Power plants
Vloggers Henry Firth and Ian Theasby tell PRUDENCE WADE about their mission to make plant-based eating simpler for all
VEGANISM has been on something of a PR rollercoaster in recent years. Not that long ago it was the remit of shoeless hippies then, as it crept closer to the mainstream, it was seized by the young and rich of Instagram.
But why shouldn’t it be for everyone? That’s what Henry Firth and Ian Theasby, the duo behind BOSH!, think. They aren’t here to take down Insta-vegans, nor are they fighting meat-eaters. Instead, they just want to show people that the plant-based lifestyle can be easy, tasty, and totally non-judgemental.
BOSH! started life as a wildly popular online video series, and now the pals and business partners are taking the next step with a cookbook.
Ian became vegan first, and says: “To be honest, it wasn’t easy to begin with, but it has proven to be the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Henry jokes: “I thought it was ridiculous! We were living together at the time and I was eating a lot of meat.
“I remember him cooking these disgraceful curries and telling me they were vegan – they didn’t look appealing at all.”
However, it didn’t take long for Henry to get involved. Like many people, it was a Netflix documentary that changed his mind.
“We watched Cowspiracy together and it was like a switch flipped in my brain,” he says.
The former Sheffield school friends had worked together before, and decided their newest venture would be vegan cooking and so BOSH! was born in 2016.
Unlike many Insta-vegans, the guys are far from militant. “We’re not advocates for the whole world going vegan, we just want people to eat more plants. That’s our message,” Henry states.
Thankfully, they’re not alone in wanting to help give veganism a new name. “I think more and more, it’s fine to be vegan, to have a vegan meal, and to be friends with vegans. Lots of athletes and celebrities are plantbased, like Lewis Hamilton, Miley Cyrus, Serena Williams and Zac Efron,” Henry says.
“I think the fact neither of us are traditionally trained chefs has really resonated with our channel and helped us grow, because it’s what you would call everyday food,” Henry explains. “It’s not some fancy-schmancy salad with quinoa and silly ingredients you can only buy in Wholefoods, it’s just normal food.”
The focus might be on simple staples, but this doesn’t mean BOSH! doesn’t mix it up a bit too. Ian credits his DJ background as inspiration for mashing recipes up – such as their ‘guacaroni’ (guacamole and macaroni) and burrito samosas.
From fish and chips to spaghetti bolognese, the boys want to show that a vegan diet doesn’t mean you have to stop eating your favourites – and neither do you have to go from zero to hero overnight. It’s fine to dip your toes in and find ways that makes plant-based eating work for you.
“Three years ago, we spotted that there was a real problem – people wanted to eat plant-based food but there really wasn’t a decent source of easy-to-follow, hearty, healthy, nice-tasting recipes, and we kind of filled that void,” Henry says.
If you’re interested in giving a plant-based diet a go, but aren’t sure where to start, the Bosh! boys offer this simple advice: “The first question to ask yourself is, ‘How can I get my favourite foods?’
“You want to know what Indian and Chinese food you can eat, or of you want to make lasagne or a roast, how you’re going to do that,” says Henry. “It’s about turning the “meat-eater’s cravings into vegan form”. Sounds good, right?