Up and running for two years, Living Goods is the plant-based pop-up aiming to revolutionise vegan food.
Miles Cliff, 25, is the one-man show travelling around to some of your favourite independent carnivorous restaurants surprising you with a vegan alternative that was set out to change your perspective.
Miles started his journey of creating Living Goods at 16 when he first became vegan. His endevour started with his health, becoming vegan for fitness and weightloss but over time it became more than just a small hobby.
Miles started his exploration of vegan food during lockdown when he decided to give making his own tumeric sauerkraut a go.
He said that after a few days of fermentation it had turned into a “completly different product.” This peaked Miles’ firm interest in all things fermentation.
Miles started working at Blend in Sneinton and realised how much he enjoyed working in the food industry.
He said: “ I love to build relationships through food.”
He found that he wanted to work for himself and “become the boss that he had always wanted.”
Living Goods started as a sit down restaurant but was found to be a hard sell when people were trying new foods that they had never tried before.
With his previous love of the pop-up culture that was blooming around Nottingham, He decided to get involved in the buzz in a plant-based way.
His aims when he set out were to “break the stigma around plant-based food” and to “make plant-based food accessible.”
Myles enjoyed that with pop up’s he was able to explore a lot of different concepts when it came to food and enjoyed working within the independent restaurant scene in Nottingham.
He has worked in a range of some of your favourite independent Nottingham restaurants including Slice’n’ Brew, Black Iris, Golden Fleece and Bottle Top.
Myles’ pop-up’s are currently running at Black Iris on the last Thursday of every month and there is another pop-up at Bottle Top on the last Friday and saturday of every month.
Miles said that his short-term goals for Living Goods is to get back in a position where he is really enjoying the business and would love to do more bigger and better events.
He said: “The feedback is totally worth it.”
Miles is an advocate for plant-based food and has said that when starting out of your vegan journey you should start by “keeping it familiar” and you shouldn’t just cut out all plant based food but instead build your way up.
He said: “If you are eating three meals in a day that aren’t vegan then start with making one meal plant-based and build it up from there.
“Maybe try a vegan chicken breast, there are so many options out there.”
Long term, Miles would love own his own restaurant that also contains a coffeeshop.
Why should you eat plant based?
The owner of Living Goods said: “The plant kingdom is incredible.
“I don’t miss meat.”
Miles has also said that since becoming plant-based his energy levels have increased and he enjoys being plant-based because he knows “your making a good impact on the world.”
Ferment from home!
If you want to start making your own pickled goods, just like Miles then now could be the perfect time to start.
He said: “Fermentation is a lot easier than people think.”
Eating fermented foods can be amazing for your gut microbiome, whether you want to lose weight or get more into fitness fermentation can be one of the ways you do so.
Fermentation is fun and also a great way of diversifying your diet, saurkraut is a great place to start and you can find many easy recipes to do so online.
Although it may seem scary to begin with, fermentation is actually a living process that completly changes the way that a vegtable can taste.
Why not make your own pickled vegetables or home-made kombuca as a fun new hobby to try you hand at.
You can try this recipe for an easy step-by-step!
Keep a look out for all the upcoming events and pop-up’s that Living Goods are hosting.
May’s key events that Living Goods are hosting are a pop-up at Black Iris on the 23rd May and another pop up taking place on the 31st May-1st June at Bottle Top.
If you are wanting to try vegan and plant-based foods here are some great independent restaurants in Nottingham that Miles has recommended to people new to the food:
No. Twelve
2-3 Eldon Chambers, Nottingham NG1 2NS
The Golden Fleece
105 Mansfield Road, Nottingham NG1 3FN
Kushi-Ya
1A Cannon Court, Nottingham NG1 6JE
MESA
24-26 Goosegate, Nottingham, NG1 1FF
Bar Iberico
17-19 Carlton St, Nottingham NG1 1NL
