We spoke to the chef turned cookbook author and YouTube star Gaz Oakley about his early food memories and why he loves challenging vegan stereotypes.
For the last two years, Gaz Oakley has run blog and YouTube channel Avant-Garde Vegan, sharing his creative plant-based recipes. Cooking everything from family favourites to takeaway classics, Gaz’s recipes are as varied as his culinary background. Oakley tells us about his fine-dining career, his decision to become vegan and his favourite ingredients.
Plating up food was a way to express my creative side
My dad Doug cooked fresh meals at home every night when I was growing up. It was lots of simple stuff and lots of Italian pasta dishes – I think my dad had a thing for Jamie Oliver. Even as a young kid, I would be in the kitchen helping him. I loved art at school so experimenting in the kitchen and plating up the food in a creative way helped me express my artistic side.
When I was 15 years-old, I did my first work experience placement at a hotel restaurant in Cardiff and it encouraged me to start taking things seriously. I fell in love with the adrenaline rush of the kitchen and being able to let out my creativity – presenting food with flare was my thing.
I quit school at 16 and started cooking full-time. I was ready to soak up all the knowledge I could and progress. I went to work at Le Gallois, a renowned fine-dining restaurant at the time.
I lasted a year there but it felt more like five. I was constantly doing five or six day weeks, working around 80 hours. It was a lot to endure at 17 years-old and I'd never realised how demanding kitchens could be. I left cooking and lost my passion for food for a while.
Going vegan helped me fall back in love with cooking
With a lot more free time on my hands in a 9-5 job, I started going to the gym and eating a protein-rich diet. I was eating these dishes full of meat, fish and dairy but I didn’t feel good. Three years ago, literally overnight, I went vegan.
Experimenting with new flavour combinations reignited my passion for food. My friends encouraged me to upload my dishes to Instagram and now I’m so happy to be cooking again. I’m extremely fortunate to be in this position so I want to use it for something valuable and worthwhile.
Challenging people’s views on veganism and what a vegan diet looks like, is something I do a lot on my YouTube channel. I think there's a stereotype of vegan food being bland and boring, even though there are some amazing vegan chefs out there.
Vegan doesn’t mean boring or expensive
Before going vegan, I ate a traditional meat-heavy diet like many people in Britain. At first I thought that my new diet would be filled with lettuce leaves but, thanks to my chef training, I tried out different techniques on new, exciting ingredients and came up with creative flavour combinations.
Veganism isn't expensive. Before going vegan, the most expensive thing in my shopping basket was meat. Now I’ve replaced it with things like nuts and tofu, which are cheaper. And if you think about the staple vegan ingredients – beans, pulses, pasta, rice – they’re all less expensive than meat.
Everyone has to find their own motivation
As humans we tend to stick to what we know. My reasons for being a vegan are animal cruelty, environmental issues and my health but this formula might not work for everyone. If you don’t have a real motivation to do something in your life, it’s very easy to slip up. We’re not aware of a lot of issues that are going on in the farming industry.
A varied vegan diet is important because you can’t live off chips and you don’t have to stick only to tofu. Thanks to websites and blogs, we're not short on resources and opportunities to learn and better ourselves. You just have to have the motivation.
I love recreating classics and surprising people
Drastically changing the food that you’ve eaten for more than twenty, thirty of forty years is never going to be easy. You’re accustomed to strong, bold flavours of meat that you can’t really get from vegan ingredients. Missing things like fry-ups or a grilled steak encouraged me to experiment. Vegan flame-grilled steak and streaky bacon are both recipes that my audience has responded to really well.
I hope that I inspire at least one non-vegan to go vegan because I’ve shown them that you can still enjoy the flavour of a steak or fried chicken as part of a vegan diet.
Five final questions
Favourite ingredients to cook with: Butternut squash and miso. I have to have miso in my kitchen as it helps add bold, strong umami flavours which very often you don’t get from vegan ingredients.
Best thing to cook for a vegan: Keep it simple with bean burgers, chickpea falafel or a simple yet flavoursome pasta with a silky tomato sauce.
Signature dish: It has to be barbecue ribs (obviously a vegan version) and KFC (kruelty-free chicken) burger.
Most useful kitchen equipment: A spatula! Stirring, scraping, spreading – everything's easier with a spatula.
Pearl of wisdom cooking advice: Be adventurous and don’t stick only to ingredients you know.
Gaz is the ambassador for AdeZ plant-based smoothies, available from selected Boots and ASDA stores. His second cookbook Vegan Christmas: Over 70 Essential Vegan Recipes for the Festive Season is out in September.