Community kitchen

The month of November is also World Vegan Month, and after COP27 having been a bit of a cop-out, it’s important to do what we can to halt climate change.

Boomers get a bad rap from Gen Z for not caring about the planet, but research shows that older people are just as likely to support lifestyle changes.

Middletons Mobility found that 36% of people aged 65+ and 34% aged 18-24 would cut out meat and dairy out of their diet to help the environment.

I was sent several popular vegan products to test, and the taste results ranged from the, “Urgh, slimey,” to the, “Blimey, is this meat?”

I gave The Dark Lord two “chicken” sandwiches – one filled with real breast and mayo, and the other The Vegetarian Butcher’s Impeckable Chicken (£3.50) and Hellman’s Vegan Mayo. I didn’t tell her which was which, but she sniffed and nibbled the corner of both, and refused the vegan one because of the “cardboardy smell”.

The Dark Lord does have a very sensitive nose, except when it comes to knowing when it’s time for her to have a shower, but I wasn’t that taken with this breast substitute either.

However TDL happily scoffed The Vegetarian Butcher’s Happy Go Clucky Chicken Burger (£2.75), but then she’d probably eat a slice of carpet if it was breaded and fried.

I added pieces of The Vegetarian Butcher’s

What The Cluck (£3) to a homemade chow mein, and they were indistinguishable from the real thing.

Plus it gets extra points for a funny name.

When it came to the Hellmann’s vegan mayonnaise range (all

£2.15), the Vegan Mayo didn’t score as highly as the Baconnaise Vegan Mayo. The sauce definitely needs added flavour, and while the Garlic Vegan Mayo blew my head off, it did have the added advantage of keeping TDL at a safe distance. I’ve eaten many veggie sausages and they’ve mostly ranged from the too-salty to the totally inedible, but there’s a new vegan sausage on the block. Unlike other vegan offerings, THIS Isn’t Pork Caramelised Onion Sausages (£2.95) actually fry in the pan like normal meat and their texture and taste is about as close as you can get to regular sausages.

I served these with mash, peas and onion gravy to The Dark Lord, and she didn’t bat an eyelid. They’re also cheaper and 75% lower in fat than regular sausages, so these are definitely a swap. Here are our verdicts: Impeckable “Chicken Breasts” (3/5)

Happy Go Clucky Vegan “Chicken Burger” (5/5)

What The Cluck (4/5) Hellman’s Vegan Mayo (3/5) Hellman’s Baconnaise Vegan Mayo (4/5)

Garlic Vegan Mayo (2/5)

THIS Isn’t Pork Caramelised Onion Sausages (5/5)