On August 27, the fourth annual Singapore Vegan Festival will be taking place, as part of the larger Singapore Food Festival, which runs from August 24 to September 11. This year’s full day event organized by veg-focused media and events platform Eat Roam Live will feature culinary masterclasses, panel discussions and workshops, walking food tours, a vegan market and food village, and specially curated restaurant menus— in line with the themes of sustainable, healthy food options, and food innovations for the future. All of the events, with the exception of the food tours, will be taking place at the Raffles City Convention Centre.
Masterclasses
Chef Daniel Chavez, previously at Ola Cocina del Mar, celebrates his Peruvian heritage with his wife and business partner, Mexican-born, Peru-trained Tamara Chavez, at Canchita. For the festival, the couple will be hosting a masterclass on a vegan canchita ceviche made with hearts of palm, cherry tomatoes and avocado, and a causa verde, a Peruvian potato salad with yellow chilli.
Kaesavan, masterchef and owner of Lagnaa, Barefoot Dining, recipient of a Michelin Bib Gourmand, has been championing Indian food traditions, particularly Ayurvedic food, for 30 years. He will be hosting a masterclass on incorporating moringa and other spices in dishes to benefit from the healing properties.
Chef Vincent Wong, plant-based ambassador for Shangri-La Hotels Singapore will be demonstrating how to prepare a watermelon “tuna” sashimi, and the local dessert tau huay with soy panna cotta, passionfruit, Japanese grapes and blue pea elderflower gel.
IT-salesperson turned hawkerpreneur Wayne Tan and partner Agatha Teo run Living Wholesome Vegetarian at Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre and Fortune Centre, known for their variations of the Hakka dish, thunder tea rice (lei cha fan). For their masterclass, they will be showcasing how to prepare it at home.
Malaysia’s pioneering public advocate of plant-based living, performer Davina Goh will be showcasing how to cook a vegan version of the otah-otah, a tribute to her Peranakan roots.
Sydney-based author, recipe developer and plant-based food blogger Cherie Tu will be hosting two masterclasses: a culinary demo on how to prepare BBQ pulled mushroom burger and French toast roll-ups, and a smartphone food photography session, sharing how she creates and captures food images and videos.
Over 25 independent vegan businesses and brands take part in the Vegan Market and Food Village, including artisanal tempeh brand Angie’s Tempeh, Singapore’s first oat milk brand Oatside, and vegan wine company Pure The Winery.
Guests can enjoy and experience products from over 25 vendors this year SINGAPORE VEGAN FESTIVAL
Panel discussions will also take place spanning the themes of sustainability, climate change, food insecurity, human health and animal welfare. Speakers include Dr. Andy Kusumo, founder and CEO of Dynameat (Singapore), Max Rye, co-founder and chief strategist of TurtleTree Labs (US), Mihir Pershad, chief executive officer at Umami Meats (Singapore), Dr. Dalal AlGhawas, program director at Big Idea Ventures (Singapore), and animal rights advocate, lecturer, photojournalist and author Seb Alex (Lebanon).
There will also be a mindful eating workshop with Jolie Michelle Ow, founder of mindfulness centre Canvass Life, and family-friendly workshops like a vegan Ferrero Rocher making class led by raw chef Andrea Lee, a cupcake decorating class by Nikki Bakes, and a talk on the relationship between the planet and the plate by social entrepreneur and educator Ambaree Majumder.
Veg This City, an award-winning food tour agency founded by Eiktha Khemlani, which has been featured in Lonely Planet’s list of Top 10 vegan food tours of the world, will be offering three vegan crawls. On August 28, they will have a Chinatown Breakfast Walk; on September 3, a Banana Leaf Experience; and on September 4, a Peranakan Discovery in the Katong neighborhood.
Outside of the event, participating restaurants Amò by chef Beppe De Vito, Fennel by the owners of Komala Vilas, and Levant rooftop bar will also be offering special plant-based set menus as part of the festival available from August 26 to September 4.