I’VE got to admit, I didn’t initially have much relish for this assignment.
“City are the first Premier League club to put a vegan burger on sale,” said one of my bosses on Friday afternoon.
“I want you to go and try it on Saturday. I’ll even pay for it…. providing you get me a receipt,” he added, slightly unconvincingly.
Luckily for him – and me – I didn’t have to queue in the rain on a typically wet autumn day in Manchester to buy myself a ‘Plant-based Garden Gourmet Incredible Burger’.
It was ‘Vegan Day’ in the press room at the Etihad for the Southampton game – and they had ‘sliders’ – or mini versions – of the above on the menu.
Now as well as a warm welcome, the one thing visiting media are guaranteed at City is a full stomach. No journalist ever leaves the Etihad on a match day feeling hungry.
But most of my colleagues love tucking into beef chilli or the lamb curry – not to mention the chicken balti pies at half-time.
These vegan options – to mark the club’s recent tie up with Nestle – had certainly caused a stir.
“What – so there’s no meat on the menu…AT ALL?” said one disgruntled hack ahead of me in the queue.
Others were more open-minded. I spotted a few regulars tucking into the burger so went to canvas opinion.
“Looks like a real burger – and tastes a bit like one too,” said one. “Decent. A good solid 8/10,” added another.
And I could see what they meant as I tucked into one myself.
Nestle’s Garden Gourmet Burger is 100% plant-based, with natural protein from soy and wheat.
Natural plant extracts – beetroot, carrot, and bell pepper – help create the look of a beef burger before, during, and after cooking.
In the summer the food giant, updated its recipe to make the mince more juicy and meaty – and it does look like beef.
The texture is similar too – and while the taste is not as distinctive as a genuine hamburger you could tell it was much lighter, not to mention healthier.
The benefit on the environment is obvious too – with the vegan version using 86% less CO2 emissions, 95% less land use and 93% less water consumption.
The full-sized vegan burgers – priced at £5.50 – have so far proved popular with City fans at the Etihad and academy stadiums.
Meanwhile, I happily went for seconds – although some of my media friends might take a bit more convincing.
It was noticeable that a tray of steak arrived in the press room just before kick off. Old habits die hard for some of us.
