It was 1^st January 2017 when I decided that I needed to unclog my arteries and make my own positive impact on the melting ice caps by going vegan. Little did I know at the time that two years later my vegan credentials would bring me fame via a warm soy based pastry.

On 3^rd January 2019 the pioneering high street chain, Greggs released the highly anticipated vegan sausage roll. The national excitement was immense, only comparable to the 2012 Olympic Games or Kate and Will’s wedding. There were parties in the street and sense of national pride swept across the counties.

I knew the demand would be high, with only one store in my home town of Ipswich stocking the plant based pastries and with only 80 to sell I had to make military style preparations to get my hands on one.

The preparations started around 12 months prior to the 3^rd of January 2019 when I managed to employ an insider to work at the Ipswich train station branch of Greggs. My sister made the sacrifice and fed me inside knowledge on the incoming sausage rolls.

On national launch day I was first in line, purchasing two sausage rolls, one for my own immediate inhalation and one for me to somehow store without eating for my vegan pastry eating partner in crime, Sadie Cable.

It didn’t disappoint. It was warm, pastry like, with a salty non-descript, slightly greasy filling. Just what I had been dreaming of for weeks prior.

As word spread the local paper, the Ipswich Star, ran from their central Ipswich office to the train station to get the story everyone had been waiting for. The journalist asked my insider if she knew of a charismatic vegan who had tried the new pastry. They were quickly in touch to get the inside scoop from me and the news story was up within hours.

From there my fame spread. I woke up to a barrage of paparazzi at my front door and a pursuit of camera flashing moped riders on my journey from Felixstowe to Ipswich. My work colleagues were star struck. One confused colleague stated ‘I didn’t expect to see you today, thought you’d be training for strictly already’.

Needless to say my phone has been ringing constantly with modelling opportunities and offers to appear on prime time talk shows. But I remain true to my roots. I plan to stay in Ipswich, delivering my co-chair duties to the Vegan Staff Network.

Since the story broke, I’m pleased to say Vertas have started to supply their own vegan sausage rolls to visitors at the coffee platform in Endeavour House. Good work Vertas!

You can read the full story from the Ipswich Star here: https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/business/what-do-greggs-vegan-sausage-rolls-taste-like-1-5839258