In the backyard with…Andy Shovel

BACKED INTERVIEWS

Co-founder of THIS™

Andy is the co-founder of THIS™, the brand of plant-based meat alternative food products with industry-leading realism to meat in taste, appearance and texture. It’s unbelievably good.

| My first ever job…

I used to be one of those tedious clubbing photographers who would take a photo and then immediately thrust my ‘Capital VIP’ card into your hand, so you could go online and pay £3 to see how over-exposed I made your face in 2004 Photoshop.

| The last thing I geeked out about…

Just opened my phone’s browser and it was…how to use hydrogen peroxide to remove bleach stains from sheep-wool. Stayed at a friend’s flat last weekend and turns out that using ‘Vanish’ on a woollen rug really isn’t a thing. In case anyone’s wondering — you need to use a water/H2o2 mix, roughly 96% water.

| I want to learn more about…

How to develop a plant-based fat which never leaches away from the plant-based meat it’s attached to; rather it just crisps up like crackling. If you can help — give me a shout.