Vegan Chef Gaz Oakley Makes 3-Course Meal Inspired by Ben & Jerry’s Dairy-Free Ice Cream

This month, ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s invited vegan chef Gaz Oakley to create three dishes inspired by its vegan ice cream flavors at the “Non-Dairy Scooper Club” event held at popular restaurant Pike & Pine in Brighton, United Kingdom. According to local media outlet Brighton & Hove Independent, the event commenced with several non-dairy cocktails before Oakley presented his ice cream-inspired creations. For the first course, the chef served the Plantain-Tastic Taco (a homage to Ben & Jerry’s vegan Chunky Monkey flavor) that featured black bean chili stew spiced with bitter cocoa and meaty plantain chunks. The second course was Punchy Peanut, a coconut milk-based pumpkin curry that mimicked the flavors of Ben & Jerry’s PB & Cookies. For dessert, the chef served an ice cream sundae made with the three Ben & Jerry’s vegan flavors available in the United Kingdom (Chunky Monkey, PB & Cookies, and Chocolate Fudge Brownie). In 2016, Ben & Jerry’s debuted its almond milk-based vegan ice cream line—which now includes nine flavors—in the United States and introduced the three flavors featured at the “Non-Dairy Scooper Club” event to the UK in 2017. Oakley is the founder of vegan brand Avant-Garde Vegan and is currently on a UK tour promoting his newest cookbook, Vegan Christmas.