A vegan trip to the UK

Twice a year we take a try to the UK to visit relatives. First stop after leaving the Eurotunnel is always Sainsburys at Ashford. It's always the final stop on the way home, too. Each time we visit, the range of vegan food has expanded. There’s so much choice and products that we just can’t get in France, or that are difficult to track down. I usually pick up a selection of my favourite brands: Vivera ‘fish’ fillets, Fry’s vegan pasties and sausage rolls, Violife vegan cheese and, of course, a couple of jars of Hellman’s vegannaise. On our trip this time, Mr VV headed off to the freezers to check out the ice cream selection. Wow! It was awesome, so good I took a photo. A big difference to the choice offered in Leclerc.

I know that a lot of plant-food purists eschew what they consider to be ‘processed’ food. However, we’re not averse to a good dose of vegan junk food. That’s not saying we eat meat substitutes every day. I love cooking from scratch and do so regularly, but campervan cooking calls for minimalism and convenience. What’s more, we’re not really opposed to so-called processed food – what does that mean anyway? Once you’ve combined a few raw ingredients in a saucepan or oven, the meal is undergoing a ‘process’. If you look at the ingredients list on many of these products, it might be long but there’s nothing really scary there and many are organic. So, on our hunt for new varieties of vegan foods, on our next supermarket jaunt, I was delighted to spot some ‘Beyond Meat’ Burgers in Tesco.

It’s been a fair few years since we’ve eaten meat, but the Beyond Burger brought the memory of that taste flooding back. In fact, it was almost too meaty. It’s easy to see why the Beyond Burgers are so popular with meat eaters. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Any alternative product that will encourage the carnies to transition to a vegan diet is a good thing. Later, I learned that Beyond Meats were due to launch vegan sausages in Tesco UK just six days after we returned home. Damn! Still, something to look forward to next time. Overall, I preferred Sainsburys over Tesco – we didn’t get to visit any other big supermarkets this time – I thought the vegan range was bigger, and easier to find. I also noted that in the UK fruit and veg is excellent quality and much lower prices (pre-Brexit!), but there is way too much packaging.

We didn’t cook all our own meals in the van, so I did get to try out a few vegan restaurants. First choice on any trip to the UK is always a visit to Wagamama. The first thing that strikes you on entering any UK restaurant is not the fact there is a separate vegan menu (though often there is), it’s the excellent customer service. France still has a lot to learn in this area, and I’m not sure it will ever change. In the UK, the food outlets are all open at times you want to eat, like Sunday evening, and the staff seem genuinely happy to have customers. We’ve never encountered a shrug or a surly face. How great is it to receive the response ‘Great, cool!’ when asking for vegan menus. This trip Waga did not disappoint – oh, except the vegan chocolate torte had sold out (good news for veganism!), so we had to content ourselves with some vegan ice cream back at the van.

A few evenings later we were meeting up with DD after work (another vegan member of the family). I had a craving for vegan pizza, something very difficult to find in France. I’d checked out the menus at Pizza Hut and Pizza Express. Whilst they both had vegan options, only Pizza Express had a separate vegan menu and pretty tempting it looked, too. However, DD suggested taking a look at Zizzi, another chain with a separate vegan menu and some cracking vegan wood-fired oven-baked pizzas. Another super meal with great service, and I even had a large glass of (vegan) red to wash it down.

Since we moved to France, lots more chain restaurants have sprung up in the UK, many offering vegan options. There’s plenty more to try out next time we visit, and I’m sure that in a few months’ time veganism will have progressed even further in the UK. However, for our final meal out we took the in-laws to the village pub. The first time we visited this particular establishment a few years ago the vegan range was quite extensive, with burgers, pasta and puddings. Since then, the pub has changed hands and the vegan selection has been reduced to two choices – butternut risotto – take it or leave it. Despite our disappointment at the lack of burgers, we both enjoyed an enormous bowl of risotto. In fact, one portion would have served both of us, especially as we ordered sides of chips and onion rings. Not quite sophisticated enough to accompany a risotto, but who cares!

Overall, it’s quite apparent that in terms of shopping, eating out and general acceptance of the lifestyle, the UK is far more vegan friendly than France. It would be very easy to live a vegan life in the country. Next time we visit I plan to checkout some different supermarkets like Waitrose and Asda, and also try some of the 100% vegan cafes that have sprung up in the area. Before then though, there’s just time for one last visit to Sainsburys at Ashford before heading for the Tunnel and home.