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Guess Who's Coming to Your BBQ Dinner: Top Tips for Making Your Vegetarian Guest Feel at Home

27 June 2016 by Catalina Gomez

There's nothing like the summer for getting together to enjoy a barbie with friends. Anticipating the taste of smoky barbeque-flavoured food is enough to make most people's mouth water. But, what if one of your guests is a vegetarian? Don't panic; this guide will help you ensure your vegetarian guest enjoys the day too.

Don't Cross-Contaminate Food Types

It's not just about the food you serve to your vegetarian guest -- it's also about how you prepare it. A lot of vegetarians will be put off by the idea of their vegetarian food being cooked on a grill that has had meat on it first. You can bypass this by cooking the vegetable dishes you're offering first and then keeping them warm. If this means serving your vegetarian guests first, you may prefer not to do that, so two barbeques would be an ideal solution. You don't need to go out and buy a new barbeque unless you want to. A disposable one will work well if you've only got one vegetarian guest. Alternatively, if you have a large BBQ, separate a place for the veggie dishes to go and don't use that area for meat.

You should also make sure that you use different utensils for the vegetarian food. If you're worried about mixing them up, stick a label around the vegetable utensils' handles so you'll always know what's what.

Meat and Two Veg without the Meat

The perception of most people is that barbeques must include meat. But, there are more things to stick on the barbie than that. "Is it really a BBQ without the meat?" you ask. Of course it is with options like tofu kebabs. Tofu works well -- add tofu squares to skewers with a variety of vegetables for a tasty non-meat alternative. You can replicate this by cooking matching meat dishes using chicken. Your vegetarian guest is likely to appreciate the effort you're going to to make them feel included.

Don't feel concerned about the lack of meat on your guest's plate -- they've made a lifestyle choice not to eat meat and are happy to get a plate of food without it.

Have Plenty of Vegetable Side Dishes

Most side dishes are vegetable and salad based so you won't need to offer different sides for your vegetarian guests. Vegetable sides are a great companion to the meat you're serving to your omnivore guests too.

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