I
n justthreeyears, school friends
IanTheasbyand Henry Firth (left)
havegonefrom home cooks to
bestsellingauthors, with two vegan
recipebooksunder their belt –
Bosh!andnowBish Bash Bosh!.
Thevegansuperstars talk
exclusivelytohello!about their passion for
plant-baseddishesandwhat motivated them
tooptfora meat-freelifestyle...Howdidyoutwomeetand what led to your
passionforvegancooking?
Henry:“Wemetat secondary school in
Sheffieldandwerealwaysgood friends. We
bothfoundourselvesmoving to London
at thesametimesowegota place together
withanotherfriend.I wasworking as a digital
creativeandIanwasworking in fashion.
“OneChristmaswewere talking about
NewYearresolutionsandIan decided to do
dryJanuary.Aftertwoweeks I remember
himsaying:‘Thisis prettyeasy. I feel like
I needa biggerchallenge.’ So he decided
togovegetarian.A weeklater he said: ‘I’m
goingtogovegan.’Atthat point I remember
laughingat hima lot.Atthe time I was
alsoona healthkick,going to the gym
andhavinga high-proteindiet with lots of
meat.Towardstheendofthat January we
watcheda documentarycalled Cowspiracy:
The SustainabilitySecret, and neither Ian nor
I haveeatenmeatordairysince.
“Wewerenormalvegans plodding along
withourjobsbutwewerestruggling to find
deliciousveganmealsandfood inspiration
sowestartedcreatingourown dishes and
recipes.Thenwesetupa Facebook page to
shareourrecipesandpretty quickly we had
onemillionfollowers.That was three years
ago and we now
have fans all over
the world.
“The whole
journey has been a
complete whirlwind,
a lot of hard work
and loads of
dedication, but we
are really passionate
about food and
about how reducing
our meat and dairy
consumptioncanhelpsave the planet. And
welovethatwe’rehelpingto inspire so many
peopletobea littlemoremeat-free.”Doesit evergetheatedin the kitchen?
H:“Weliveandworktogether so spend a lot
oftimetogether.We’revery good at being
honestwitheachother.On the whole it’s
reallypeaceful– althoughwe did exchange
somewordsrecentlyoverwhether we should
squasha sausagewitha fork...”
Ian:“Sometimeswe’relike a married couple,
butinsteadofarguingabout the toothpaste,
weargueaboutthesausage.”Telluswhatgaveyoutheinspiration foryour latest book, Bish Bash Bosh!.
H: “Bosh! was about showing how tasty vegan
food can be, taking home-cooked traditional
meals and making them vegan. Bish Bash
Bosh! takes that one step further with slightly
more intricate dishes.
“When Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman
did their 24-hour danceathon for Comic
Relief in March, we took in some of our ‘faux
gras’ and they loved it – Tess didn’t even
realise it was vegan to start with, so we got her
seal of approval.”Actually, many of your dishes are traditional
meat classics, but without the meat...
I: “We love home-cooked food and we really
loved traditional dishes, so what we did was
try to recreate our favourites and remix them
as vegan, which is why there’s shepherd’s pie,
classic lasagne and the curry-house jalfrezi.
“The only thing that is evading us right
now is making a Yorkshire pudding. Being
Yorkshire lads, we are on a mission to create
one that tastes beautiful but so far we haven’t
quite managed it.”Is it expensive to adopt a plant-based diet?
H: “It’s really not expensive eating a vegan
diet – it’s a lot of vegetables, a lot of pulses.
You can get big bags of most pulses and grains
for a couple of quid. And vegetables from a
greengrocer or supermarket are reasonable.
Meat is the most expensive thing. The meat
options are always more expensive than the
vegan options in restaurants, too. If anything,
I’d say you’d save money on a vegan diet.”Ian, which one ingredient could you not
live without?
“There’s something called nutritional yeast
that we refer to as magic dust. It has a really
natural, cheesy taste to it. So you can add it to
plant-based milk to create a cheese sauce, you
can add it to potatoes, pastas or anything you
want a cheesy flavour to. Magic dust can be
your hero.”And Henry, if you had to choose one final
meal, what would it be?
“I tend to eat pretty healthy but if it’s my
last meal ever, it’s going to be anything but.
I’d say a massive seitan burger with vegan hot
sauce, vegan chicken wings and fries – with
a plant-based banana milkshake.
“I’d want this to be with my fiancée Em-J
and I’d want it to be at Wilderness Festival,
which is where I proposed to her. It brings
back a lot of good memories.”What’s next?
I: “We are appearing at food festivals this year,
we’re working on our third book and we’re
also working on a project to encourage more
vegetarian and vegan meals in schools.
“One in ten young people are now living
meat-free, although their food choices in
school are often limited and not very healthy.
That’s something we are really passionate
about changing.”then set aside for about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, peel and thinly slice
the red onions for your gyros. Peel
and grate the garlic. Cut the
mushrooms into 1cm/½in slices.
4. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan
over a medium heat. Add half the
sliced onion and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add the garlic and stir for 2 minutes.
Add the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil, tip
in the mushrooms and stir for 3-4
minutes. Add the red wine vinegar,
oregano, thyme, rosemary, paprika,
sugar and salt; fold together and cook
for 7-8 minutes. Reduce the heat to
low, stirring occasionally.
5. To finish the tzatziki, tip the salted
cucumber on to a clean tea towel,
gather up the edges and twist together
to squeeze out the excess water.
Return the strained cucumber to the
bowl. Cut the lemon in half and
squeeze the juice of one half over the
cucumber, catching any pips. Peel the
garlic and finely grate it into the bowl.
Reserve some dill leaves. Finely chop
the rest and the mint and add to the
bowl. Pour over the coconut yoghurt
and mix everything together. Taste
and season with more lemon juice, if
liked, plus salt and freshly ground
black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
6. Heat a frying pan over a medium
heat. Add the pita breads and warm
for about 1 minute on each side.
7. Lay the squares of parchment
paper on a clean surface and place a
warm pita on each one. Spread with a
generous helping of tzatziki. Top with
shredded lettuce, a few tomato slices
and a serving of the mushroom
mixture. Garnish with red onion
slices and a little dill. Wrap your gyros
in the parachment squares and serve.
‘On the whole it’s
really peaceful,
although we did
exchange some
words recently over
whether we should
squash a sausage
with a fork’