A Beyond Fantastic Beyond Meat Launch Party

Last Thursday, an amazing new faux meat company launched their realistic tasting "chicken" at a launch party at the Whole Foods in El Segundo. Since I showed up early, I scored a free glass of wine to accompany the delicious concoctions I was about to try. Luckily, for those who were not one of the first fifty to attend, there was a lovely happy hour at the bar, and beer and wine were only $1.50! This made it easy for refills after the complimentary glass of wine was gone (which was very quickly).

The complimentary food was fantastic. Unfortunately, not all of it was vegan (since real cheese was used), but there were a decent amount of vegan options.

The buffet included a variety of salads, including a sesame "chicken" salad and "chicken" curry salad, the latter being my favorite, as it was so creamy and luscious. There was also a lovely pizza, using a vegan pesto sauce, beyond meat chicken, and Daiya cheese. I was sure to help myself to numerous helpings, until I was stuffed.

There was also a hot bar, featuring the beyond chicken with various Mexican sauces.

Similarly to the faux meat on the salads and pizza, the "chicken" was tough and chewy, perfectly mimicking its non-vegan counterpart. I also like that it didn't have the artificial aftertaste that Gardein has. The sauces on these hot dishes were very spicy and left my mouth with an intense heat.

I cannot wait until Beyond Meat is available everywhere. Currently, it is in the Whole Foods prepared sections and in smaller health food stores. My hope is that the company will continue to develop more products in the future as they have so much potential to take vegan food to a whole new level.