BALLARAT hospitality venues are celebrating International Vegetarian Day by taking part in Plant-A-Palooza, a vegetarian and vegan food festival running until Sunday.<\/p>\n
The Commerce Ballarat and Plate Up Ballarat event has at least 15 eateries on board from Lola, to the Shared Table, to Hop Temple, serving up a variety of creative and delicious plant-based or meat-free dishes.<\/p>\n
CB development and executive assistant, Zoe Becker said the festival is another opportunity to activate the hospitality industry and promote venues that are operating in the challenging COVID climate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a carry-on of all the Plate Up events we\u2019ve been running, and we\u2019ve taken on a lot of feedback from the community about wanting some vegan and vegetarian options,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve made a festival that caters for that, that\u2019s different, and is a bit more diverse in its offerings.\u201d<\/p>\n
The menu currently includes The Gatehouse Ballarat\u2019s cauliflower stew, Mitchell Harris\u2019 kung pao cauliflower, The Tin Roof\u2019s Mexican vegan burger, The Flying Horse Bistro\u2019s mushroom risotto, Drive Caf\u00e9\u2019s tofu scramble, The Boatshed\u2019s vegan toastie, Freight Bar\u2019s cauliflower steak, and Country Casseroles vegetarian lasagne.<\/p>\n
Lola\u2019s Sri Lankan curry, The Shared Table\u2019s mushroom kiev, The Gold House Hotel\u2019s vegan pizza, Azzuri\u2019s pan fried beetroot gnocchi, Schnitz Ballarat\u2019s garden of eden wrap or burger, and the Hop Temple\u2019s nacho mac and cheese are also on offer.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome venues are offering dine-in, but if you can\u2019t get a table, even though the weekend is meant to be nice weather, takeaway is still definitely a good option,\u201d Ms Becker said.<\/p>\n
Plant-A-Palooza runs from today, Thursday, 1 October until Sunday, 4 October.<\/p>\n