Veggie Delights

Why Glasgow is the best place to go meat free

In the days of subsistence farming, families would eat meat and poultry as a treat, with some being too poor to afford meat in their diet at all. But as society grew richer and mass production gave us access to cheap and plentiful animal produce we started to consume more meat.

There's been a lot of discussion about the effect that meat consumption has on our health. People now have many reasons for eating less or no meat, other than not being able to afford it – health, moral and environmental concerns are increasingly informing people’s decision to seek nutrients elsewhere.

Tomasz, 13th Note,Glasgow

Tigerlily caught up with two of the best veggie and vegan chefs in the UK, who both agreed that Glasgow is one of the best places to eat out when you aren’t eating meat.

Tomasz is the Head Chef of the vegetarian café, bar and gig venue the 13th Note in Glasgow. Nestled amongst piercing studios, vintage emporiums and guitar shops this place has cool written all over it.

We sit down on some beaten up Chesterfields and I ask him what the most versatile veggie ingredient to cook with is. He says: “Garlic, I’m a garlic fan, garlic and onions. It’s a good way to start off every dish and build from there.”

A lot of people simply eat meat out of habit and inherited wisdom about what constitutes a healthy diet. I ask Tomasz about how people looking to replace meat in their diet make sure they are getting what their bodies need.

Although there may be a growing appetite for meat free fare some people are reluctant to try new foods. The 13th Note is a completely vegetarian place, but that fact isn’t overly advertised. Tomasz speaks to me about his experience of people’s reactions to the bar serving only vegetarian food.

“Lots of people come and don’t even notice, they just taste and enjoy the food. But once we had this girl come in and she said she didn’t want to eat her food because it was vegetarian and she’s not a vegetarian. She didn’t even taste it! People are weird."

Agreeing with what is an empathically true statement, I ask Tomasz what it’s like to be a non-meat eater in Glasgow. His answer will be surprising to some as they think of Glaswegian cuisine more in terms of deep friend pizza than deep fried tofu.

“Glasgow is the best place in the UK to be vegetarian or vegan. It has the biggest concentration of veggie restaurants in the G1, G2 and G3 postcodes."

“Well for protein you are looking for lentils and beans, they have more protein in them than meat. They are also easier for you to digest."

A short walk across town down a non-descript alley lies the completely vegan bar, restaurant and club The Flying Duck. I meet their Head Chef Chris, he shows me the kitchen and we start to talk about their menu and ethos behind serving food completely free from any animal produce.

He says: “The ethos of the company that owns this place is such that we wouldn’t use animal products. It's vegan because the dairy industry is just as cruel as the meat industry."

We then go on to discuss the menu, which by his own admission, isn’t the super healthy type of food normally associated with veganism.

Chris says: “We essentially make vegan junk food, vegan food doesn’t need to be boring. You can have a burger or mac n cheese.”

"Our big Cahuna burger is the best burger I’ve ever eaten. That sounds really big headed, but it’s really meaty and as close to the real thing as you can get.”

So Chris and the Flying Duck’s vegan junk food menu have eating out and hangover cures sorted, but what about eating vegan every day? Tofu and Seitan aren’t on a lot of people’s shopping lists so I ask Chris what is the best way to use them as a substitute for meat.

“Tofu and Seitan have been used as a meat substitute for thousands of years. You can do so much with Tofu, you can scramble it instead of eggs for breakfast, you can smoke it, and marinade it in anything you want.”

Chris also reckons that the number of people not eating meat or dairy products has increased 350% in the last few years.

Whatever your reasons may be for eating less or no meat, according to Tomasz and Chris your diet doesn’t need to be spartan. You can have that sloppy burger or that mac and cheese knowing that it’s 100% guilt and cruelty free.