Vegan-Connections_Nov18_V3

The Roaming
Vegan Baker
12 13
SUGAR SPICE AND ALL THING NICE.
THAT’S WHAT VEGAN ACTIVISM IS
MADE OF.
Words: Kathryn Blake
Images: Vegan Baker
Alex - the wunderkind behind Roaming Vegan Baker is going from strength to strength this year, baking up a storm and building her brand. With
appearances at our very own markets and stockists piling her wares across Scotland I contacted Alex ahead of her birthday in September to chat
all things activism, ethics and chocolate.
It might seem like you’ve always been vegan
at this point but we never get bored of hearing
about that moment where everything clicked
and somebody stopped consuming animal
products. What is your vegan story, how did
it come around?
I understand it is always interesting. It’s
the moment that someone’s changed their
mind on something that will become integral
to their life; especially something that will
make your previous decisions immoral.
I turned vegan with my pal. We were working
at a hotel, in the kitchen, on the Isle of Iona.
At that point I had been experimenting with
cutting out dairy as I was trying to see why I
had certain health problems. Upon working
in the kitchen 70 hours a week, the intensity
of ripping apart crabs and scrapping meat
and boiling prawns alive became too much.
We decided together that it was enough
and we would stop this. We had a lot of
resistance from the hotel, barely feeding us
and resenting our choices. They were mostly
farmers and fishers so discussions came up
often! It was the best decision I’ve ever made
and having learnt quickly to defend myself. I
came to understand the differences of people’s
morals and that a difference of opinion
doesn’t mean it’s bad.
And how did R.V.B come about?
A year ago, I came to Dundee with my partner
who started studying a masters in art. From
the previous summer we had worked a season
on the Isle of Islay and saved up some money.
This is probably one of the first times that I
had a pocket of money that allowed me to
not need to work immediately and make a
decision of what I actually wanted to do. I
took this time seriously. I was bored of being
in jobs that I didn’t enjoy and holding
on financially. I had tried to test out what I
really enjoyed (which is a lot harder to work
out than I thought) and while figuring this
out, naturally kept baking. In Islay the lady
we stayed with was such a traditional cook,
but fully embraced veganism! I learnt so much
from her and it was her that we started trying
to make vegan tablet with.
Do you feel ethics and business can
blend together? i.e. Vegan for profit
vs. Vegan for ethics. Do you think it
makes a difference why people pick
up a vegan product?
Unfortunately, considering the society that
we live in I don’t think that the mainstream
veganism is ethical and that people care
sometimes. I believe, truly, that vegan people
are more aware of making ethical choices but
it’s a constant fight against consumerism. For
instance, coffee, yes we have our keep cups
and choice of no dairy, but we also have our
of habit of going to Starbucks rather than
the smaller cafe because it’s quicker to get to.
The trending is great but the fake cheese and
meats are the new processed food. I fear its
going down a marketing route rather than
teaching ethics.
Personally, I have to think of profit because
it really is my only source of feeding
myself. It’s always a gamble for me to go to
fairs and deliver because I can easily be out
of pocket and not pay my rent. The point
of my packaging is to make you aware that
it’s come from a person, me talking to you.
Do you think there a preferable way
to talk to people who are thinking
about becoming vegan? What are
some things you would say to people
considering veganism - especially
when the word ‘activism‘ can leave a
bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths.
I find this a difficult topic because I believe
there needs to be a variety of opinions in the
arena to create a change. Me personally,
I’m too introverted to debate consistently
without taking damage. I think people need
to be aware that activism is like religious
preaching. If you force it and keep bringing
it up whenever you can, people will stop
listening and render it bad. Allow people to
have their opinion and listen to them. If they
want to change, they will ask and be more
open. If they don’t want to change, it’s near
impossible. Be the example and people will
be interested.
Inclusively is really prominent on your
instagram and social media pages
which is awesome. Could you talk a
bit about your relationship between
radical activism - veganism and a
D.I.Y. approach to starting a business?
I think I may have answered this slightly in
the previous question. I’m glad you think
it’s good! I think it comes from being an
‘other’ in other aspects of my life that I like
to understand the gap between mainstream
thought and new thought. I want to bridge
a gap with hindsight and hopefully do more
of this in the future with difficult topics. I’ve
had so many positive reactions. I honestly
didn’t know if this would work, I just wanted
to ask questions.
With Instagram and Facebook you can
reach thousands of people instantly:
do you think social media has a role is
in a new kind of D.I.Y. activism?
I think social media is the new platform of
politics. Instead of newspapers and gatherings,
this all occurs now on the Internet,
instead it’s harder to see where the opinion
is coming from. I find it interesting that you
call it D.I.Y. activism because I personally class
activism with a physical act (marches, vigils).
I merely want to find answers to questions I
keep thinking about and I don’t understand
why things run the way they do. I want to
encourage questioning your values and reevaluating
your choices. Veganism isn’t the
higher power or the better choice but it does
currently have the highest impact.
Do you have any good vegan baking
tips to share with us? What’s your
favourite vegan sweet treat?
I think my biggest tip to anyone baking
vegan for the first time is to understand the
non-vegan version first! (I’m always trying
to blend oppositions!). For instance, cake,
if there’s egg in it then it needs a binder and
some form of fluffing agent. If it’s buttermilk
then it needs air bubbles. If it has yeast, it really
only needs warmth. Go from there and you’ll
start automatically seeing the alternatives.
Quick tip I know.
“I love the people who
come up to the shop
and openly express
themselves.”
Oh my favourite, that’s hard to pick, I
have such a sweet tooth and it always gets
me in trouble at Christmas parties. Anything
chocolate, even a simple bar and a cup of tea,
or if we’re going fancy like a chocolate tart.
At VC we’re always looking to champion
and support vegan businesses
in unlikely places - could you tell us
about Marwicks, its aims and your
work there?
Marwicks is great, with 4 kids and a shop I’m
not too sure how they juggle it. The thing that
made us work so well together is that they
are truly so honest about everything they do.
They don’t run a shop to be who their parents
dreamed of, they like helping the fringes of
society and starting that with food. They help
out with so many groups around the area, like
Food Not bombs, and make their space so
safe. Being apart of the LGBTQ+ community
myself that is really important to me. I think
what they do is very powerful and they have
no idea how many people they help.
My work in Marwicks is as a staff member,
working with a great crew, and baking the
traybakes when I can (its a busy shop). They
always have no ideas so they’ll are going to
keep growing and I hope I can bake with
them for longer too.
And finally - where can we find Roaming
Vegan Baker products?
In the Dundee area; Marwicks, Health
Store, Wee Mexico and Brewdog. In the
Glasgow area; Rose & Grant’s and Glasvegan.
Talking to more people in Glasgow and
Edinburgh. Also available in my etsy shop all
year round. I’m planning some new products
and getting in help so hopefully be growing
even more into Christmas and the new year.
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