Pulse Check: Esen Boyacıgiller

I’m a regular in London and New York, but I’m from Istanbul.

I have recently found inspiration from: I spend a lot of time in East London, inspired by the fashion, the creativity at vegan restaurants, and the openness to learning. I'm also inspired by my sister Belkıs, who owns Istanbul's best (in my biased opinion) vegan restaurant, Bi Nevi Deli, and has been innovating for over 10 years. Animal activists like Earthling Ed and Michelin star chefs like Alexis Gauthier, who went vegan in 2016 and removed all animal products from his restaurant menus entirely in 2021 after learning about animal cruelty, inspire me too. Lastly, I'm moved by those fighting for women's rights and abortion rights in America.

The vegan product/dish/recipe in cannot live without: When I am in Turkey, I cannot live without my sister’s Cashew Cream (the best non-dairy cheese in Istanbul, made with natural ingredients), Upper Crust pizza (they have a collab with Bi Nevi) and Pelin’s Ekmek. When in London, I am obsessed with Manilife peanut butter and eat at Mildred’s constantly. And of course I adhere to the ‘nootch on everything’ mantra. Vegans lovingly refer to nutritional yeast, an inactive yeast that tastes cheesy, that is high in protein, low in calories and high in B12- an essential micronutrient that must be supplemented on a vegan diet- as ‘nootch’. It goes with everything and I use it a lot. 

My favorite vegan hangout: Bi Nevi Deli in Istanbul and ‘We Are Vegan Everything’ (WAVE) in Hackney, which is cozy, has outdoor seating, and serves the best vegan brunch—especially their Vegan Benedict.

My favorite hangout to be by myself: My home, of course! I’m a Taurus and love relaxing with my cat, Lenny, who was rescued from the Bronx, NYC. He’s a constant reminder of why I’m vegan.

When I want to grab something vegan on the go, I go to: Vegan on the go usually means a nut bar, banana, or almonds, which you can find at any bodega or market. I love vegan pastries and was obsessed with Erin McKenna’s Bakery in NYC’s Lower East Side.

After midnight you can find me: SLEEPING! 

The book/film/talk/podcast that made me vegan: So many! What’s cool is that there’s a documentary for every reason you might go vegan. Gamechangers for athletes, Seaspiracy, I Could Never Go Vegan, and Earthlings for ethical vegans, Forks Over Knives and What The Health for the health-freaks. Books like Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals and Diet for a New America, and Rich Roll’s podcast also help. I follow inspiring vegan influencers/chefs like Sam Turnbull, Nisha Vora, Yeliz Utku (a longtime vegan in Istanbul), and Ferhan Talib. But beyond all this, what helped me most was that, when I went vegan, I was learning how to cook. Finding exquisite vegan recipe websites made it easier and fun. You have to learn to cook when you go vegan or you’ll be stuck with less healthy options. Isa Chandra Moskowitz (author of 10+ cookbooks), Chloe Coscarelli, and Angela Liddon were some of my original favorites. Once you start making delicious, healthy recipes, you realize the lifestyle is sustainable.

The thing that surprises me as a vegan: How easy it is to be vegan in 2024 yet we still face so much judgment, resistance, and ridicule. You ask why vegans seem so ‘crazy’ and ‘angry’? Because we live in a world that constantly shows us how little it values animals and their right to live.

A fellow vegan must meet: Having at least one vegan friend is so important! You can feel so alone in this journey. It’ll make you crazy, trying to understand how you can be the only one around you making this loving choice. I went to dinner a few months back with eight friends, all of whom were eating steak; me the lonely vegan! I made a new friend recently, Rohini, a fellow plant-based nutritionist, which has been the best because we chat and try new vegan restaurants together all the time.

A vegan vacation I would like to recommend: My sister and I have always wanted to attend Rich Roll’s Italy retreat. He’s the author of Finding Ultra, has a podcast, and has been a huge inspiration to me, even a mentor, for years.

Discover more of Esen’s journey here

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