The boys behind vegan cooking channel Bosh! that attracts 26 million views a month For Henry Firth – one half of plant-based cookery internet sensations Bosh! (as in “bish, bash…”) – the benefits of […]

For Henry Firth – one half of plant-based cookery internet sensations Bosh! (as in “bish, bash…”) – the benefits of a vegan diet aren’t limited to the feel-good glow that comes from, as he sees it, saving the planet.

In fact, it’s another glow altogether that has made the change in lifestyle more than worthwhile. Among other things, Firth’s sex life improved when he cut animal products from his diet.

“I felt fantastic,” he says, slapping his hands on the table with a wide smile on his face.

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Sitting next to him, Firth’s best mate, Ian Theasby, howls with laughter.

Together, the 33-year-olds run Bosh!, a cookery channel that has become a global online phenomenon a year after launch.

“Mum always said eat your greens,” grins Theasby. “We took it literally.”

Natural success

Their Facebook page is the biggest vegan cookery channel in the world, attracting more than 26 million views a month. Their first cookbook, out this week, raced to the top of the Amazon charts on pre-orders alone and is on track to be the first vegan recipe book to make it to the top of its best-seller list. Oh, and Pamela Anderson is a fan.

In the flesh, the Bosh! boys couldn’t be more down to earth.

Dressed in their trademark black T-shirts, they bowl into the room with the ease of newly famous people who haven’t yet been affected by their popularity.

They ignore my outstretched hand and scoop me into big hugs, profuse with apologies for being late. They’ve been out casing new digs, as the house they rent together has sprung a leak.

Cowspiracy

Firth and Theasby moved in with each other six years ago, after meeting at secondary school in Sheffield. Theasby became vegan in 2015 after a self-imposed challenge to give up alcohol snowballed into giving up meat and, eventually, all animal products.

At the time, Firth wasn’t impressed.

“I thought it was ridiculous. He was making curries that didn’t look appetising and I had a fridge full of organic meat.”

A documentary changed his mind.

“I was thinking about climate change,” he explains. “Ian put Cowspiracy on. It’s a film that looks at food and its environmental impact. Just from watching it, I made the decision overnight to join him.”

Green converts

When I suggest that Theasby “converted” Firth, the pair shake their heads.

“That’s not our vibe,” says Firth. “We’re about sharing,” adds Theasby, “harvesting information about plant-based food and its benefits, and the effects that animal agriculture has on the environment.”

When talk turns to the more militant strand of the movement – in February, hardline vegans bombarded Suffolk dairy farmers with death threats – the pair grow sombre.

“Add militant to the start of any word, and it becomes a problem because, by definition, militant is about fighting,” says Firth. “Really, we just want to show the world how to eat delicious plant-based food and let them decide how they want to do it.”

The pair’s new book doesn’t even have the word vegan on the cover. The boys’ aim is simply to get more plants on plates – be they the plates of vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians or omnivores.

The vegan Jamies

With their friendly manner and fuss-free approach to cooking – they film in their own home studio, giving the videos a laid-back feel – it is little wonder comparisons have been drawn with Jamie Oliver. Rather than “pukka” and “lovely jubbly”, Theasby and Firth are more likely to employ updated but no less deliberate catchphrases such as “boom”, “bangin’”, and, of course, “bish, bash, bosh” as they throw roughly chopped vegetables into pans greased with coconut oil.

“I don’t think we compare ourselves to Jamie, but I suppose the one comparison would be in the way that he normalised home cooking, we want to normalise plant-based food,” says Firth. “And we’d love a TV show,” he adds, deadpan.

Could they, too, front a food revolution? “I’d just say evolution,” says Firth. “It’s understanding more about what’s going on with the planet, what the effect of bad-practice farming might be, and understanding what’s going on in our bodies.”

Veganism is already on the up. In February, supermarkets reported a surge in the number of people buying vegan food.

There was a reported 350 per cent rise in the number of vegans in Britain in the decade to 2016, and a 185 per cent rise in vegan products launched in the UK between 2012 and 2016. Celebrity vegans such as Beyoncé and Jay-Z have boosted the lifestyle’s profile.

Class wars

Recently, though, the movement has been accused of catering only to the middle classes, with vegan chefs using obscure ingredients bought from expensive health-food shops. Yet Firth says it is a common misconception that veganism comes with a hefty price tag.

“You can buy stuff in bulk in the supermarket. It’s vegetables. Think how much good meat costs.”

Two people who probably won’t be going fully vegan are Theasby’s parents. His grandparents were farmers and his parents weren’t initially thrilled about his life choice. But they’ve since come round, and have even made small changes to their own eating habits. His mum even admits the pair’s vegan chocolate brownies are better than her own.

It’s obvious why the Bosh! partnership works. Theasby is the more earnest of the pair, speaking with passion and grit. Firth is like an excitable puppy, jumping up and down in his seat as we talk.

But life as a double act, especially one which lives together, must have its drawbacks. Firth admits to being messier than Theasby, a confession to which the latter replies with a raised eyebrow.

Culinary education

The boys claim never to argue. Not even the occasional cross word?

“Not really,” says Firth, before conceding: “We have mardy words with each other from time to time.”

Already popular on the west coast of America, they are now preparing to take the rest of the country by storm with an interview on NBC’s The Today Show.

They want to publish more recipes and continue to make their mark on the ever-changing vegan movement. And they really would love a TV show.

“It would show people that the mainstream is ready for plant-based food,” says Theasby.

Have they been offered one? “We’ve put ourselves in a position to be able to have the conversations with the right people,” says Theasby, ambiguously.

“We’re just holding out for the right conversation,” chips in Firth. “We just want to educate people about how banging this food really is.”

Bosh! by Henry Firth and Ian Theasby is out now, published by HQ, priced £20