A waffle party is a festive and stomach-filling social event where waffles are served, preferably hot off the iron, with delicious toppings. It can be a relatively simple gathering with just a few friends, or it can be an extravagant production with dozens of guests.
The only items needed are a waffle maker, a vegan waffle recipe, waffle making ingredients, and some friends who are willing to bring vegan waffle toppings. Other helpful items are a good appetite, a desire to have fun, and an electrical outlet for plugging in the waffle maker.
We focus specifically on waffles for several reasons:
- Even with excellent resources on delicious vegan cupcakes, cookies, etc., we still have much awareness to build that baked goods can be done without dairy and eggs.
- People often seem particularly surprised when they learn that waffles can be vegan–then it occurs to them that perhaps most other bread products can be, too!
- Waffles are very versatile–they can function as a main course for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner, or as a dessert.
- Waffles are inexpensive and relatively easy to make.
- Asking guests to bring toppings gives them an easy way to participate.
- For non-vegan/vegetarian friends, making a topping can be less intimidating than attempting a full vegan dish, but it still allows them to get involved and share something with you and other guests.
- An array of toppings illustrates that there really are a lot of plant-based food options out there.
- Waffles are fun, and they’re delicious!
The party possibilities are limited only by your imagination:
- You can hold a waffle party at any time of day, for breakfast, brunch, afternoon tea, dinner, or dessert. I haven’t heard of an all-nighter waffle party yet, but why not?
- You can bake relatively plain/neutral waffles, or outside-the-norm waffles with a range of flavorful mix-ins.
- You can provide toppings, or you can ask guests to participate by bringing their own toppings. (We’re always impressed by the vegan toppings that omnivorous, vegetarian, and vegan guests bring.)
- You can bake the waffles or allow guests to experience baking their own fresh waffles.
- Toppings can be sweet, savory, spicy, tangy, or any combination of flavors.
- Your party can revolve around a particular theme or food style, e.g., Caribbean atmosphere and flavors, or it can be more open-ended.
So how did the waffle party originate?
For decades, one of the world’s most fascinating foods, the waffle, was viewed primarily as a breakfast food. In 1998, this misconception ended. In a small apartment in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., creative forces converged around a single waffle iron to catalyze what is now the longest-running annual Waffle Party.
Each year, guests and hosts continued to expand the boundaries of waffle topping possibilities, going far beyond traditional maple syrup. They discovered that waffles can harmonize with ingredients including spices, veggies, curries and tofu. Especially brave guests would bring toppings they had always desired to try on a waffle, but never had mustered the courage to try. In the company of other gastronomic pioneers, they could freely experiment and achieve a new-found culinary nirvana.
In the fall of 2001,we moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. While it is often called “The Steel City,” some now know it as “The Waffle Iron City.” Here, we found a wonderful environment in which to continue the tradition. The hot waffle irons steam on, and will continue with your participation.
In November 2001, responding to a question on the word “waffle,” The Word Detective noted that the earliest known mention of the word in English (1744) includes a “waffle frolic,” apparently an event centered around making and eating waffles. It’s possible that similar events could have appeared even sooner in other parts of the world–all that would have been needed was a fire and a proper mold. Upon discovering this a few years later, we were excited to realize that we may have revived an almost-forgotten festivity.
Around 2005, we put an additional spin on things. For a range of reasons, we began to eliminate animal products from our diets. We held the first fully vegetarian waffle party in 2006, followed by the first vegan waffle party in 2007. Dave began experimenting with a range of tasty vegan waffle recipes, starting with some excellent vegan cookbooks mentioned on this site, and creating some of his own. Your comments and suggestions on them are welcomed.
In 2008, we recognized the potential of the “new and improved” waffle party to create positive change in the world, and decided that one little house party per year just wasn’t enough. We needed the help and energy of others, and the Global Vegan Waffle Party was born.
