Bad Vegan will see the The Hand and Flowers and Kerridge’s Bar and Grill chef partner with ‘experienced brand creator’ Mark Emms, who has a background in film, music and live event production.
Born out a of a conversation between the pair during lockdown, the new food brand will offer a ‘fundamentally’ vegan menu in a bid to introduce more people to plant-based food but unlike most establishments in the space will also offer non-vegan toppings and sides.
This, the publicity material states, is to cater to people who want to consume more plant-based food but follow a non-vegan diet, with strict kitchen protocols in place to ensure no cross-contamination.
Kerridge - whose The Hand and Flowers, in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, is the only pub in the UK to hold two Michelin stars - has explored plant-based cookery in a number of his top selling cookbooks but it's fair to say his six UK venues put animal products centre stage.
The ‘revolutionary fast-food restaurant’ has taken two of Buck Street Market’s shipping containers, covering 415 sq ft on the top floor of the LabTech- operated eco-conscious food and retail destination.
Set to launch in the summer, the Bad Vegan menu will offer a range of innovative vegan ‘hero’ dishes, alongside vegan shakes and partnership beers with Camden Town Brewery.
“Our principles are simple – we want to encourage people to make small changes to their diet, incorporating more plant-based food,” says Emms.
“We know that a growing number of consumers want to commit to this, but a purely vegan diet isn’t for everyone, so by adding a small amount of non-vegan elements our food retains familiarity whilst being predominantly vegan."
”Buck Street Market, and Camden generally, embraces sustainability like no other destination, so this is the perfect place to build the Bad Vegan brand.”