Tofu isn’t something the average person races to buy in the grocery store, but personal chef Cheryl Kerr is encouraging people to give the vegetarian food item a second look.Ms Kerr, aka Sistah Saute, has dedicated her career to making vegetarian meals more appealing to the general public. She hosts community and private cooking classes, caters events and teaches kitchen skills to children at schools and summer camps.With October recognised as World Vegetarian Awareness Month, Ms Kerr sat down with The Royal Gazette to dispel some of the myths surrounding vegetarian cuisine.First up, how to get the bean curd dish on residents’ dinner tables.“Most people run for the hills or panic when they hear the word tofu,” said Ms Kerr. “But what they have to understand is generally everything they hate about tofu is the beautiful thing about it.“The worst thing is the best thing in that it tastes like nothing. It’s so bland in colour and flavour and you can make it taste like anything you want to and it absorbs any flavour you give it.”Ms Kerr has scores of tofu recipes tofu marinated with Italian herbs and seasonings, balsamic dressing and crushed garlic; tofu marinated in soy sauce, ginger, garlic and a Chinese five spice blend.Baking, grilling or pan frying tofu will change the texture, but she encouraged first timers not to eat it straight out of the package.Ms Kerr said she grew up in a vegetarian household, however she wasn’t herself convinced of the importance of a greener lifestyle until college.While taking a meat fabrication course at the Culinary Institute of America, Ms Kerr was shown a documentary about what went on behind the scenes at some meat processing plants.“I will never forget that,” she said. “The person who was narrating the film stated very clearly that the majority of the people that work in meat processing plants didn’t eat meat.“It was a strong statement that he made on the film. Obviously that got me thinking and that’s something that has always stuck with me.”One of her specialities is oat and pecan burgers.“Believe it or not that is one of the most popular recipes I do in my cooking class. It’s usually the one people mash up their face at [before they try it]. We use cooked oats and nuts, garlic, onions, [sweet] peppers and thyme to complete the dish.”The ingredients are combined with liquid to moisten it and them shaped into patties and sautéed in a pan or baked in the oven. “They come out delicious,” she added.Many people believe they can’t get their children to eat a majority fruit and vegetable-based diet.Ms Kerr maintains the key is making the food look appealing and getting children involved in the process.She said: “Children love texture and crunchy foods with vibrant colours. One class I had with very young children we made veggie wraps and laid out all the foods like shredded carrots, little slices of sweet potatoes and lettuce and tomato [on a table].“They got to see the colours, then we talked about each of the different components and discussed what orange, yellow and green foods were good for.“They got to pick each item and put it in their own wrap and they could assemble it for themselves. It was very hands-on and they seem to enjoy food when they can participate in the process.”When it comes to getting meat-loving adults to eat more vegetables, Ms Kerr said she finds grown-ups are to often “set in their ways”.However many of the people that come to her classes realise they need to cut back on meat, including some who have been diagnosed with health issues and know they have to make changes.In those instances she encourages people to start small, by incorporating vegetarian meals into their diet two or three days of the week.She said: “Usually what you find is once they start substituting vegetarian foods they become more and more prone to wean off the meat and incorporate more of the vegetable-based diet.“They are usually surprised that they don’t miss the meat. “Another myth is that switching over to vegetarian based foods is time-consuming and expensive.But Ms Kerr maintains: “It’s not any more expensive to become a vegetarian. If you really think about it, how much is steak or fish per pound? It’s not cheap.“Initially you may look at the price of vegetables, but if you look at how far it will carry you it works out cheaper. Ultimately you pay now or pay later with your health.”For more information telephone 538-5880 or e-mail sistah_saute@hotmail.com.