Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Vegan club Rover the moon with TV double
THE first few days of 2019 have seen plenty of businesses launch vegan products. Bakery chain Greggs has garnered plenty of headlines for its vegan sausage roll, but it is no passing fad at one West football club.
The ‘world’s first vegan football club’, Forest Green Rovers, appeared on Channel 4 last night and is set to appear on the BBC this morning to mark the beginning of Veganuary.
The football club, based in Nailsworth in Gloucestershire, took part in Jamie & Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast on Channel 4 last night.
They are due to appear on BBC One’s Saturday Kitchen at 10am today.
Chefs Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty visited The New Lawn in June 2018 for a Channel 4 feature that explores the club’s vegan approach and it was due to be shown at 8pm last night.
Viewers saw Jamie and Jimmy interview Forest Green Rovers chairman Dale Vince before the pair met players and cook with head chef Jade Crawford.
Jade said: “It was a brilliant day hosting Jamie and Jimmy at FGR. I’d only been in the job for a couple of weeks and it was a bit nerve-wracking but Jamie made me feel really comfortable when I was cooking with him.
“Then it was really nice for him to return the favour and cook for us in the pub. To have a famous chef making such good food for us was amazing and it was a great chance for me to get to know Dale, Mark and the players a bit better too.”
Jamie Oliver treated players and staff at Forest Green to a ‘vegan feast’ at The Black Horse Inn in Amberley at the end of his visit to the club.
Forest Green forward Dayle Grubb said: “We spoke with both Jimmy and Jamie. They both seemed really impressed with the way the club is run as a vegan football club and how some of the players have made the transition themselves.
“They were really interested in the impact it had on us as players and also the fans.”
BBC’s weekend cooking show, Saturday Kitchen, visited Forest Green ahead of the club’s game against Tranmere Rovers in October and spoke to Dale, Jade, vegan footballer Reuben Reid and some fans about the club’s approach.
Veganuary is a month dedicated to encouraging people to reduce their consumption of meat products as a way of promoting a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.
A number of studies recently have revealed the impact of industrialised agriculture on the planet.