waffle irons ready for waffle party

I don’t know what an eager waffle iron looks like, but ours are freshly cleaned and seem ready to go. Luckily, I was able to repair one that lost two screws during a very busy day of waffle baking and photo taking a few months ago.

Belgium, Canada, England, Japan, and the U.S. will be having vegan waffle parties going on this weekend, as part of Global Vegan Waffle Party IV. I’m looking very forward to hearing about them, getting some highlights and photos to share, and so on! Lots of fun.

We’re excited to have some newcomers adding to the energy as well as returning hosts from one or more prior years, as can be seen on the finally-updated “past years hosts” page. One of them (other than us) has even participated all four years. In some cases, individuals within the same city or Meetup group have rotated hosting so their area continues to have an event. And some hosts have kindly contributed over multiple years in other ways, e.g., mentioning the event on their blog.

…And perhaps for a vegan waffle party in particular. Thanks to you, The Global Vegan Waffle Party is positioned to make even greater social impact as we enter our fourth season. While it’s still largely underground, several trends may support it in gaining mainstream influence. Since 2008, we’ve observed substantial increases in the following:

Orthogonal mean of annual vegan waffle recipes derivative, controlling for extraneous topping interactions

• recognition of vegan parties and celebrations as a social change tool
• appreciation of the power of a coordinated global or worldwide approach
• popularity of waffles in general (not always vegan—but we hope to leverage this as an opportunity anyway)

In other words, global, vegan, waffles, and parties, in various combinations, are all getting hotter. A few specific examples:

• In 2008-2010, Pittsburgh alone gave birth to three new venues offering vegan waffles some or all of the time: Waffle Shop, Oh Yeah! and Juice Box Café. And some of the waffles have been extremely good. Have new locations sprouted up in your town?
• In spring 2009, Compassion for Animals launched the first Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale, with impressive initial levels of participation.
• In spring 2009, best-selling author Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Vegan Brunch was released the weekend of the Global Vegan Waffle Party. While the book covers many types of delicious and creative dishes, the publisher chose for its cover a stack of vegan waffles and toppings.
• In April 2010, Ithaca, NY, hailed the opening of Waffle Frolic Cafe, inviting customers to “have your very own waffle frolic” or waffle party.
• In June 2010, the same paper that details the stock market also covered waffles. In “These Chefs Take Great Pride in Waffling and Flipping Out,” The Wall Street Journal described the “Waffle Man” and “Pancake Man,” who host large fundraising parties in Nebraska and Iowa.
• In summer 2010, Dave Letterman baked waffles on his show. (If you can get me on his show to demonstrate ones without a ton of butter, let me know. I’d like to see him avoid another multiple bypass!)
• In fall 2010, the Vegetarian Resource Group released Vegans Know How to Party.
• In fall 2010, Alicia Simpson released Quick and Easy Vegan Celebrations.
• Robin Robertson, with nearly 20 vegetarian and vegan cookbooks to her credit, recently renamed her site “Global Vegan Kitchen” and released Party Vegan in fall 2010.
• In November 2010, Rachael Ray Magazine’s blog  featured “Waffles for Lunches, Dinners, Snacks—Oh Yeah, and Breakfast.” (Lots of room for vegan improvements there.) They later reviewed various brands of frozen waffles.
• And of course, The Global Vegan Waffle Cookbook is finally complete after two years of work and helpful input from many of you, with an official publication date of February 2011.

It sounds like it’s the perfect time to take our little global vegan party to the next level! Hopefully our efforts will also help to boost some of the other groovy events and books above, many of which are tied into the same greater causes. It’s not too early to sign up as a host for a 2011 party, and to start spreading the word. (And did I just say, “groovy”? Why, I think I did!)

Oh, and if you’re trying to figure whether the above graph and its caption actually have any meaning, close the calculator and Wikipedia and go bake some vegan waffles.

