Oxford pair Feast Queens (AKA Fran and Rupali) realised they loved eating and feeding people, so they came up with the idea of starting their own vegetarian and vegan business. Their food revolves around flavour, and lots of it: they make their own spice blends and all their sides and sauces are freshly homemade, so that they can control the quality of the ingredients. Feast Queens aren't preaching the vegan lifestyle, but rather showing that non-meat dishes can still be really delicious and something that all of us can opt for, as well as being ethical and good for the environment. They don't try and imitate meat either: their vegetable and pulse dishes try to be different - fresher and quicker than meat-based meals.
Feast Queens' supper and lunch clubs have already caused quite a stir in Kennington, where lunch options were previously pretty limited, and you can catch them at Summertown market once a month too. They're also popping up round the county, and are setting up shop for one night only at Tap Social, serving Lebanese stew with veg and butterbeans or 5 lentil dal (or both, if you want to mix and match). Both dishes come with jeera rice, carrot chutney, raita, and tomato, cucumber and red onion salad, and are served in compostable boxes so you can eat well and save the environment. As well as great food, it's free entry to Tap Social's House of Soul night too, so you can down your dal and have a dance to DJ Kulbir, who'll be laying down some uplifting funk, soul and dance.
