Ground breaking veggie fare at Terre à Terre

Celebrated my partner’s graduation today at one of my favourite vegetarian restaurants, Brighton’s Terre à Terre. This is no po-faced your body is your temple outfit.  It’s about dazzling the taste buds with a veritable ricochet of flavours built around a satisfying ballast which, this lunctime, included Tillington Turners Cheddar soufflé, British pea and parsley pikelets, hot chickpea chubby pancakes, Southern Indian red onion and chilli crumpet and soft buttermilk soaked halloumi dipped in chip shop batter.

How I wish Terre à Terre consulted to airlines and conventional restaurants. They invariably have no idea how to inject flavour into veggie fare  and, just as bad, conflate being veggie with having a pleasure button by-pass.   I’ve lost count of the number of times Michelin starred restaurants have served me chef’s salad followed by a pretty bog standard risotto or, infamously, “pasta in cheese sauce,” just so I understood my place in the food chain.  Notable exceptions I’ve visited are Martin Wishart in Leith (excellent veggie tasting menu) and Van Zellers in Harrogate.  As for airlines, if you want to avoid the marge instead of butter, fruit instead of chocolate or cake scenario, my top tip is to go Asian vegetarian.  At least you’ll  get flavoursome food!