A talented chef with a passion for vegan food is still buzzing from an unexpected meeting with Gordon Ramsay who tasted her menu and called it 'incredible'.
Zoe Newman who runs Veganatomy, which has an outlet at HWKR Food Market on Gateshead quayside, says "I still can't believe it!", a day on from finding herself sitting down with the star chef when he popped into the adjacent By The River Brew Co. where he is believed to be filming at Trakol restaurant for a new project.
Zoe, who had been busy prepping food there on Wednesday, was invited by Dave Stone, owner of the shipping container set-up, to take the opportunity of meeting the restaurateur and TV star. So she started cooking up some of her specialities - including her trademark vegan sushi platter - before she had time to get nervous.
Read more: See pictures of Gordon Ramsay on Gateshead quayside
"I believe in what I'm making and did it how I normally do it," she said. "But I was a little bit nervous going to meet him.
The Kitchen Nightmares star, however, loved what she made. "He tried the food and said it was incredible," says a delighted Zoe.
"He kept tasting it and got the crew to try it too. He said at first it was beautifully presented and then that the flavours were incredible."
She adds: "When I sat down he started asking questions, and they were really relevant questions, and he put me so much at ease. I was talking about what I was passionate about and I'm confident in what I do.
"It wasn't until I left that I started shaking! I couldn't believe it - it was just amazing and I'm still reeling off it now."
Ramsay's 'development chef' James Petrie, known as Jocky, was there too as Zoe was asked all about where she is from and how she single-handedly runs her business. Ramsay also asked those nearby to be quieter so he could properly listen.
His encouragement has proved a huge boost for Zoe following the hard work and dedication it has taken to make Veganatomy the success it is. Ramsay was interested in her whole life story and the 40-year-old, from the West End of Newcastle, told him how she launched her business in 2020, the month before the pandemic struck.
Having worked on the vegan menus in Ouseburn at The Ship Inn and at Little Green cafe in Sandyford, the chef "wanted to do something for myself", she explains. Previously a vegetarian, she says: "I've always had a passion for vegan food and I've been a vegan for a number of years."
Her plans with Veganatomy - which is 100% vegan - were initially to make street food, with Asian flavours, and by its January 2020 launch, Zoe had plenty summer dates arranged for vegan pop-ups at events including festivals.
Then the pandemic cancelled everything. Having ploughed all her money into her new venture, Zoe says: "I really worried about it. I didn't have any money but I had to move forward."
Stuck at home, she instead focused upon creating graze boxes and sushi platters for delivery. Filled with imaginative flavour combinations and fresh local produce, they were eye-catching and colourful.
And, thanks to her working 12-hour days in her kitchen, the healthy alternative takeaways took off, with a collection service soon following. "It all snowballed," says Zoe.
Her food is for everyone, not just vegans, and she loves to show how the likes of her sushi platter, an alernative to fish, can offer much more than the usual kind of avocado and cucumber combos. And she's keen to showcase local ingredients, such as the micro greens grown on-site in Gateshead, and suppliers like Newcastle-based YMCA Urban Mushrooms.
She runs Veganatomy herself, save for her friend Nathan Wardle who helps deliver the food and her mam Jill who she is always able to rely upon in busy times. Zoe is constantly thinking up new ideas and flavour combinations and says the creating new menus is her favourite part of the business.
"I like to keep busy!" she laughs. "In fact I can't stop." When she shared a post on her Veganatomy Facebook page about her meeting with Ramsay, saying: "Gordon rates my sushi!", she was flooded with messages from wellwishers, delighted that she's being recognised for her vegan food.
Zoe will be making more of it this week at the HWKR market which is open 5pm-10pm on Fridays and from noon at weekends, until around 10pm on Saturday and 6pm on Sunday.
During his North East visit, Ramsay, whose filming project is currently under wraps, was also pictured on Wednesday eating outside Trakol, having dined out the previous night at Indian restaurant Khai Khai across the river in Newcastle.
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