The owners of a vegan food truck are hoping that the power of plant-based will see them crowned the champions of this year’s Scottish Street Food Awards.
There’s a busy summer season ahead for Gemma Costa and Marta Negro of Planet G, with their sunshine yellow van scheduled to stop at big name events including TRNSMT and the Edinburgh Summer Sessions.
Although they’re new to the game, having only taken to the road in January this year, they’ve quickly mastered a fast-paced work environment which can see them serving hundreds of veggie-friendly burgers in one afternoon.
Costa, who takes charge of the grill, said: “I’ve been a chef for 10 years and have always enjoyed focusing all of my efforts on vegan food.
“I’ve spent a lot of time developing my own recipes with protein and different textures.
“It’s a lot easier to just put a bit of meat or cheese on a plate and call it a meal, I love a challenge.”
If mastering the art of vegan cuisine wasn’t challenging enough, the chef also does so in a tiny space with just enough room to accommodate her and partner Negro, who takes on the ‘front of house’ duties.
“We did want to open a restaurant at first,” Costa said, “but we couldn’t afford it and decided to make a smaller investment.
“It feels a lot more complicated than working in a restaurant kitchen because you’ve always got to be thinking about how much space you have in your fridges and how much you can order without having anything go to waste.
“But it’s 100% more rewarding because I can actually interact with the people who are eating my food and see them enjoying it.
“In my 10 years as a chef I spent every day waking up, cooking in the kitchen, coming home and doing the same thing again.
“In the food truck, we arrive somewhere new every day and I can put whatever I want on the menu.”
On that menu are the likes of the grilled potato gnocchi with truffle mushroom ragout, loaded chilli nachos and the haggis burger which team Planet G hope will impress the judges at the upcoming Scottish Street Food Awards in Edinburgh.
Negro said: “We sometimes feel that being a plant-based business, we need to push harder with our food.
“People tend to be less willing to try things if they’re vegan.
“Winning the Scottish Street Food Awards would open so many doors for us and help us to prove that our food is as good as, or better than, any meat version.
“We’re representing the country too with our homemade haggis burger, so that would be amazing to bring to the European finals.
“But you know, let’s take it step by step.”
While the couple are hoping to prove their point on a national scale, with each burger sold they’re already doing their part to challenge the tired notion that no meat means no flavour while also proudly celebrating their status as a women-led hospitality business that champions LQBTQ+ visibility.
Yet they still describe themselves simply as “regular people wanting to see a change in the world”.
Negro continued: “We’re not doing this because we want everyone to be vegan.
“We know that’s not a realistic goal.
“What we want instead is to provide an alternative way of eating and a way to reduce meat consumption.
“In past generations, it's been common for people to eat meat with every meal but that’s not sustainable and we only have one earth to protect.
“You don’t have to compromise on protein intake or taste to do that.”
If you’re faced with the dilemma of choosing which food truck to visit this festival season, Negro ends with one final piece of advice that she hopes will tempt you towards Planet G.
“Just give it a try.
“All of our food is homemade rather than just bought in and slapped on the grill.
“It’s our own recipes that we’ve been developing for years using really creative ingredients.
“We’ve had customers who were asking a lot of questions about the menu then coming back to say that it’s the best burger they’ve ever had.
“It might surprise you too.”
The Scottish Street Food Awards final will take place as part of this year's Edinburgh Food Festival in George Square Gardens on Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21.
For more information on where to find Planet G, visit their website here.
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