Tesco Doubles Meat-Free Options for Christmas

United Kingdom grocery chain Tesco, the country’s third-largest retailer, announced this week new meatless offerings for the holiday season. In addition to several vegetarian options, Tesco will for the first time sell two all-vegan entreés—a Turmeric Spiced Cauliflower Wellington and a Pecan and Peanut Roast served with maple-roasted carrots and parsnips. The supermarket chain revealed that sales of its vegetarian and vegan offerings have grown by 25 percent in the last year and recently appointed vegan chef Derek Sarno as its director of plant-based innovation to capitalize on the trend. “These are changing times, and vegetable dishes have now become centerpiece heroes in their own right on dinner tables up and down the country,” Sarno said. “This year, Tesco’s Christmas campaign celebrates the many ways we come together at Christmas, and with the quality of vegetarian and vegan food now so good there may even be squabbles across the dinner table over who gets what.” This year, Tesco launched its own private-labeled FreeFrom vegan cheese line, which it has since expanded to include nine vegan products such as blue cheese, jalapeño cheddar, and mozzarella.