Allergico talks to: Soy Oi

With delicious burgers like the one below, we just had to interview vegan food company Soy Oi.

We caught up with them and found out why vegan food is so important to them and what makes their products so tasty.

Why did you decide to set up Soy Oi?

We decided to set up Soy Oi because people seemed intrigued by the vegan lifestyle and always asked, “what do you eat?” so we thought we would show them. We have always had a passion for cooking and wanted to showcase vegan food to as many people as possible, promoting the lifestyle whilst catering for those who are already veggie and vegan.

Why did you decide to name the business Soy Oi?

The name Soy Oi was completely Paul’s idea. Whilst on a road trip through Europe we were chatting and he used Soy Oi as a play on Oi Oi, (which may be a Midlands expression I’m not sure) It was from there that he suggested it would be a good name for a vegan food business and the rest is history.

What kind of products do you sell?

On our food van we sell our regular classics such as our Bertie burger, hot not dog and classic not dog. During the Winter months we have added some different items such as our pulled ‘no pork’ sandwich with stuffing and apple sauce and our tasty Cowboy Stew, both of which have been received with great reviews. We also like to ensure we offer gluten free options, so our stew and burger are offered as gluten free. We also have a sweet treats option which can be ordered through our website, offering a range of homemade chocolate, biscuits and muffins.

What has been the response to your food?

The response has been amazing. We have had so many people who have been thankful of our presence at events, as usually it can be extremely difficult for vegans/coeliacs to get food at events. What has been amazing is that people who identify as a meat eater have eaten our food and come back to us to express how much they enjoyed our alternatives. This has then sparked discussions whereby people become more interested in this way of life. We have also had massive positive feedback about our sweet treats, especially our gluten free range.

Being a vegan company, your food is naturally free of some major allergens, how does it feel knowing that you're able to accommodate people in this way?

It is a wonderful privilege to be able to advertise our food as free from most allergens. Where we can we try to avoid any allergens, so our Cowboy Stew has zero allergens as does our gluten free burger. Again, we have received such wonderful feedback from our customers. Our range of sweet treats such as our homemade chocolates are free from allergens and has gone down a treat with people who have children who are lactose intolerant. This is something we really pride ourselves on as we love the fact that our food is inclusive.

Christmas can be a tough time for vegans as festive food is often inaccessible, what advice/recommendations can you give to vegans and their families for this time of the year?

Christmas can be tough, however, vegan food is a lot more accessible nowadays than it was even as recent as two years ago. Pretty much all of the major supermarkets are offering vegan options which is amazing. If you do like to cook from scratch and have the time we would highly recommend it, as this is a great way to show your friends and family how explorative the vegan diet is and something family can do together. Recently, we made a beef seitan and it was truly remarkable, even the meat eaters in our family loved it. There are a lot of vegan cookbooks out there now which is also amazing, and a lot of them have wonderful festive recipes, so this may be a good Christmas present. It can be daunting to cook from scratch especially when it’s with ingredients you may never have worked with before, however part of the fun is experimenting. If you are not a vegan but have a family member that is we would say, just be mindful that cross contamination is a big thing for vegans. Making it clear to your family member that you have done everything you can to ensure cross contamination has not occurred and just something as little as reading labels and showing these to the person you are catering for can make them feel much more at ease. It is also important not to completely isolate the person by pointing our regularly and in front of everyone that they have ‘different’ food. It could be a good way to encourage others to try this food also. In regards to other people’s attitudes we know from experience that this can be difficult to tackle during the festive period. We would recommend just answering honestly in regards to your values and reasons for choosing this lifestyle and if people don’t want to engage further that’s their choice.

What's your favourite Christmas food?

Hands down favourite Christmas food is homemade mince pies. We both love them and it’s usually a fight to see who can get to the last one first. They are perfect with a cuppa. Followed a close second by seitan turkey roll from the cookbook Vegan Christmas by Gaz Oakley.

Does your company have any exciting plans for the new year?

We are already booking events for next year which is awesome! We also have a few plans on the back burner such as possible fundraisers and bigger events to showcase the vegan lifestyle. Hopefully our Christmas Fayre this year goes well and we can expand on that further. We are also planning to continue our sweet treats range. We are always experimenting with new recipes for this so watch this space.

You can find out more about future events and how you can buy our sweet treats at www.soyoi. co.uk or on our social media accounts, Insta @ soy_oi_ Facebook @soyoivegan

Where to find Soy Oi this Christmas:

Wylder Green Christmas Fayre Saturday 11th December

FOR OTHER EVENTS CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE