By Adam Bloodworth
Producers of meat alternatives are using Veganuary to promote their latest products, including this flank steak, which is coming to London supermarkets this year
Vegan burgers that bleed like meat and Richmond sausages that surely must be meat (but aren’t) have become a part of our daily lives, as vegan food finds its way increasingly into our diets.
But producers have been struggling to recreate the textures and mouthfeel of a high-quality steak. One new product is attempting to change that. Redefine Meat’s flank steak, which looks as convincingly like the real thing as anything we’ve seen, will be available in London supermarkets from April.
At the moment the Redefine Meat vegan flank steak is only available in some of the top London restaurants, including Le Petit Beefbar and Meraki, with an endorsement from lauded chef Marco Pierre White.
Refining the product has been a years-long task. Le Petit Beefbar’s Brand Director, Virginie Bigand, told City A.M.: “It is really refreshing, as a vegan, to be able to enjoy a product that is this close to steak, as close as you can get in our opinion.
“Beyond taste, the fibre and structure of the steak is incredibly close to that of a meat steak. It is completely revolutionary and makes me want to be vegan.”
Read more: Veganuary restaurants in London: The best vegan food around
Around 4,000 restaurants serve Redefine Meat around the world, including their pulled pork, pulled beef, bratwurst, lamb kofta and beef mince products.
Le Petit Beefbar, the London steak restaurant stocking the Redefine Meat vegan flank, said traditionally only 1 or 2% of their dishes sold would be vegan, but now the vegan flank comprises 45% of their sales. “Guests are more curious and happy to discover a new way of eating meat substitutes,” said a spokesperson.
More than 700,000 Brits tried Veganuary last year, pledging to cut meat out of their diets for one month. Ten years old in 2024, Veganuary provides an opportunity for restaurants to experiment with menus; 820 new vegan products were introduced in 2023.
