A local small business owner is running vegan cooking courses with the popularity of Veganuary in Jesmond.

Yasmin Alganzoury, who owns her own Egyptian vegan catering and cooking business, Layla’s Kitchen Catering, is running the course.

The course is taking place on the 16th February after being moved until after Veganuary. It will take place between 7-9pm in St George’s Church in Jesmond, and tickets cost £35 per person.

The course is named “It’s All About Cauliflower” and participants will learn how to turn cauliflower into four different vegan dishes: cauliflower tagine, fried cauliflower, cauliflower omelette and salad.

Anyone is welcome to join the course as it is aimed at being beginner friendly.

Alganzoury is launching the first class in February, hoping to capitalise on people’s awareness of a vegan lifestyle for the last month.

“It is all vegan, everything is vegan,” she told JesmondLocal.

Veganism is growing from each Veganuary to the next, according to the organisation that oversees the themed month, with record numbers taking part in 2023. That interest has been mimicked at a local level, Alganzoury explained. “The last year has been really successful. 95% of people who order from me order the dishes as vegan now,” she said. “More and more people are happy to try vegan food.”

All of Layla’s Kitchen’s food is made with quality, healthy vegan ingredients, with Alganzoury claiming she only makes “what I am happy to serve my family on the table”.

The entrepreneur also runs different vegan events throughout the year, catering for different venues in Newcastle such as the Cycle Hub.