The impossible: Burger King to go fully vegan?!
BREAKING NEWS: The impossible has happened - Burger King is going fully plant-based. Well, for one month and only at its UK flagship store in Leicester Square, London, but it’s still a huge moment for the vegan community.
Burger King is set to launch its first-ever completely plant-based restaurant next week (March 14) with vegan-friendly versions of its most iconic items, the Daily Mail reports.
Its flagship store in Leicester Square, London - where animal rights activists have held Earthling Experience actions nearly every weekend for many years - has been boarded up for some weeks in preparation for the big takeover which will last until April 10. The restaurant’s redesign will apparently showcase the chain’s full menu, but all completely meat, dairy and egg-free according to reports.
Burger King recently released its vegan nuggets to much fanfare, joining its popular Plant-based Whopper and Vegan Royale, but come the launch next week we’ll see 15 other new items added to the animal-free menu.
These will include a 'Cheeeze & Bakon', a ‘Plant-based Bakon Double Cheeeze XL’ and ‘Vegan Cheeeze & Bakon Royale’, joining the newly launched plant-based and vegan Katsu range, which is already available nationwide but for a limited-time-only.
According to the Daily Mail, Burger King will be monitoring the popularity of the plant-based items with a view to rolling out some of them nationwide.
“We're incredibly proud of our new meat-free menu; it absolutely delivers on big taste with no compromises and reflects our ongoing commitment to serving our customers a diverse and innovative range of products,” Katie Evans, Burger King UK’s chief marketing officer, told the Daily Mail.
“The limited-edition menu is a direct result of our focus on vegan and plant-based innovation and goes hand in hand with our target of a 50 per cent meat-free menu by 2030, as well as our commitment to sustainability and responsible business.”
While some of the previewed menu items are labelled as ‘Vegan’, others are branded ‘Plant-Based’. For anyone concerned about the difference, we’re awaiting confirmation but we believe it’s linked to the complaints Burger King received in the past about its Rebel Whopper burgers being cooked on the same grill as cow flesh patties, prompting them to trademark their whoppers as ‘Plant-Based’ across all stores. However, at the Leicester Square trial, according to every report we’ve seen, no animal products will be cooked there so all items will be vegan-friendly.
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“PETA applauds the UKs first all-vegan Burger King – a whopping great step in the right direction for animals and the environment. The planet needs a game-changing shift away from meat to combat the climate emergency, and Burger King is leading the way,” said Dawn Carr, director of vegan corporate projects at PETA.
Laura Iliffe, from The Vegetarian Butcher, added: “At The Vegetarian Butcher, we believe that plant-based foods should be just as tasty as meat and our juicy range of meat-free products prove just that – showing that consumers don't need to sacrifice a thing when making a plant-based switch.
“By powering Burger King's plant-based offering and first meat-free restaurant in Leicester Square with our Plant-based Whopper, Vegan Nuggets and Vegan Royale – all of which are available nationwide - we're providing meat-lovers the chance to cut-down meat without compromising on taste. We challenge you to taste the difference!”
The full animal-free menu
Vegan Nugget Burger
Vegan Royale
Vegan Cheeeze & Bakon Royale
Vegan Cheeeze Royale
Vegan Katsu Royale
Plant-based Katsu Chilli Whopper®
Plant-based Whopper®
Plant-based Cheeeze Whopper®
Plant-based Cheeeze & Bakon Whopper®
Plant-based Whopper Jr®
Plant-based Cheeeze Whopper Jr®
Plant-based Hamburger
Plant-based Cheeezeburger
Plant-based Double Cheeezeburger
Plant-based Bakon Double Cheeezeburger
Plant-based Bakon Double Cheeeze XL
Plant-Based Double Whopper®
Plant-based King Jr® Hamburger Meal
Plant-based King Jr® Cheeezeburger Meal
Vegan King Jr® Nugget Meal
Vegan Fries
Vegan Nuggets
Vegan Chilli Cheeeze bites
Plant-based Onion Rings
Ben & Jerry's® Cookie on Cookie Dough Non-Dairy Ice Cream
Andrew Gough is Media and Investigations Manager for Surge.
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