‘Publishers had a bidding war for my book’

Niki Webster, 46, lives in the West Midlands with her husband, Andy. In 2015, she set up a vegan blog, and 18 months later, Niki quit her job to focus on plant-based recipes full-time.

THE IDEA

I’ve never liked the taste of meat, so my mum gave me my own food budget when I was 13, inviting me to accompany her to the supermarket and buy whatever I wanted. It sparked a love for cooking, as I experimented with interesting ways of preparing vegetables. In early 2014, Andy and I went vegan. By then, I had travelled around India, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, which inspired my

passion for dals

It can take time to make dreams a reality. But if you’re passionate about it, you won’t mind how much effort

it takes. and curries. I worked in food marketing and for years thought it would be fun to start a food blog, but didn’t know how, until I moved into digital marketing. The urge to share my recipes became overwhelming so Andy, a graphic designer, built my website, Rebel Recipes, in 2015.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

I felt so passionate about sharing plantbased recipes, and worked on ideas before work, after work and at weekends. I was slowly gaining momentum when Nigella Lawson featured my Instagram page on #followfriday. I gained thousands of new followers and then won The Soil Association’s Best Organic Blog in 2016. Then 18 months after I’d launched Rebel Recipes, I quit my job to give it everything I possibly could. It was scary, but I built a network of vegan foodies all around the world, and we help and support each other, rather than compete. Instagram, where I shared my recipes with followers, became such a creative place that was full of opportunity.

BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT

My ultimate dream was to release a cookbook, but after a year working with an agent, I was told a vegan cookbook was too niche. I kept building my brand, cooking on retreats and at workshops, and doing content creation. Then, around 2018, veganism exploded in popularity. I approached a literary agent and this time, so many publishers were keen, there was a bidding war. It was the most incredible experience. I was on the way to Wales for a weekend with a friend, my signal kept dropping out, but my agent kept calling with more good news.

overwhelmed I couldn’t speak for two hours. The Rebel Recipes cookbook was published in December 2019 and remains an Amazon bestseller.

STEEPEST LEARNING CURVE

I had to learn how to present my recipes in a way that people found appealing.

I worked really hard to improve, despite not having a proper camera for two years. I managed to get 100,000 followers while taking photos on my phone.

WHERE I AM NOW

In October 2020, I published Be More Vegan, a young person’s guide to going a bit more plant-based. I also host a podcast, What The Focaccia, interviewing inspiring foodies like Melissa Hemsley and Gizzi Erskine. Growing the brand is never ending, but I feel so passionate about plant-based recipes, it never feels like work. >>