A vegan food channel has received a major honor from YouTube.

Vegan Food UK is an online organization sharing vegan food news. As well as its YouTube channel, it has a Facebook group, Facebook page, YouTube channel, and Instagram account.

YouTube channel

Founded by husband and wife team Liam and Janine Day, VeganFoodUK has three aims. The creators want to ‘show non-vegans how fantastic vegan food can be’, and also use it as a fun, creative outlet.

However, the channel is almost entirely dedicated to supporting vegan independent businesses, specifically vegan restaurants, and cafes.

Vegan tour 

The Days have done this by embarking on a nationwide tour of vegan eateries. They film the food in a documentary-style format.

“We decided to start this vegan food tour after so many independent businesses contacted us during lockdown letting us know how much they are struggling and worrying about what the future holds,” they exclusively told PBN.

The almost three-month tour has stopped in towns including Bristol, Brighton, London, and Bournemouth among others. They have filmed in almost 30 independent eateries in the U.K. These include vegan fried chicken and junk food outlets as well as cocktail bars and fine dining establishments.

Viewers have challenged the pair to film in every single vegan eatery in the U.K – a challenge they embrace. They say the ‘amazing feedback’ from the business owners they help makes the work worthwhile.

YouTube award

The Days revealed to PBN that YouTube subsequently ‘recognized [their] efforts with this project’ and therefore rewarded them with its Creator On The Rise award. 

“We were so happy to be noticed by YouTube in this way. They then rewarded us by making us Trend for 24 hours,” they said.

“During these 24 hours, we had thousands of non-vegans view our channel for the first time. For this reason, there were the predictable ‘bacon’ comments, which every vegan content creator has to deal with. 

“But what was really nice was comments from people who still think that vegans eat grass and cardboard.”

YouTube comments

Notably, a user called NtroGeneration commented on a recent VeganFoodUK video of Dirty Vegans cafe in Bournemouth.

They said: “I’m not a vegan, but seeing this type of food is different to the stereotype of eating plants 24/7. 

“This looks crazy good and [I] might come here myself! All the foods looked great and really changed my perspective on what vegan food can actually be. Great video.”

‘Still open for business’

Liam Day, co-founder of Vegan Food UK, said: “We realize during these difficult times, the most important thing is for everyone to be safe and feel safe. 

“But the sad reality is that vegan businesses are experiencing less footfall from customers because of the pandemic.”

‘You can still eat out’

Janine Day, co-founder of Vegan Food UK, added: “We take every precaution when we are traveling and filming to make sure we are not making the rate of infection worse. However, we also want to show people that you can still eat-out and be safe during these times. 

“In fact, we are yet to go to a vegan eatery that hasn’t taken appropriate precautions in ensuring their customers are safe.”

You can find the channel here