'Vegan? You mean tree-gan!": Top chef launches new 'tree-based' menu

2023-03-02

Forget the plant-based diet, it’s time to eat trees! Michelin-trained chef offers vegans the chance to go ‘tree-gan’ with tree-based menu of avocado ice cream, tree nut roast and smoked bananas

Chef Kirk Haworth is kicking off his new menu at an event in London next week
The three-course meal has been created using only fruit and nuts grown on trees

A Michelin-trained chef is taking the ethical food-eating fad to the next level – by offering a tree-based menu for foodies to sink their teeth into.

Kirk Haworth, son of the top chef Nigel Haworth, has launched his own ‘tree-gan’ three-course meal in a fresh take on the ‘vegan’ trend.

The 30-year-old cook, who was the first plant-based chef to compete on BBC Two’s Great British Menu, is launching the ‘world-first’ menu at his plant-based restaurant Plates London, next week.

Kirk’s bizarre menu will be kicked off by a starter of avocado leaf mousse, with mandarin, pomegranate and lemon in a savoury-style fruit salad.

For the main course, diners will be able to tuck into a tree nut roast with a chestnut and coffee sauce with smoked banana, followed by a cacao mousse with coconut cream and pistachio ice cream for dessert.

Kirk Haworth (pictured), son of the top chef Nigel Haworth, has launched his own ‘tree-gan’ three-course meal

The menu has been created by using fruit and nuts that grow on trees. The main course (pictured) will be a tree nut roast with a chestnut and coffee sauce with smoked banana

Kirk was diagnosed with lyme disease in 2016, which led to him looking at his lifestyle and fuelled his passion for plant-based grub.

What’s on the whacky ‘tree-gan’ menu?

Starter: Avocado leaf mousse, mandarin, pomegranate and lemon

Main: Tree nut roast, chestnut, coffee, smoked banana and cashew

Dessert: Cacao mousse, sour mango & pistachio ice cream

‘My journey with plant-based cookery began in necessity for my own health,’ he said.

‘Today, seven years later, the journey is as interesting, leading me to now develop the first ever tree-based menu.

‘It showcases the diversity of what trees offer, from coconuts, coffee and avocados to cacao and cashew nuts.

‘It’s been a brilliant way to adapt my skills in the kitchen to bring the versatility of these ingredients in a delicious way to diners.’

The ‘tree-gan’ event will take place on Wednesday, March 8, Untitled Bar, in Dalston, north-east London.

It utilises fruits and nuts that grow from trees and celebrates ‘the beauty of mother nature and the fruits of her work’.

He was commissioned by the digital tree-planting platform Treedom to come up with the new menu.

Anna Weston, head of development UK and Ireland at Treedom, said: ‘Planting trees through our Treedom projects provides so much to the planet, from helping to combat the climate crisis, to empowering local communities to grow their own fruit and tree-based products that can then be sold at markets.

Diners at the event in London will also be able to eat a starter of avocado leaf mousse with mandarin, pomegranate and lemon in a savoury-style fruit salad (pictured)

‘We’re thrilled to be working with Plates London on the first ever tree-based menu to show how valuable trees and the flowers, fruits and seeds that grow on them are to the world in every way. Making small changes, such as eating plant (or tree!) based food, and planting trees, is a simple way that individuals can make a difference to the planet.’

Tickets for the event are available at £50 per head, which includes a beer from Toast Ale.

For every cover that evening, Treedom will plant a tree. Each diner will receive a QR code that they can redeem to plant their own Treedom tree and follow its journey online through a tree diary.

Tickets are first come, first serve. For details, see here.

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