Melissa Blease goes behind the meat-free menu at Demuths Vegetarian Cookery School with Lydia Downey
As Bath’s own green goddess Rachel Demuth recalled on the 25th anniversary of her eponymous, legendary restaurant in 2012: “When I first opened the doors to my bistro in 1987, vegetarians were thought of as weird, brown-sandalled hippies who ate weird, brown, stodgy food.”
Ah yes; many of us remember the lacklustre vegetarian reputation. But Rachel knew that a vast proportion of thoughtfully imaginative foodies were being misrepresented. Back then in the late 80s, only 2% of the UK population defined themselves as being vegetarian, there was a burgeoning interest developing in meat-free menus – and, of the many Bath restaurant institutions, it was Demuths that evolved with the times. It offered its diners a banquet of international inspiration and vibrant, sensual flavours alongside fresh takes on traditional British fare – sans the roast beef, of course. But Rachel’s passions and focus evolved too.
In 2013, she sold her ground-breaking restaurant to her former head chef Richard Buckley (who continues to fly the flag for modern meat-free food at Acorn Vegetarian Kitchen), leaving Rachel free to concentrate on her cookery school, food writing and related projects.
Today, Demuths Vegetarian Cookery School – based in a light, airy former Georgian townhouse on Terrace Walk – offers a curriculum as lively and inspirational as the surroundings, with around 10-18 full, half-day, five-day and evening courses on the curriculum alongside diploma courses and cookery school holidays. Rachel is supported by a team of experienced tutors who specialise in different styles of cuisine headed by lead chef Lydia Downey, who has been at the school for three years having spent the previous quarter of a century honing her skills in cafés, a delicatessen and several bakeries.
Lydia says: “Growing up vegetarian meant tucking into endless nut roasts which, though tasty, weren’t particularly exciting. But engaging with my own heritage as my career developed has changed all that. I’m half-Chinese, so I specialise in Chinese cooking and baking, and I love to cook the food I grew up eating – I like to think I’ve inherited my mum’s skills.”
Growing up in Leicester has had an impact on Lydia’s larder too. “After Chinese food, my favourite food is definitely Indian. Where I grew up, I was lucky to have access to the most fantastic authentic ingredients, and I still probably make a curry at home at least once a week. But if I had to choose a personal signature dish, I guess it’d have to be tofu with peppers and black bean sauce. It’s wallet-friendly, incredibly simple to make and just so, so delicious, whether you’re vegetarian or not”.
Vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian – these days, personal dietary definitions are a moveable feast without regimented diktat. The Meat Free Mondays campaign is trending at a pace, while a recent survey conducted by market research experts Mintel estimated that while 12% of us eschew meat and fish altogether, thousands more identify themselves as flexitarian, which means substantially cutting back on the amount of meat they eat.
What does Lydia think has been the main motivation behind the increase of people avoiding meat and animal by-products? “Largely thanks to the internet, TV, press and media we’re all more aware of how mass food production works, and affects our health and the environment,” she says. “As a result, the majority of people coming to the cookery school now are meat eaters who want to reduce the amount of meat they consume while increasing their intake of vegetables and pulses. But we’ve also seen a huge rise in demand for vegan classes as more and more people are choosing to give up not only meat but also dairy products, for health and ethical reasons.”
In keeping with current inclinations, Lydia opts to buy local, organic and seasonal produce wherever possible, and takes issue with supermarkets for offering largely only perfect, unblemished and evenly sized fruit and vegetables. “On a recent holiday in Italy, I found it really refreshing to see that all the produce in the shops is locally grown and shoppers aren’t bothered by so-called imperfect or ugly fruit and vegetables – only buying fresh food that looks right is such a ridiculous notion, and a trend that we can all do without.” But while faddish behaviour may annoy her, Lydia makes no bones about being addicted to Instagram in order to keep up with what other cooks, chefs, food stylists and food writers are inspired by.
“I’m also a very grounded, realistic cook, though, so I do find some food fashions a bit ridiculous, and sometimes even worrying – the whole clean eating buzz is just not my thing at all. But I love to see food being developed in a clever, creative way – aquafaba (bean water used in vegan baking), for example, has been revolutionary for me, and very exciting.”
Ah, exciting: it’s a word that was rarelyused about vegetarian food. But at this time of the year, when so much talk revolves around gobbling up turkey and so many menus are dominated by meaty treats, can Lydia offer us a little bit of face-free razzle dazzle?
“Vegetable side dishes have always excited me. It’s hard to beat a plate of colourful, well-cooked seasonal vegetables – simple as that,” says Lydia. “But for a special vegetarian centrepiece for a celebratory dinner, I like to make a filo pie stuffed with a mix of vegetables combined with chickpeas or lentils and bulgar. I use vegetables that won’t clash with the traditional Christmas dishes such as roast potatoes; spiced, glazed carrots; honey roasted parsnips etc, so a Mediterranean theme of peppers, aubergines, courgettes and tomatoes always works well. You’ve got lots of flavours going on, but it’s simple and easy to prepare in advance.”
Lydia is keen to solve our Christmas gifting conundrums as well as our festive menus, by suggesting a cookery school voucher as a present.
She says: “There are so many cookery programmes on TV lately where everything that’s shown is perfect, but it’s usually all cooked by skilled chefs, which may be thoroughly tantalising, but where do we actually learn how to do it ourselves? We teach home cooks everything from basic skills upwards in a range of themes and cuisine styles, from simple courses such as Fast and Delicious to special interest courses, in a very hands-on environment.
“We aim to encourage everybody, whether beginners or veterans, to gain confidence in their cooking and use a greater range of ingredients. I like to help people to be brave and more creative with flavours, and I particularly love it when someone comes up to me at the end of a class to say how inspired they are as a result of attending the class.”
New year, new you. Maybe it’s time for a few less beefy menus at home? In 2017, I’m going back to school with Lydia.
Demuths Vegetarian Cookery School, 6 Terrace Walk, Bath BA1 1LN. Tel: 01225 427938; web: demuths.co.uk.
Main image: Lydia cooking with her mother
The post Behind the menu: Demuths Vegetarian Cookery School appeared first on The Bath Magazine.