Hayley Clarke with her daughter Milla Clarke-Malfitani, 5, at the Blue Truffle Cafe. Photo Allan Reinikka / The Morning Bulletin

Hayley Clarke with her daughter Milla Clarke-Malfitani, 5, at the Blue Truffle Cafe. Photo Allan Reinikka / The Morning Bulletin Allan Reinikka

COOKING vegan could be considered a chef's worst nightmare, but for Blue Truffle head chef Kiri Vickery, creating tasty vegan food is a challenge she embraces with open arms.

"As a chef, we like to use a lot of butter and eggs, so making vegan food means you have to be a bit more creative," Kiri said.

"It makes you brush up on your skills, and you also have to do more research before making a dish," she added.

Around half of Blue Truffle's clientele are either vegan, vegetarian, gluten intolerant or coeliac, so Kiri has become well versed in making dishes for people with specific dietary requirements.

"We've created quite a market for it here - for vegans we use a lot of raw foods - quinoa salad, coconut water and oil, super foods like kale which is sourced locally - foods which are all trending at the moment," she said.

November is World Vegan Month and on Sunday, bigger city centres around Australia celebrated World Vegan Day, so to mark the occasion, the Blue Truffle team decided to celebrate the event by creating a special menu today.

"I thought I would try making a raw strawberry cheesecake with lots of nuts and things, a raw chocolate slice with goji berries, and we have the forest mushroom risotto as well as Zehnder breads and salads on the menu," Kiri said.

Blue Truffle regular Hayley Clarke will be making her way to her favourite cafe today.

While she is not vegan, the Rockhampton yoga teacher said she was vegetarian, ate minimal animal products and was a "conscious eater".

"I eat vegetarian for health reasons and it's a choice - we've grown up conscious eaters and I eat organic where possible and grow my own vegetables, a few friends and I do vegie swaps," she said.

The self-confessed foodie said she could feel the "soul and passion" there.

Chef Kiri Vickery in the kitchen at the Blue Truffle Cafe. Photo Allan Reinikka / The Morning Bulletin Allan Reinikka

VERY VEGAN

A vegan diet is 100% plant-based. Like lacto-vegetarians, vegans do not eat animal flesh or fish, but they also avoid all other animal products, including dairy products, honey and eggs.

The prevailing principle behind veganism is to oppose all unnecessary violence. Since it is now indisputable that, to varying degrees, animals share most of the emotions that were once considered unique to people, vegans seek compassionate alternatives to the products of animal exploitation in all areas of their life. It is about trying to live without causing harm to other creatures.

Vegans eat pretty much the same as everyone else! For those who like cooking from fresh ingredients, there are delicious recipes available, embracing dietary traditions from around the world. If you prefer convenience foods, simply replace animal products with the many vegan alternatives that are widely available in wholefood stores.

World Vegan Month is from November 1 - 30.