run and having had nothing to eat yet that day.

After a little while sipping coffee and cocktails, out came a huge platter of cheddar chive scones, chocolate croissants, "egg yummies", pecan rolls and these fruit filled pinwheel things, but nothing vegan yet.  A little later there were assorted sandwiches (meat and cheese). Then squash soup and salad -- yay! Wait, chicken in the salad and cream in the soup. Then there was the cheese course. And for dessert? Chocolate mousse, creme broulee and toffee cakes with ice cream. Yep, nearly 3 hours of gourmet food streaming out of the kitchen, and the only thing vegan were some olives (and some foccacia bread slices that I'm pretty sure were supposed to be just for decoration). 

So how'd I do? Well, maybe I was sufficiently distracted by the cocktails, nice weather and good friends, but I wasn't even tempted to taste any of those non-vegan foods. Since I have decided to be vegan, I find animal products to be no more appetizing than the plates and napkins they share the table with. I guess when you truly change, there is no need for willpower or resolve, the desire just goes away. I'm happy to be at that place. And don't worry, when the restaurant opens there will be vegan options. They weren't on the short list of items that looked the best for the pictures, but I've had her vegan pastries and they lose nothing by being prepared without milk and eggs.