If you’re attempting Veganuary for the first time, you’ll find no better champion than Daniel Watkins. “Growing up vegetarian has had a massive influence on my approach to cooking,” the executive chef at Holy Carrot, a plant-based restaurant in Notting Hill, tells me. “I grew up in the Eighties and Nineties, where vegetarian and vegan products were scarce – there was no Quron in sight.” His secret, then? “Highlighting the beauty of the vegetable itself.”
This reverence for vegetables has defined Watkins’ career. He carved his name at Acme Fire Cult, a live-fire cooking concept where embers do the heavy lifting and where, incidentally, “the menu was made up of 60 per cent plant-based dishes”.
