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Humans of the OWee: Mark Laponder (English)

In Humans of the OWee we talk to people who have a special role on that day. Less than a year ago, Mark Laponder and two others started the company, Green Meat Productions. Today, they are giving away vegan kebabs to set a new world record.

“We started our company with three entrepreneurs. I was one of the two that already worked in the meat industry. In Germany I saw a high demand for minced veal for veal kebabs, and wondered if chicken would work too? But that was not profitable. Then I thought of vegetarian kebabs.”

“Our start-up started testing in winter 2017. The first try-out was a complete disaster. We wanted to make a huge ‘meat’ skewer which you would slice yourself. That turned out to be more difficult than we expected. So we decided to choose a sliced version, the ‘convenience döner’, which only needs to be baked. We managed to produce that on a large scale in July. The OWee-committee then tasted it and they liked it a lot. During the OWee today, we will give away 3,000 to 4,000 döner kebabs, a world record!”

“We make the kebab with soy and other ingredients. We produce it the same way as pasta: pulling a lot of pieces of soy. That way you get a lot of fibres, which gives the texture of meat. The added herbs and spices give that real kebab taste. We serve it on a bun with red sauce and lettuce. The complete dish is vegan. We are happy that vegan is an option. It ‘s better to make it vegan, because then vegans, vegetarians and meat-lovers can eat it.”

“I studied food technology in Bolsward. In the meat industry, people don’t talk badly about our product, they are surprised when we let them taste it. We are one of the few in Europe that can produce vegan döner. Vegetarian shawarma has been around for a longer time, but not the pieces of döner that are grilled more on one side than on the other. We hope to see the dish on the menu of hip bistros. And you will almost definitely find us in the new canteen of the TU!”

Roos van Tongeren / Redacteur

Editor Redactie

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