Enthusiasm for vegetables among both chefs and consumers is booming. Vegetables are often taking centre stage while meat, if incorporated at all, is playing second fiddle, providing a broth or accentuated garnish. From whole baked cauliflower, to mashed pumpkin spread on sourdough toasts, veg is bringing it's A-game for 2018. It's not just the trendy new bistros and cool-kid cafes that are going full throttle into veg heavy dishes either. McDonalds recently trialled a veggie burger called the McVeggie, which was met with huge social media fanfare and could be rolled out in the very near future. Vegetarianism, as well as veganism, is of huge public interest and with a surge of vegan magazines and recipe columns in the broadsheets, the rise in interest is only set to continue. High street sandwich giant Pret A Manger also trialled a successful vegetarian outlet in London, and are now in the process of rolling out its Veggie Pret sites across London. Meanwhile, the Foxlow, sister restaurant to modern steak institution Hawksmoor, is going completely vegan for the month of November and Pizza Hut has released a pizza made with vegan cheese. Yes, veganism has gone totally mainstream and final highlights worth mentioning are Ben & Jerry's new vegan ice cream, and an almond milk version of Christmas boozy favourite Bailey's. In 2018, we will be hearing a lot more from celebrity chefs about vegan recipes and customers are going to be ever more scrupulous on the makeup of dishes. January and February are notorious for picky eaters and those struggling to cling onto whatever resolution they've just made, but dedicated vegan meals that are innovative, flavourful and most importantly, filling, could very well be a way to capitalise for 2018. (source: Fresh Direct)