Douglas Orane, chairman and chief executive officer of GraceKennedy, checks his veggie curried mutton. - Photos by Nashauna Drummond

Vegetarians and meat lovers alike can now have the best of both worlds with the launch of GraceKennedy's Earth Chef veggie meals last Sunday at Cable and Wireless Golf Academy, New Kingston.

Meat lovers can eat healthy without missing the taste of meat, while vegetarians can enjoy the taste of meat while remaining true to their 'faith'. Earth Chef comes in three flavours: curried mutton, veggie minced beef and stewed beef. They are 100 per cent meatless, low fat, no cholesterol, easy to prepare and pack more protein than meat.

They are made from texture vegetable protein (TVP), a high-fibre, high-protein meat substitute made from soy flour. The texture is similar to ground meat when cooked and absorbs spices and flavourings well, much like tofu, so it is an extremely versatile staple.

Vegetarians and meat lovers at the launch were anxious to have a sample and to watch the cook prepare the meals. In the first cook-off, Douglas Orane, chairman and chief executive officer of GraceKennedy and Anthony Lawrence, global brand manager, tag teamed Dian Robinson, general manager of National Processors. Robinson held her own with Walcon Austin, executive chef of Grace Foods, lending a helping hand. Robinson prepared veggie minced beef with broccoli, while the 'A team', as they called themselves, did Veggie Curried Mutton.

Easy to prepare

There was no show of culinary skills as Earth Chef veggie meals are very easy to prepare. The second cook-off was between the marketing manager of Grace Foods, Gabrielle Sang, with teammate Latoya Tulloch from Hype TV doing veggie mince beef and beef sauce, and Erwin Burton and vegetarian Karyl Simmons making veggie minced beef with spaghetti.

Tasters said the substitutes tasted like the real thing. Whatever the final verdict, whether you are a vegetarian or a health-conscious person, life just got a little more exciting.

The tag team of Douglas Orane (left) and Global Brand Manager Anthony Lawrence works very well to assemble a finished dish of veggie curried mutton with string beans served with rice. - Photos by Nashauna Drummond

Dian Robinson stir-fries carrots, sweet peppers, tomatoes, onion and broccolli, while chef Walcon Austin makes sure everything else is in place.

Veggie Stewed Beef Soup

Ingredients

1 pack Grace Earth Chef Veggie Stewed Beef

61/2 cups water

11/2tsp salt

1 can Grace coconut milk

1lb yam, cubed

1/2lb dasheen

1/2lb sweet potato, cubed

4 cloves garlic, crushed

4 stalks escallion, crushed

1oz celery, chopped

8oz carrots, diced

2 sprigs thyme

1lb Irish potato, cubed

6 whole okra, sliced

1 whole Scotch bonnet pepper

6 whole pimento berries, crushed

Method

1. In a large pot, bring five cups (1250ml) of water to boil.

2. Add 5ml (tsp) salt, stirring well to dissolve.

3. Pour in Grace coconut milk, stir well and allow to boil for five minutes. Add cubed yam, dasheen and sweet potato. Bring to a boil.

4. Mix in garlic, escallion, celery, carrots and thyme.

5. Dissolve contents of seasoning sachet in 1/4 cup (60ml) of remaining water, pour into pot stirring thoroughly.

6. Stir in cubes of Irish potatoes and Grace Earth Chef Veggie Stewed Beef.

7. Reduce flame, add sliced okras.

8. Remove crushed escallion and thyme and gently put whole scotch bonnet pepper in; stir in pimento berries.

9. Adjust flavour using remaining salt, and thickness using remaining water, if desired. Allow to simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

Serves four to six persons

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Veggie Curried Mutton

Ingredients

1 pack Grace Earth Chef Veggie Curried Mutton

2 cups boiling water

1tbs Grace vegetable oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1tsp ginger, grated

4 stalks escallion, chopped

2 sprigs thyme, chopped

1 whole green Scotch bonnet pepper

8oz carrots, cubed

8oz Irish potato, cubed

8oz onion, diced

1 medium sweep pepper, chopped

3 whole pimento berries, crushed

1tsp salt

Method

1. Place Grace Earth Chef Veggie Curried Mutton in a two (litres/quarts) bowl and pour two cups (500ml) boiling water and leave to rehydrate for five minutes.

2. Sprinkle on the contents of the seasoning sachet, mix well and leave to marinate for five minutes.

3. Heat Grace vegetable oil in a large skillet; add minced garlic and grated ginger and allow to burn for one minute.

4. Add seasoned Grace Earth Chef Veggie Curried Mutton to pot and stir well.

5. Add chopped escallion, thyme and pepper, stir well. Cover and allow to simmer for three minutes.

6. Stir in cubed Irish potatoes and allow to cook for five minutes.

7. Gently fold in diced carrots, onions, sweet pepper and crushed pimento berries. Allow to simmer for an additional two minutes.

8. Remove from flame and serve.

Serves four

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 12-15 minutes

Eating healthy has been kicked up a few notches with the introduction of Grace Foods' Earth Chef.

Left: For curry lovers, veggie curried mutton with string beans served with steam rice. Right: Very easy to prepare and looking so delicious it would make your mouth water, Dian Robinson's veggie minced beef with broccolli.