Few Bristol restaurateurs have enjoyed as much success as Verity Foss and Charlie Harding in recent years.
The couple behind Oowee won three awards in the space of two weeks in 2019 - including Restaurant of the Year at the inaugural Deliveroo Restaurant Awards - and are on the verge of launching two restaurants in London.
Before they expand into the capital, however, they have just made another radical change at their inaugural Picton Street restaurant.
The small Montpelier site launched in 2016 as a meaty burger takeaway, but in July Verity and Charlie took the decision to turn it into a vegan kebab shop, spurred on by the success of their vegan restaurant on Baldwin Street.
Fast forward six months and it's all change again, as the kebabs have been replaced with a new menu featuring dishes which will likely be rolled out at the two new London restaurants, Verity told Bristol Live.
Reason behind the change
Many of the new dishes feature Daring Foods' new chicken alternative, which is made from water, soy, sunflower oil, salt and natural flavoring.
"We found that the prep involved with the kebabs to sell only a few was mammoth, so it wasn't that cost effective," said 29-year-old Verity.
"By making this change we've also been able to take a massive fridge out of the kitchen which has given the chefs much more space to work with.
"I also just really wanted to up Oowee Vegan as a brand and I'm really proud of the menu. It's so dirty and delicious and a few of the dishes will feature at the London restaurants we're opening.
"Daring Foods approached us and said they'd like to work with us. It was a no-brainer as their products are absolutely incredible.
"Their crispy chicken patties are the most banging thing you'll ever taste."
The Chicken Kiev Burger
The new addition Verity is most proud of is the Vegan Chicken Kiev Burger, which she says it's the first of its kind anywhere in the world.
It's comprised of a Daring Foods crispy patty dipped in garlic butter as well cheese, lettuce, vegan honey mustard,mayonnaise and lettuce, in a toasted bun.
Priced at £8.95, it's a little more expensive than what people will be used to paying at Oowee.
That's because Verity and Charlie are now buying in products from Daring Foods rather than producing their own seitan, as they do at Oowee Vegan on Baldwin Street.
"The Chicken Kiev Burger is absolutely unreal," added Verity. "The seitan we make is really good but it's nice to have an option which is equally as delicious and doesn't need to be made on-site.
"Seitan is more cost effective for us but not being able to offer a chicken alternatives at Picton Street was a big deal for our customers and so many of them were asking for it, so we're really pleased to introduce it."
Other new additions likely to go down well include The Big Caesar and the BBQ Smoke Stack, as well as a selection of wraps priced at £6.95 including the BBQ Chick'n Wrap and Garlic Mayo Chick'n.
For the latest news in and around Bristol, visit and bookmark Bristol Live's homepage.
You can follow us on Twitter here and on Facebook here and here.
You can also join our traffic and travel, crime and parenting Facebook groups.
