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The chef of a leading Bath restaurant quietly decided to go 100 percent vegan and "nobody noticed," he claims.

Richard Buckley had already established Acorn as one of the country's top vegetarian restaurants, but in October 2018 he decided to go one step further.

He realised they had so many innovative vegan ideas that they could easily serve an entirely plants only menu.

Richard said: “We were already almost there, being about 80 to 90 percent vegan.

“Then it just seemed fun to go all the way and see if we could do it so well that nobody would notice.”

As owner and chef, Richard quietly replaced any non-vegan dishes with vegan ones and made sure all their drinks including wines and beers were 100 percent vegan.

He said: “It was amazing, nobody noticed.

“We even had the founder of VIVA! [animal rights group] Juliet Gellatley come in shortly after we did this and even she didn't spot it.

“The trick was not trying to ‘veganise’ anything, we just served the most interesting food we could make from plants and everyone just went with it."

By this he means Acorn doesn’t try to just replace meat and dairy for vegan mimics in conventional meat-based dishes.

“It’s not obviously substituted,” he explained.

“When there’s nothing there at all [playing the role of meat], but it’s delicious you don’t even think about it.”

Apparently, the serving staff enjoyed the moment when those eating a vegan diet would ask which dishes were vegan and they could just casually say, "all of them!"

Although it was fun while it lasted, Richard was not disappointed when the news started to leak.

He said: “It lasted about 3 or 4 months before people started to find out and with social media you can’t get away from it, so we thought we may as well come out in the open and shout about it.”

“We weren’t trying to trick people, just trying to make good food.”

As well as being owner/chef at Acorn, Richard is the author of popular cookery book Plants Taste Better and a general advocate for all things vegan.

He said: “I was raised vegetarian, so I’ve never eaten meat at all.

“Then, as you research into it, you realise dairy is probably worse than meat. And once you’re there, there’s no going back.”

As more people go vegan, or are willing to try vegan dining, animal-free menus have developed dramatically.

Richard said: "I think it is a real validation of how far vegan food has come that people aren't looking for lumps of animal protein and fat to make a meal, but are instead looking for interesting ideas and quality ingredients across the board."

(Image: Guy Harrop)

Secretly making everything vegan may not be the usual recipe for success, but it is working perfectly for Acorn.

It is the first vegan restaurant in the UK to achieve recognition by the Michelin Guide (2019).

Acorn has also won a number of awards, recently including Olive magazine’s Veggie Pioneer Award and the Trencherman Guide’s Award for Innovation and Creativity.

It has also been named number 11 in Big 7 Travel’s World’s Top 50 Vegan Restaurants.

Acorn's menus Acorn has a lunch menu, a two and three course set menu and a five course taster menu that can be matched with vegan wines. The three course set menu is £38.95 and includes main courses such as: · Mushroom parfait served with celeriac cooked in its own juice, pickled red cabbage, hazelnut butter and red chicory in hazelnut oil. · One whole cauliflower broken down and cooked in various ways: roasted florets, truffled puree, molasses pickled core & sautéed leaf, all served with almond milk croquetta infused with fenugreek & onion, spelt grain in a smoked almond emulsion & a tarragon oil. Vegan desserts include: · Chocolate & coffee light espresso parfait with a bar of chocolate ganache, cold brew & rapadura gel & a pink peppercorn crumb. · Slow poached quince with a walnut sorbet, coffee glazed salsify and a walnut meringue. Everything served at Acorn is 100 percent vegan

He said: “It was a wonderfully fulfilling experience though, to prove that you could easily continue to prosper as a quality restaurant without having to have any ethical compromise on your plates."

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