Pics courtesy of club photographer Shane Healey

FOREST GREEN took a break from the title race for a vegan cooking session led by the club’s chef.

Em Franklin taught the players how to make match-day food including Quorn fajitas, Quorn and vegetable skewers, and flat bread.

Forest Green became the world’s first vegan football club in November 2015 led by chairman Dale Vince, who seeks sustainability throughout everything the club does.

Chef Em said: “I find it hard to believe that anyone would ever say that eating vegetables is bad for you.

“There’s lots of protein in these vegetables, it’s not just in meat.

“Peppers are packed with Vitamin C and so are spuds.

“A balanced diet can be achieved by eating the rainbow, providing us with vital trace minerals and vitamins for optimum body health.

“Teaching them has been a thrill, everyone has joined in and made different dishes even when using the same ingredients.

“Knowledge about what they eat is very important, it’s great to see them learn and think ‘well I can do that’.”

Approximately 50 per cent of the food at Forest Green Rovers is also organic.

Striker Christian Doidge the team’s leading goal scorer, added: “It was really good, it’s no secret that Forest Green is a vegan club.

“The chairman wants us all to try it out, it was very fun and it was good team bonding.

“It was a good experience and good to learn about all the vegetables.”

The club have entered into this year¹s British Pie Awards, which take place on Friday, with its popular ŒQ-Pie - a vegan pie made with Quorn and served on a bed of mash potato.

It¹s the first time the club have entered the awards and are hoping to gain recognition for its unique approach to a traditional product on the football match-day menu.

In September 2016, the club won ŒMenu of the Year at the Sport and Leisure Catering Magazine Awards ¬ beating competition from the likes of the Tower of London and Grosvenor Casinos to receive the prestigious prize.

According to the Telegraph, as of May 2016 the number of vegans in Britain has risen by 360 per cent in the past decade, and the Vegan Society say veganism is one of Britain¹s fastest growing lifestyle movements.