Activism

I live in Birmingham (UK), a city whose vegan scene is growing fast. Yesterday I went down to millennium Point to take part in the Fry‘s attempt to break the World Record for the Biggest Vegan BBQ, the #BVQ. When I found out about the event the forecast was for warm sunny days, and it was half term for many schools in Birmingham. So of course what actually happened was rain.

Biggest Vegan BBQ

I am not a great vegan activist in the way many people define activism. My anxiety and general temperament mean I’m not suited for that type of on street confrontation so many people do (and if that is your thing that is brilliant).  I like to think of myself as more of an attractavist. I like to lure people towards veganism with yummy food and compassion. So this event was just the sort of thing I wanted to get involved with.

I headed down first thing eager to be there for the start and see how things progressed. When I arrived it was raining quite a bit but there were a few people milling around. I chatted to a few vegans and vegetarians who had heard about it on social media and come down to join in. Once the food started being served things picked up, builders and students lured by the BBQ fabulous smell and the promise of free food started arriving join the queue.

At first I just chatted with the marketing team but after the first 10 minutes or so I became really curious to see what people (especially the omnivores) thought of the vegan burgers and sausages. So I decided to put on my big girl journalist pants and start “vox-popping” people. I managed to talk to quite a few people in the almost two hours I stayed, there was a really good mix of vegans, veggies and omnivores trying out the food. Overall the feedback was really good. The only negative comment I got was from one of the builders who said the texture was a bit softer than he likes, “it’s more the texture of a medium rare burger, and I like them well done”. I have to admit it did make me chuckle but I just advised him if he did consider trying them at home he could just overcook them by about five minutes to get the firmer texture he likes.

I have known about Fry’s Foods since I was vegan the first time (a time when you could only find them at vegan fairs). And since going vegan this time I have become a big fan of their breaded chicken style burger, it’s really good on a bun with facon, avocado and some lettuce. I also like their nuggets (although I wish they did a battered nugget). However, I had never tried their burger or sausages so this was a perfect opportunity. I really liked the sausage, and it was definitely a sausage not a hot dog. It had a very firm texture and a nice mild savoury flavour. It was really good with the fried onions and condiments. The burger was good too (although I ate all the salad in it while I was queuing for the toppings).

I would definitely recommend the sausages to anyone but as far as the burgers go (although they were very nice) I still prefer the chicken style ones. The Biggest Vegan BBQ was such a great idea for an event. I think so many people are scared of vegan food because of the vegan label. Whereas when they try it they find it’s actually not that different to what they’re used to, it just involves less cruelty. So as a form of outreach I think it really works.

*Apologies for the poor quality images. My camera died, and I am stuck with using my phone……which is also dying.