The recent Come Dine With Me winner and owner of V-EDGE vegan restaurant tells us what it was like to appear on the show
Last bite
When did you go vegan and what inspired you to set up V-EDGE?
I went vegan around eight years ago, and to say it was different is an understatement. At the time, I was working as a chemical engineer and my partner was running a small vegan bakery. Then, like for so many people, the lockdowns came and I suddenly found myself with loads of spare time to experiment. I used my partner’s small bakery and made my first batch of burger ‘meat’. We launched it as a special for collection just as a trial, and then things just rapidly grew. We went from takeaways, to markets and finally our restaurant in Middlesbrough. It’s actually really motivating to look back over the past couple of years.
How did you get picked for Come Dine With Me: The Professionals?
We received a phone call one morning from a number we didn’t recognise and fully expected it to be a scam phone call. When I answered, we were asked if we would be open to participating in Come Dine With Me: The Professionals. Turns out it wasn’t a prank call after all! We then had Zoom meetings with producers and other crew members to make sure we were right for the show.
Tell us about the experience…
I know it sounds like such a cop out, but we genuinely did have so much fun. The crew turned up and made us feel really relaxed. Seeing the restaurant with all of the TV lighting was absolutely wild, even looking back it seems crazy that it happened right here. We met the other contestants, and you know straight away if you’re going to get on. The camera crew essentially filmed our every move, which was really nerve wracking if I’m honest, but we had such a laugh. I even got an accidental catchphrase – Bangin’.
What dishes did you cook for the show?
We decided to cook dishes that best encompassed who we are and what we do, which is to recreate food that you miss. People are really quick to dismiss vegan businesses, especially ones selling our type of food. Everyone assumes that it’s going to be pre-packaged and use no skill at all. We wanted to challenge that. We make everything from scratch, with recipes we’ve w
