Can a life-long omnivore be fooled into eating a vegan burger? OPINION

BBC Radio Solent’s Alun Newman, presenter of the mid-morning show with Lou Hannan, finds himself hoodwinked…
Alun Newman and Lou Hannan host BBC Radio Solent's mid-morning showAlun Newman and Lou Hannan host BBC Radio Solent's mid-morning show
Alun Newman and Lou Hannan host BBC Radio Solent's mid-morning show

The world continues to change at such an exciting speed that I’ve all but given up trying to follow. I have a Facebook account I don't use. I follow one person on Twitter and my wider family have an adults’ Whatsapp group, that if our children knew about, they’d lose the remaining six per cent of respect they currently demonstrate.

I prefer innovation that surprises you. Change when you didn’t even ask for it.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Myself and my right hand woman recently found ourselves at a loose end. We decided we had enough anecdotes between us to go out for lunch without long silences. We passed a rather cool looking garden centre and popped in.

The restaurant was really chic with white walls, retro coloured tables and a joyous atmosphere. Without really processing it I went for a burger with the word ‘pulled’ in it and my date went for a fancy taco with a trendy ‘slaw’.

It was delicious, yet something was awry. Then my wife hit me with, ‘you know this is vegan?’

‘What?!’ I’d been tricked. Not only were we in a vegan restaurant, it was also gluten-free. And I’ve been a strict omnivore all my life.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

My wife laughed and asked the question that all mockers of the new, fast moving food trends fear. ‘Did you enjoy it?’ Actually, yes. I loved it. I tried to think of a comeback, to salvage the fact I had been duped. ‘Ah, that’s why I didn’t see chips on the menu.’ ‘Ummm, chips are vegan’ she replied. I threw a minor man mood then ordered a piece of cake made using courgette rather than butter. I wanted it to be awful. It wasn’t. Tough times.

Related topics: