The rise of the vegan diet – à la Peninsula

‘If we could live happy, healthy lives without harming others, why wouldn’t we?’ – Edgar’s Mission.

Celebrities are doing it. Athletes are thriving on it. Switched on restaurateurs and café owners are catering for it. Chances are someone you know is into it. It’s the vegan diet and judging by the number of restaurants and cafes on the Mornington Peninsula now offering vegan options and menus, this plant-based diet is growing in popularity here. There’s a ‘Mornington Peninsula Vegans’ Facebook group (more than 540 members) and word is a full vegan café and store is opening soon in Dromana. Frankly Frankston Magazine spoke with three inspiring peninsula locals and a vineyard about all things vegan.

Shani Vetter and Christian Marc

Shani is a personal trainer, a plant-built fitness competitor and owner of Smiling Assassin Fitness in Mornington. Her husband is well-known wedding and portrait photographer Christian Marc, of Christian Marc Photography. The Dromana couple became vegan three and a half years ago. They transitioned together and now share their knowledge and experience to help others transition and learn about sustainability, agriculture and nutrition (Shani even has an Instagram account dedicated to it - @veganfitnessassassin).

Shani was already a pescatorian (seafood but no other animal flesh) for health reasons, but after stumbling on a book about animal cruelty in the meat and dairy industry the pair went vegan and haven’t looked back. “We found the affirmation that we needed that other people were living this way and thriving,” Shani explains.

“When we closed the door to these animal products another opened to other products that we wouldn’t have considered before. Our mindset of our plate changed too. It was no longer about meat and sides, our plates became beautiful with colour.”

Shani has competed, with success, as a vegan in three different natural bodybuilding bikini competitions over the past few years - two in Australia with the International Natural Bodybuilding Association and one in Texas at the Naturally Fit Games where she placed second.  “I was competing alongside a team of 30 to 40-plus vegan athletes all there to show how we thrived on a plant-based diet,” she said.

Christian transitioned to a full vegan diet after years of what he describes as being a “conscious meat eater”. “No one wants to see animals suffer, but when you think you need to eat these things to be happy and healthy, you put it out of your mind. That’s where I was at,” he explains. He meticulously researched the vegan diet and the couple have now connected with many vegans across Melbourne. Both have found plenty of cafes and restaurants on the peninsula offering vegan options. Christian uses the Edgar’s Mission quote (at the top of this piece) to explain why he connects with vegan principles and recommends ‘101 Reasons to Go Vegan’ on YouTube. For vegan-friendly dining they recommend Store Fifteen, The Winey Cow and Thanks Albert Burger Company (chickpea burger) in Mornington; Merchant & Maker in McCrae and Dee’s Kitchen in Dromana, among many.

 Christian Marc Photography

Christian Marc Photography

Yasmin Reldeahcs

Yasmin grew up on a commercial beef farm and has come full circle from watching cattle being trucked off to the abattoir as a child to running a shelter for ex-farm animals in Moorooduc as an adult. The 31-year-old follows a vegan diet but may deviate from it in the interest of waste minimisation and sustainability.

“Growing up for me was being outdoors and spending time with all sorts of animals on a commercial beef cattle farm. I’m so grateful for this upbringing as it helped teach me the importance of respecting life,” she says. Good food, for Yasmin, means organic, cruelty-free and local. “That way everyone is nourished and supported, including the planet, the farmers and the animals.  To be kind to others and the environment is to be kind to ourselves.”

Yasmin has worked with the RSPCA and with countless volunteer groups. She fully funds the rehabilitation of local wildlife and domesticated animals that are injured, orphaned or abandoned. She is also completing a law degree with the aim of being able to help animals and the environment in a greater capacity. Hers is a conscious awareness of food, where it comes from and what is involved in producing it – she is not exclusively vegan or freegan. 

“I just try and do the best I can to make more responsible decisions in my daily life and plan to do a lot more in future. To me this means reducing consumption and suffering, to make use of resources that are already available and would otherwise be rendered waste.”

 Christian Marc Photography

Christian Marc Photography

Port Phillip Estate

This peninsula venue has just been named in The Age Good Food Guide’s ‘Top 10 Melbourne vegan fine dining menus 2016’. It’s a coup for Port Phillip Estate and an indication that this part of the world really is taking the vegan customer seriously. The Good Food Guide describes Port Phillip Estate as an architectural landmark on the Mornington Peninsula that “also puts out the welcome mat to vegans” (aka semolina-dusted soybean fillets with tomato-stuffed zucchini flowers and tapenade). Port Phillip Estate is in rather good company on this list, alongside Australia's most esteemed restaurant, Attica. Head chef Stuart Deller explains: "We take all our customers seriously. Therefore, we place the same amount of importance in sourcing and preparing fruit, vegetables, grains and nuts as we do with animal and seafood products. This allows the kitchen to offer a range of dishes to customers with dietary requirements and preferences."