More plant-based food on menu at Queen’s University

Plant-based diets are on the increase and Queen’s University wants to be ready for it.

A two-day course is currently underway to prepare culinary staff for the challenge.

Nearly 25 campus chefs are receiving hands-on training while looking to refine and add to their individual skill sets.

“We’ve all had training in vegan food before,” said Colin Johnson, a Queen’s University executive chef. “Now it’s stepping it up a notch and focusing on plant-based protein coming up. So we’re trying to get ahead of the trend.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We've all had training in vegan food before," said Colin Johnson, a Queen's University executive chef. "Now it's stepping it up a notch and focusing on plant-based protein coming up. So we're trying to get ahead of the trend."

Wanda White is the point person for the initiative. She’s a former executive operations chef at the University of North Texas where she opened the first 100 per cent plant-based dining hall in North America.

“People think that we opened it up for the vegans, when we actually opened it up, we had more people that just wanted to change their lifestyle and eat healthier than we really did for the vegan population.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "People think that we opened it up for the vegans, when we actually opened it up, we had more people that just wanted to change their lifestyle and eat healthier than we really did for the vegan population."

Queen’s culinary officials say they’re going to incorporate five per cent more vegan items on the menu next year, a case of responding to a demand and changing with the times.