Forgan’s Broughty Ferry received the award for best vegan fish in the UK-wide competition, with other prizes going to big brands such as Tesco, Aldi and Nando’s.
In recent years, Dundee has become a hotspot for vegan eateries, with places like Underdog, Birchwood Emporium and Marwick’s cropping up across the city and various other cafes and restaurants offering extensive vegan menu options.
Earlier this month, PETA (the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals foundation), a UK-based charity dedicated to establishing and protecting the rights of all animals, announced its 2020 vegan food winners, with big brands such as KFC, Richmond Sausages, Nando’s and Aldi all winning awards for their various vegan-inspired products.
However, among the winners was also local restaurant Forgan’s Broughty Ferry, which scooped the accolade for Best Vegan Fish.
General manager Ben Etchels said they had no idea the restaurant had even been considered for the award until the charity announced their winners on Facebook.
Ben said: “We didn’t even enter for the award and apparently we were just picked by PETA out of all the restaurants in the UK. We’re still not sure how we were chosen and whether somebody suggested it who had been to visit us.
“Our vegan fish is a popular dish – we have lots of people coming to try it and most of them say they think it’s brilliant, so someone who had popped in to try it may have recommended us to PETA.
“The dish has been on the menu since just after Christmas. The idea came about as we wanted to have a range of vegan products and that was one where, once we’d tried it, we thought it was brilliant and that’s why we put it on the menu.
Using vegan-friendly batter and “fish” made from a banana-based plant, the dish has proved popular with locals across the city.
Ben said: “We have no idea if anyone else really uses it, to be honest – it’s the first time that I’ve come across it – which is why we’ve put it on our menu.
“The feedback on it has been brilliant so we’ve just kept it as one of our dishes.
“It’s been a popular choice previously and now, ever since we got this award last week, it’s kind of blown up and we’ve had lots of customers coming through the doors to try it.
“We don’t have plans to do any more vegan products at the moment as we’re happy to stick with our ‘vegan fish’ as that’s a bit of a winner, but we’re likely to branch out to other vegan options in the future. Veganism is a growing culture at the minute and it’s something we’ll be looking to build on.”
Other winners at the eight annual awards included Tesco (Best Vegan Range), Pret A Manger (Best Vegan Pastry and Best Vegan Cookie), Subway (Best Vegan Sandwich) and Greggs (Best Vegan Pasty) among other big names.
Further reading…
As Asda opens vegan aisles, these are the Scottish food firms that are blazing a trail
“It’s more difficult to get hold of some foods right now”: How to shop vegan during lockdown
