JAM Does a 100% Vegan Wedding Menu!
“Plant-forward” dining may be the most delicious of JAM’s many sustainability initiatives, and nothing is more satisfying than putting on an entirely vegan dinner. That’s what JAM did recently for Katie Colburn and Elian Zanaj at Tyler Arboretum.
Kate and Elian started to go vegan back in 2020, motivated originally by health concerns and also by the The Game Changers, a documentary about professional athletes who’ve given up eating meat.
Awareness of the negative environmental and animal welfare implications of eating meat soon followed, and their decision to go entirely vegan quickly became a done deal.
Like many in pandemic America, Katie and Elian spent a lot of time cooking at home and had plenty of time to experiment with vegan options.
Elian: “It was a nice challenge and we started figuring out how to use all kinds of new spices and other ingredients to build flavor. We started realizing how many great non-meat foods there are out there.”
By the time their wedding rolled around in the spring of 2023, Katie and Elian knew they’d be going vegan there, too.
Katie: “The vegan offerings at wedding dinners can be pretty lame. But we wanted to be able to eat everything at our own wedding. We feel strongly about our choice to be vegan, so we insisted on an all-vegan menu, even though we knew many of our guests might be doubtful about it. In the end, though, everyone was really happy with the food! I don’t know if we won anyone over to the vegan cause, but at least they had a great meal!”
Vietnamese Radish Rolls
Sage Mushroom Tempura Bites
Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower
Hors D’oeuvres
- Mediterranean Harvest Table vegan – grilled, raw, and marinated vegetables, stuffed grape leaves, hummus, baba ghanoush, flatbreads
- Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower – spinach ranch dip
- Jampossible Tiny Burgers – lettuce, special sauce, sesame seed bun
- Vietnamese Radish Rolls – rice paper wrap, daikon, lettuce, mint, cilantro, tamarind dipping sauce
- Patatas Bravas – chipotle aioli
- Butternut Squash Soup Shooters
- Mini Vegan “Crab” Cakes – vegan cajun remoulade
- Avocado & Fennel Tartlets – avocado & fennel salad, mustard emulsion
- Sage Mushroom Tempura Bites – ginger soy dip
- Mini Vegetarian Samosa – mint chutney
- Eggplant Crisps – fried eggplant, whipped cauliflower, tomato confit, mint
- Cantonese Tofu Skewers – orange gochujang, toasted sesame
First Course
- Arugula Salad With Red Peppers & “Ricotta” – grilled red peppers, toasted pignoli, cashew ricotta, lemon vinaigrette
Choice of Entree
- Mushroom Campanelle Pasta – bellflower shaped pasta, wild mushrooms, cashew cream sauce, radish carrot salad
- Hearts-Of-Palm Cake – lentils, tomato-watercress salad, dijon lime vinaigrette
- Artichoke Strudel – artichoke hearts, mushrooms, vegan cheese, baked in golden phyllo pastry
Dessert
- Wedding Cake – vegan lemon pound cake filled with raspberry jam and iced in vegan vanilla buttercream
Late Night Snack
- Hanging Vegan Pretzels – freshly baked “buttered” pretzels, suspended from bent copper, served with salty, sweet, spicy, crunchy, creamy, & savory toppings
Good reasons to go “plant forward” or even full vegan include animal welfare concerns, health and dietary reasons, religious restrictions, and so on.
But there’s also the fact that meat production turns out to be a pretty inefficient use of resources. For example, it takes 13 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of meat! Feed lots cause pollution at the local level. And perhaps most important, cattle grazing contributes profoundly to the increasingly serious problem of global climate change.
The good news is, in the right hands vegan food is just as delicious and satisfying as any animal-based cuisine. Animal-free meat substitutes are now easily available everywhere, and JAM chefs have embraced the rich flavors, ingredients, and techniques of more veggie-centric cuisines from around the world.
Katie and Elijian looked happy all night, all smiles and laughter as they connected with family and friends and danced the night away!
Thank you to the incredible vendors who made this event possible!
Venue: Tyler Arboretum
Catering & Planning: Jeffrey A. Miller Hospitality Group
Photography: Cara Marie Photography
DJ: Terrace DJ
Florist: Valleygreen Florist
Shuttles: King Limo
Hotel: Hilton Garden Inn & Suites Newtown Sq.
