A vegan fried chicken shop opened because goodness exists in the world
LONDON -- Ah, fried chicken. It's greasy, it's fried, it's finger lickin' good. But it hasn't exactly been vegan friendly -- until now.
A restaurant serving vegan fried "chicken" opened in London on Saturday, bringing joy and happiness to the lives of myriad city-dwelling vegans. The Temple of Seitan in Hackney, east London, is serving up vegan fried chicken made from seitan, a meat substitute made from gluten.
Co-founder Rebecca McGuinness explained how they are using seitan to replicate chicken. "The fried chicken is made from seitan, we use vital wheat gluten mixed with soy and seasonings to replicate the flavours," said McGuinness.
McGuinness says she's been replicating her favourite "pre-vegan" dishes since she went vegan 10 years ago.
"We found that the seitan chicken we have been making really does taste and have the texture of the real deal," says McGuinness.
"We think it’s important as there is a common misconception that vegans hate the taste of animal products, but this isn’t true. The majority of us go vegan not because we hate the taste of meat, but because we see the important ethical, environmental and health reasons for doing so," McGuinness continues.
McGuinness says that she wants to show non-vegans that you don't have to miss out on your favourite dishes by going vegan. On the menu, vegans will find a mix of "chicken" based dishes, like strips, wings, popcorn-style bites and burgers.
Princes range from £3 ($3.62) and £8 ($9.65) per item.
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
