A MALVERN kitchen whizz has drawn upon decades of experience to pen her first cook book.
Max Burgess has spent the last year preparing dishes for Veggie Recipes: Traditional Meals Made Vegan which has now been published.
There are more than 70 dishes to try although the 65-year-old from Moatway admitted the shepherd’s pie was probably her favourite.
Max said: “I have been cooking all my life and used to cook with my mom. For years people have been saying I should write a cook book, so I finally decided to do it.”
She said the book was designed to be as user friendly as possible and contained simple recipes with familiar ingredients.
“These days you don’t have to eat meat you can get everything you need from other foods.
“There are so many vegan products now – cheese, ice cream, yogurt even fish’less’ fingers. The book contains particularly easier recipes for those who are thinking about going vegan but do not want to miss out on traditional foods like pizzas or lasagnas.
“It can be daunting for anyone going on a diet if the meals are too complicated or they have not heard of the ingredients.”
Veggie Recipes will be sold at the upcoming Malvern Food Festival for £4.25 with 65p from each sale donated towards animal charities.
Max said she became a vegan around 30 years ago mainly because she is against the killing of animals.
“I used to to work on a farm and saw calves taken away from their mothers hours after they were born. It’s a terrible thing.
“It is horrific to hear cows and their calves call out to each other. People think cows produce milk naturally but they only produce it for their babies like humans.
“A lot of animals are just treated as a commodity. They don’t have a life really. They spend most of it in sheds.”
