A restaurant has risked enraging meat lovers after launching what is believed to be Britain's first completely plant-based vegan CARVERY.
The owners of The Barn in the village of Willey, Warks., say visitors are flocking from across the country to try their meatless Sunday lunch.
Landlords Sarah Goodchild and Ben Stead-Davis, both 34, have been serving the 13-item roast dinner at their establishment throughout January.
And it has proved such a hit with hungry vegans that people have been travelling hundreds of miles from as far as Wales and Stoke to sample the unique carvery.
The £14.95 meal features a choice of ‘Tofurky’(Tofu turkey), Seitan, nut roast and plant-based Lincolnshire sausages with all the usual trimmings.
Sides include vegan Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, maple glazed parsnips, carrots, mash, roast cabbage, creamy leeks, stuffing and a red wine gravy.
The vegan couple believe the plant-based carvery at their quaint village pub and restaurant is the only one of its kind in Britain - and possibly the world.
But their decision to go completely meat-free has received a mixed response from some customers who enjoy the more traditional beef, lamb and turkey combo.
Dad-of-one Ben, who is co-owner and also head chef, said: "We are proud to say we are the only restaurant in the UK and even maybe the world doing what we are.
"There are places who will offer vegan alternatives on their Sunday lunch menu - but we don't believe anywhere else is serving a vegan carvery like ours - including vegan restaurants.
“The support we have received has been incredible and for the next few Sundays, our carvery is fully booked.
“On Sunday we had people say they had travelled hours to come and have one of our roasts.
“Now that the whole restaurant is going vegan, I hope we can keep this support.
“You just have to be open-minded, and you can make some great vegan dishes.
“I think people worry about where they are going to get their protein from but what people forget is that beans are very high in protein and tofu actually has more protein in it than steak.”
Ben and Sarah took over the pub in September last year after they began working at the establishment in 2017.
After the initial success, the pair, of Brinklow, Warks., decided to launch a completely vegan Sunday carvery throughout ‘Veganuary’.
Sarah, co-owner and general manager of The Barn, said she had been 'overwhelmed' with the support their vegan carvery had received so far.
The mum-of-one said: “My partner and I took this restaurant on in September and have since been slowly introducing more and more vegan items on to what has always been a very meat-based menu.
“We are finding our little restaurant is becoming increasingly popular among the vegan community and we would like to ask for a little more support to help us succeed as the UK’s first fully-vegan carvery.
