What Paul McCartney Considers A 'Proper Dinner' After A Show

Paul McCartney has written some of the most intricate bass lines in rock history. But, when this former Beatle is chowing down, he keeps it pretty simple. In an interview with vegetarian activism platform Meat Free Monday (of which he is a co-founder), McCartney shares that he tends to fast on show days, and after the performance is over, he enjoys a "proper" dinner. "Tonight, I'm having a pasta olio — pasta with oil — with little vegetables mixed in. Some broccoli, cauliflower, a bit of carrot, and I think tonight we're going to have a fake 'chicken' patty chopped up into that. So, it's a pasta with fake 'chicken' patty and vegetables," he told the outlet.

Pasta olio is a simple, quintessential Italian pasta comprising long, ribbon-style pasta dressed in olive oil thickened with salt and a bit of starchy pasta water. Typical accouterments include garlic, dried red pepper flakes, and fresh herbs like parsley, all finished with grated Parmesan. In fact, many of the traditional dishes in the "cucina povera" cooking philosophy center on veggies. But, for a pop of plant-based protein, McCartney's tried-and-true after-show dinner adds vegetables and "fake" chicken into the mix. 

McCartney has followed a vegetarian diet since 1975, inspired by animal welfare ethics more than health concerns. As part of his lifetime of animal rights activism, he launched the Meat Free Monday campaign in 2009.

Over the decades, the singer has emerged as a dedicated and vocal advocate for animal welfare rights, championing a vegetarian diet and even partnering with PETA. His first wife, Linda McCartney, even wrote multiple pioneering vegetarian cookbooks, the first of which ("Linda's McCartney's Home Cooking") was published in 1990. In 1991, she launched the meat-free "Linda McCartney Foods" brand to champion vegetarianism. As Paul notes, via The Beatles Story, "Being vegetarian and vegan is so easy now and so rewarding; and Linda was one of the pioneers who led to this." Indeed, like the "chicken" patty he mentions, there are many more meat-alternative options available on the modern market than there were in the 1970s. Although, one of the singer's other go-to meals is an old-school vegetarian classic.

McCartney also names the humble cheese and pickle sandwich as one of his go-tos, a meatless British classic. As he tells Meat Free Monday, immediately after a show, "I get on the tour bus, and before we change back into our 'day clothes' I have a margarita to drink, which is always very welcome! And I have a cheese and pickle sandwich with the English type of pickle: Branston pickle." For the uninitiated, Branston pickles are a longstanding pickled UK staple since 1922, a sweet-tangy and slightly spicy jarred condiment with a toothy crunch: "It's so basic and simple, but it hits the spot!"