Naturally delicious

Holly Christian visits Good’s Plant Baked Bakery in Lincoln to sample a selection of dishes from their
vegan menus, which offer something for every taste.

Opened last year by Belinda Good and her son Jordan, Good’s Plant Based Bakery is a friendly family-run artisan bakery and café on Lincoln’s High Street, specialising in vegan sweet and savoury treats, to eat in and take away.

“When creating the menus, one of our main aims was to offer an affordable healthy and nutritious lunch for everyone as we strongly believe that healthy food should be accessible to all,” says Belinda, who explains that they have many customers who aren’t vegan or vegetarian but are curious to try something different and keep coming back “which gives us a real sense of achievement”.

As a dedicated meat-eater and infrequent “flexitarian” myself, I wasn’t sure what I might be tempted to try on the lunchtime menu, but was delighted to discover many delicious sounding choices.

The menu features a selection of healthy vegan dishes offering something for every taste ranging from salad bowls and sandwiches, to weekly special home-made recipe kebabs with an ‘around the world’ theme and burritos using locally sourced fresh ingredients wherever possible, and freshly prepared to order.

Feeling hungry, I opted for their hearty and filling signature home-made Margherita pizza, typically made with sourdough base and with cheese made of cashew nuts mixed with garlic sauce, which was well seasoned with herbs and served with a side salad and tortilla chips.

My guest chose one of the café’s bestsellers from the daily special’s board: home-made Greek style kebabs, featuring soy mince, seasoned with herbs, with coconut and mint yoghurt and sriracha mayonnaise, served in grilled pitta bread with a refreshing Greek side salad.

When it comes to vegan-friendly food choices and translation of tastes, Belinda is well informed and keen to share her knowledge.

She explained that compared to meat-free options which used to be on offer, the vegan soya mince is very good these days and is becoming increasingly popular as it doesn’t contain the same amounts of fats compared to meat.

“It’s a good blank canvas for seasoning and offers a high protein option without the cholesterol of meat products, which is appealing to many more people these days.”

However, she points out that vegan cheese is one of the biggest challenges for those new to vegan diets as it differs in taste and texture, often not melting quite the same, which is why this enterprising duo make their own cheese sauces for pizzas.

“We have found a few brands of vegan cheese that are much better now and made using either cashews or starches, which I would describe as being like a cheesy Wotsits flavour, which many customers comment on as being very enjoyable.”

Staying with the healthy theme, we also enjoyed one of the café’s natural brightly coloured smoothies, made with mixed berries and oat milk, which proved sweet, thick and moreish, while my guest chose from the range of flavoured lattes and frappés, including lemon meringue and mint.

The dessert menu was also appealing and we couldn’t resist trying the Chocolate Biscoff Millionaire’s Shortbread, which was as smooth and luxurious as it looked, as well as the Oreo Rocky Road, which had a soft, melt-in-the-mouth texture.

Both proved a real treat to end a delicious lunchtime feast, which easily kept us going and feeling satisfied for the rest of the day.

The added bonus comes with knowing that you’ve taken your first step to better health by incorporating some delicious plant-based dishes into your lifestyle, while also supporting seasonal, locally sourced ingredients to create eco-friendly and sustainable choices.

The bakery, which prides itself on being plastic free, also caters for gluten and soya free on request and offers special seasonal products, including gifts and vouchers.

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