Seremban home-based food seller, Samantha Michelle Theodore, 29, became a vegan overnight after watching the documentary “Gordon Ramsay: Shark Bait”.
In the documentary, the famous chef revealed how over 100 million sharks were inhumanely slaughtered annually so fancy restaurants could serve up the delicacy called shark fin soup to customers willing to pay top dollar for it.
“The documentary opened my eyes about how animals were viciously slaughtered for food and I didn’t want to be a part of that. The transition to become a vegan was easy for me. I didn’t crave for the chicken or the taste of fish as I knew where the food source came from,” she shared with FMT via a phone interview.
Vegans differ from vegetarians as they do not eat meat or consume food derived from animals such as eggs, dairy and honey. Vegetarians consume dairy and honey. Samantha became a full vegan in 2018, while still studying for her psychology degree in the US.
With the many vegan restaurants there, observing a vegan diet and sourcing for vegan products were relatively easy.
But upon returning to Malaysia in 2019, she realised just how expensive vegan products were here. Still, she persevered, surviving mostly on mock meat and sourcing vegetarian options from grocery stores and restaurants.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit and lockdowns were in full swing, Samantha used the time on her hands to experiment with food such as seitan, a high-protein meat substitute made of wheat gluten.
From adding spices to vegetables, seitan became Samantha’s main food source as she learnt how to transform the dough into mock meat as her everyday ingredient.
“I decided to bake my own vegan pizzas with Portuguese-inspired flavours to pay homage to my ancestry,” she said, explaining that she missed the delicious vegan pizzas she used to devour in the US when studying there.
After many failed attempts, she finally mastered the art of making the pizza crust – something that her online business now prides itself on.
And after getting the ultimate seal of approval from her grandparents, she opened her part-time home-based business ‘Seitan’s Kitchen’ in July 2021.
Today, some of her hot-selling items include Curry Devil pizza with a charcoal crust, and even Curry Devil pasta.
She’s also introduced Malay-themed pizzas such as Rendang Pizza and Nasi Lemak Pizza. Other delicious creations include Mexican pizza and ‘Cili Padi Mac n Cheese’.
“Malaysians in general love their rendang and nasi lemak. If you introduce anything spicy, it will most likely be a hit,” she quipped.
Most of her customers are vegans, while others include those who observe ‘meat-free’ days. She is also looking to expand her home-based business to Subang.
When not spending time in the kitchen concocting new recipes or fulfilling customers’ orders, Samantha is out there feeding the stray dogs in her area.
On certain days of the week, she puts aside a portion of her profits to purchase food for them.
“It doesn’t take much to feed the strays. I’m not in a position to send the dogs for neutering or spaying, but what I can do is to make sure they don’t go hungry,” she said.
She also collaborated with AIESEC, an international youth platform on a project called “Clean our plate” in 2021 to help reduce food waste.