I come in to work and have been working with one of my favorite people in the whole world, Hennessey.  We are going about our individual assignments quietly focussed when suddenly rather loudly she blurts out, “Chicken Nuggets!”  I look up and say, “Excuse me?”  She proceeds to tell me how much she would like to have me make her some gluten free Chicken Nuggets sometime.  I shake my head as it is around 8 am.  Last thing on my mind is Chicken. 

Then around 9:30, Garret another employee comes in.  Henney (nickname) says, “Garret I’m Vegan.”  Now you can imagine my surprise by this statement as just an hour earlier she’s begging me for chicken nuggets.  I say, “How in the world are you going to call yourself vegan when you eat chicken nuggets?”  She smiles her big bright beautiful smile and says oh that’s easy… I’m “Almost Vegan“.  

At this point I think she’s flipped a switch somewhere upstairs.  But, to Henney she has devised a plan.  She says she will allow herself to eat meat once a week.  And call it “Almost Vegan“.  You see Henney cannot have dairy or eggs and that is why she eats our vegan products.  So, in her mind Almost Vegan should be a thing.

I started thinking about our customers who eat Vegan and realized she is kind of right.  Most of them do not choose to eat Vegan because of a lifestyle choice.  If they eat Vegan in our bakery it is because of the allergy they have to products in the baked goods.  Very often customers will order vegan baked goods, lunch on vegan bread only to get meat on the sandwich.  I guess, now that I think about it…. Almost Vegan makes sense. 

Henney is still trying to get me to make gluten free Chicken Nuggets.  But, rest assured if I do they will not have egg or dairy.  They will be Almost Vegan.