I offer here suggestions for individuals and organizations  who wish to host relatively high-attendance vegan waffle parties. This is based upon several years of hosting house parties with around 40 guests over a 4- to 5-hour span, in a modestly-sized rowhouse. I decided to post this after a 2010 vegan waffle party host, Cruelty Free WA in Australia, noted that their first-ever party might draw more than 70 people.

premixed wet ingredients for several batches of waffles (great way to reuse soymilk containers)

Remember that a waffle party does not have to be a large event. It can be an intimate gathering of 3 or 4 close friends, relatives, or neighbors; or it can be an energetic spectacle of 100 guests. While it’s always great to connect with more people, the size depends largely on what you enjoy the most, and your own specific purposes for throwing the party. That being said, here are a few pointers to help ensure that you and your guests have a great time while enjoying delicious food:

• Measure out the wet & dry portions of your batters in advance, as shown in the photos. If you’re using more than one recipe, clearly label which bowl of dry goes with which jar of wet ingredients. Then mix the wet and dry portions together shortly before baking. This will save significant time and energy during the event. It’s difficult to focus on things like measuring accurately while you’re chatting it up with interesting guests.
  

  pre-mixed dry waffle ingredients, one bowl corresponding to each jar of wet ingredients (small containers are baking soda for yeast-raised waffles)

  To balance efficiency with waste reduction, I usually mix batches large enough to make 8 waffles–this often means doubling a recipe.  For yeast-raised waffles, you’ll have 3 separate portions: the yeast-raised portion that was left to rise for several hours, the additional liquid ingredients that get added shortly before baking, and the baking powder which doesn’t get dissolved in the liquid until you’re ready to mix the liquid into the yeast-raised portion.
  Unused batches with the wet and dry portions still separate can be stored for later use.

• To estimate the number of waffle makers needed, use 12 waffles per hour per iron as a rough estimate for an average non-industrial waffle maker. This will obviously increase or decrease depending upon how many people are helping with the cooking, and how well you’re working together. Waffles may bake in 3 to 5 minutes, but it also takes a bit of time to pour the batter, get the waffles off the iron, and re-spray the grids with oil. Some irons need a small amount of recharge time between waffles before the “ready” light comes back on.
• Break waffles into quarters before serving. This way, more people can start eating and trying toppings sooner and then come back for seconds, thirds, and so on. This not only keeps hungry guests from having to wait as long before eating anything, but it also gives the earliest guests more opportunity to try some of the toppings that arrive a bit later. (Thanks to Jen for this great suggestion that we now use every year.)
• Try any new recipe at least once before your event.
• Have at least one spare iron on hand in case a “sticking tragedy” temporarily disables one of your irons.
• Minimize traffic passing through the space where you’re baking. For example, if you’re baking waffles in the kitchen, put a cooler with drinks in the dining room.
• Put out both nametags and topping name/ingredient tags, just as you would for a regular potluck.
• If your space or waffle-making capacity is limited, consider having two arrival times with a capped number of attendance slots. For our house party, I set up both 6pm and 8pm “ticket types” through Eventbrite.com, and let people know that I’ll be baking fresh waffles around those times. In between the baking sessions, I take breaks to mingle with guests, sample the various toppings, and help Jen with other host-related duties.

I hope these tips help you on your path to throwing highly enjoyable and successful vegan waffle parties. Happy waffling!

While we cooked up  delicious vegan waffle recipes with tons of toppings at our Pittsburgh party, a number of other cities also joined in on the festivities this year. A few reported back on the highlights.

Jen. C at Devious Soybeans writes,

“The waffle party was a hit. There were 12 of us and we turned it into a brunch thing with mimosas. I made three different kinds of waffles: the yeast ones from your site, chocolate and banana nut. I did a mini post about it here: http://devioussoybeans.com/?p=241 .”

Below is a pic from Jen’s party, posted with her kind permission. (Bigger version on her blog.) They almost look too good to eat!

Vegan waffles from Devious Soybeans party

In Braddock, PA, Jeanine Hall and others held a “Delicious Donations” waffle fundraiser for artistic endeavors, including vegan waffles and toppings among their offerings. She sent a few pics of some very creative vegan waffles baked on a custom-made iron. The pictures were taken by Jenny Fremlin, and the waffle iron was created by Gavin Kenyon. I’m not sure that baking or eating vegan waffles makes me feel like a woman, but I would like to know how the iron was built! Very impressive.

Vegan waffle from a custom-build iron

Vegan waffle from a custom-built iron 2

Christine “Peanut” Vardaros again held a small but authentic Belgian waffle brunch, cooking up some tasty coconut waffles and using some fresh cherries from a backyard tree. If you’re connected with her on Facebook, she’s posted some pics on her page there. She noted, “I gave the leftovers to regular street waffle-eating Belgian relatives here and they all agreed that they were exactly like the street waffle style but much more tasty!”

Elaine Vigneault shared that she threw a small Las Vegas vegan pancake party with Diner Style Pancakes, posting both a pre-party vlog and some pancake pics.

Thanks to all those who reported on their gatherings, and I look forward to more fun in the future! Vegan waffle party wouldn’t exist without your participation.