Megan Ingham: Hi, I'm Megan, and I'm a vegan.
Harry Kersh: Hi, I'm Harry, and I'm an omnivore.
Megan: With veganism on the rise,
some of the big fast-food chains
are jumping on the bandwagon,
and they've brought out
some of their own vegan alternatives.
Harry: Today we're gonna visit McDonald's, KFC,
Subway, and Pizza Hut
and try some vegan alternatives for ourselves.
Megan: And hopefully, by the end of it,
Harry is gonna be a vegan convert.
Harry: Yeah, don't get your hopes up.
[Megan laughs]
But I'm open-minded.
I'd like to eat a bit less meat in the future,
so if these options can provide a good alternative
then I'm really happy to try it.
Our vegan journey starts at McDonald's,
where we tried their Vegan Society-approved Veggie Dippers.
We bought them for 3.59 pounds, which is around $4.60.
So, I mean, looks-wise, it looks kind of maybe like
a chicken-tender sort of thing,
which is maybe almost misleading
because, unlike some of the other options
that we are going to try today,
this one isn't actually fake meat.
This is just a vegetable-based thing.
Megan: Cheers. Harry: Cheers.
Megan: So, I would say
that that is a little bit disappointing.
It's a bit underwhelming.
I've probably had better equivalents from supermarkets
that I bake in my oven.
Harry: I think I agree. I think it's disappointing.
I think, considering the fact
that vegan chicken-nugget alternatives
already kind of exist,
I'm not really sure why they didn't try
and do something like that because, yeah,
it's just, like, a kind of average bean burger,
bean-nugget sort of thing.
Megan: If I open that in the middle,
that's the filling on either side,
and considering that was nearly 4 pounds,
that's a lot of money for not a lot.
Harry: If anything is gonna turn me into a vegan,
knowing that this exists is not it.
[Megan laughs]
Megan: Next we head to Subway
to try their new Meatless Meatball Marinara,
where we bought a foot-long for 6.49 pounds,
which is around $8.30.
So, I've never really been a big fan of the meatball,
the classic meatball, so for me,
I have nothing to compare it to,
but it looks like a meatball.
Looks like a beef meatball. What do you think?
Harry: In contrast to Megan, meatball marinara is my
go-to order at Subway, so I'm quite invested in this
because, you know, if it's a good alternative,
then maybe I'll come back.
But like you said, they look like meatballs,
the vegan cheese looks pretty good,
there's vegan cheese on this.
And we also got some vegan garlic aioli as well,
which looks really, really nice.
Excited to see how the kind of taste and texture matches up.
OK. First impressions, Megan, now that you've tasted.
Megan: It's a bit dry.
It's really dry. I need a water.
It's really dry. Harry: Are you all right?
Megan: Yeah, it's really dry. It's not bad,
it would just be complemented by a drink, I think.
The meatball's good. It's firm. It's not crumbly,
which, having tried to make my own meatballs,
does happen a lot, and it can just disintegrate,
so they've got the texture there quite well.
Harry: I think texturally, like, the meatball
is pretty good. It does taste like meat.
Not as meaty as real meat, which, shock, I guess.
I think if I were to give this a rating out of five,
I think maybe a three and a half.
'Cause it was good but, like you say,
quite dry, not quite as meaty as I was hoping for,
but not a terrible alternative.
Megan: For me it was a bit dry,
so I'd probably give it a two and a half
or a three out of five. It's just really dry.
Harry: Our vegan-fast-food journey now takes us to KFC,
where we ordered their "zero chicken"
Original Recipe Vegan Burger for 4.29 pounds.
That's around $5.50.
Megan: So, it looks like
what I see other chicken eaters eating,
so it looks like what you would normally have.
Like, a vegan chicken burger's quite a staple thing
that you can get in a lot of supermarkets now.
So I'm expecting it to be at least at the same level
as what the offerings already are,
but hopefully a little bit better
with those 11 herbs and spices.
Harry: Cheers.
Megan: I was worried it might be quite dry,
because some meat substitutes can be really dry
'cause the cooking variations on them, you can struggle,
and especially as it doesn't have the cheese
or maybe some of the other things
that you might traditionally have with a burger,
but the mayo's really good.
There's, like, a really good consistency
of the meat in the middle.
Harry: It does texturally taste
and feel a bit like chicken.
I think maybe in the more of a kind of, like,
chicken-nugget vibe where the chicken's maybe been,
like, a bit shredded and pulverized beforehand,
'cause you don't get the kind of tearaway
that you might get from a chicken breast.
But I have to say, like, taste-wise,
again because I think it leans more heavily
on just the herbs and spices that they use
rather than the natural chicken flavor anyway,
so if you just want something that tastes like KFC
and does kind of feel like chicken,
this honestly would hit the spot.
Megan: Yeah, I'd say this is a four out of five.
It's a little bit too salty for me
to probably have really regularly,
but texturally wise,
it feels like a really good chicken burger,
maybe slightly processed, but it is fast food, so.
Harry: I'm actually gonna be
even more generous than you here,
'cause I love salty food.
And this is salty, you're right,
but also you get the taste from the herbs and spices
of a normal KFC.
Texturally, it might not be
the exact same as chicken breast,
but it's more like a chicken-nugget sandwich,
which is honestly pretty much what I want
if I've maybe had a couple of drinks
and am coming home past the KFC.
I'm gonna give this, like, a four and a half
out of five I think.
Megan: Wow. I mean, I will eat this again.
So that's probably a really good stamp of approval.
Underground: Ladies and gentlemen.
Megan: And finally we head to Pizza Hut
to try their Pepperphoni pizza,
ordering their sharing-size pizza
for 20.99 pounds,
which is around $27.
Harry: So, here we are in our last stop
of our fast-food tour.
I'm quite full 'cause we've done this all in one afternoon.
But we're about to try Pizza Hut's Pepperphoni pizza.
How's it look to you, Megan?
Megan: It looks really good.
It looks like it's crispy cheese on top.
I mean, nothing about that
screams vegan alternative to me.
So, the first taste that you get on it
is very much Pizza Hut's signature, like, marinara.
So that is, like, spot on.
The vegan cheese and the vegan pepperoni
doesn't, like, overrule that taste,
which I think's really good
because that's why you're coming to Pizza Hut,
because you want it to taste like a Pizza Hut pizza.
Harry: The texture is maybe slightly weird.
It's slightly different to what I'm used to.
The garlic is clinging to my teeth a bit.
Is that normal? Megan: Mm-hmm.
Harry: OK, yeah.
The pepperoni...not quite there.
Hard to exactly replicate that sort of, like, texture.
Not as crispy as sometimes pepperoni will go
on, like, a regular pizza.
I think if I had to give this an out of five,
I think I'd probably give it a four.
I've enjoyed this. Honestly, like,
coming to Pizza Hut, you know what you're getting.
You're getting that deep pan,
you're getting that marinara sauce and the cheese.
The vegan cheese really doesn't change it
drastically enough for me to not enjoy it.
But yeah, no, I've enjoyed that a lot.
I think maybe if the texture was slightly better
it would be even higher,
but I think four is what I would give it.
Megan: So, I think four is good,
I think it would drop a point
because maybe the pepperoni is,
just the taste is a little big overpowering maybe.
But again, that's our personal choice,
you might come, you might love it,
and that fruity tang on it
might be exactly what you want,
but I think it's a strong four,
and I would really recommend this
as, like, a good place to come and get takeout pizza.
Harry: So, that's it.
That's the end of our meatless journey.
We've tried options from McDonald's, from Subway,
from KFC, and from Pizza Hut.
Megan, did you have a favorite?
Megan: I think on the individual food that we've tried,
KFC just pips it, I think it slightly edges it,
but if I was to go back to one again,
it would probably be Pizza Hut
because here I can get sides,
unlimited drink, free salad,
they've got pudding,
they've got various different options,
so I could come back and get something new, like, each time.
Whereas at KFC,
yes, you can get the vegan chicken burger,
but the fries aren't vegan,
and that's basically their only option.
Harry: So, I think you've pretty much
hit the nail on the head there.
I think I'd agree. I think, individual item,
KFC was the best for me. It did taste like KFC,
maybe a tiny bit dry, but with the vegan mayo on there,
not really a problem, and I just really enjoyed it.
But also, yeah, Pizza Hut was fantastic.
It was by far the best, like, vegan-cheese experience
that I've had in the past.
Which was nice because that was kind of a,
something that generally would put me off
going for a vegan option or a vegan burger,
and now that I've tried what is probably the best
vegan cheese that I've had,
it's kind of less intimidating now.
Megan: So, finally, Harry,
I think the million-dollar question:
Has your meatless journey today
prompted you to take the plunge
and become a full plant-based eater?
Harry: I'm gonna break your heart, Megan, and say no,
because I just really like eating meat.
And I don't think there's any shame in that.
Megan: No, no shame.
Harry: I do accept all the reasons for going vegan,
and personally, I would like to eat less meat.
So what it has done has really shown me that
there are a lot of viable vegan options out there,
and so maybe next time I come to one of these places,
I might go for one of the vegan ones.
But I don't think I'm gonna kick meat altogether just yet.