Review: Nando’s The Great Imitator

Anushka Searle on 23 October 2020

f you haven’t heard the news, Nando’s has released its very own vegan chicken – made from pea protein! After some research I’m still not sure as to how this ‘pea protein’ is shaped into these chicken-like-strips. Nonetheless, this is the nicest chicken imitation I’ve ever tasted. In fact, my meat-eating Italian boyfriend even stated that this was “as close as you could get to chicken”, which is a major compliment. Though, as a vegetarian I normally stay away from fake meat, I was also pleasantly surprised by The Great Imitator, even though I despise the name.

You can choose to have your vegan chicken in wrap, pitta or burger. I went for the wrap which contained lettuce, plant-based perinaise, and chilli jam! I think the strips worked well in the wrap as they were well distributed. The strips were well marinated, but the marinade doesn’t absorb as well into the plant-based alternative. I usually go for medium spice, but I think I should have gone for hot! As for the strips themselves, I think the ‘meat’ has a nice texture – not as dry as Quorn!

My boyfriend tried The Great Imitator pitta – which I also had a nibble of! The pitta contains lettuce, semi-dried peri tomatoes, cucumber moons (Nando’s bizarre description) and plant-based perinaise. I think the combination of fake meat with pitta bread is a little bit too dry. Unlike the wrap, the strips don’t work as well in the pitta, as they are not well distributed – a patty would be better! He also decided to try the new coconut and lime marinade, which I personally found to taste quite odd – who wants their Nando’s to taste like Malibu?

Along with trying The Great Imitator, we also tried the new plant-based garlic perinaise. The dip had quite a subtle garlic flavour, and as a massive garlic fan, I would have liked it to be a little bit stronger and more reminiscent of Domino’s garlic and herb. However, the texture of this dip was spot on and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between that and the non-vegan perinaise – who needs eggs?

Now, I must address the elephant in the room. There was some controversy that The Great Imitator isn’t vegan as it is cooked on the same grill as the meat. However, the Nando’s grill is as long as a kitchen counter, and all vegan and vegetarian items are cooked on their own section of the same grill. Therefore, although The Great Imitator is vegetarian, it would be cooked on the same grill as halloumi, so there will be some non-vegan contamination.

Though I did enjoy The Great Imitator wrap, I don’t think I will be swapping this out for my usual order. My usual order is a medium sweet potato and butternut wrap with added halloumi, which at the moment isn’t on the reduced menu, so The Great Imitator will have to do for now.

Header image credit: popsugar uk

Let’s Travel with Emily In Paris

Anushka Searle on 9 October 2020

Anushka Searle reviews Netflix’s new hit show, Emily in Paris.

During a time when all we want to do is travel, this show gives a beautiful glimpse of the romantic city- Paris!

The show of course follows the character Emily, who is a marketing executive from Chicago. Emily is given the opportunity to go to Paris to give a vulnerable French marketing company an ‘American perspective’. As you can imagine her French colleagues begrudge her American perspective and the fact that she can’t even speak French. I found the cultural struggles between Emily and her fellow colleagues very funny, such as when Emily asks if her boss would like to go for lunch and Sylvie replies “No, I’ll have a cigarette”.

Credit: IMDB

Emily’s lack of understanding of all things French brings a lot of comedy to the show. However, her consistent confusion of the 1st floor being the ground floor in France becomes a positive thing for Emily, as it leads to her mistakenly trying to open the door to the apartment of her gorgeous French neighbour, Gabriel. As you can probably tell, this is not just a comedic show about a lonely travelling American, but also a major romance! Though the love interests in the show are unsurprisingly ALL gorgeous, her rocky dating experience is fairly relatable.

Credit: Buzzfeed
“Emily” Credit: Byrdie
“Blair” Credit: Pinterest

One of my favourite parts of this show is Emily’s fashion, which seems very reminiscent of the tv show Gossip Girl, especially with Emily’s love of hats, much like the notorious Blair Waldorf (also a lover of all things Paris)!  If you are a fan of Gossip Girl, then this is definitely the show for you! Much like GG this show has sickly sweet romances, betrayal, cheesy comedy, to-die-for fashion, and the best eye candy.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed this show, as a light-hearted easy watch after a long day of online Uni, it has received some negative comments from French critics. In a review for Premiere, Charles Martin says “no cliché is spared, not even the weakest”, these clichés include all French people being “lazy”, “flirtatious”, and “sexist”. However, as this show is shown from Emily’s perspective, we are seeing her biased perspective of the French people she encounters, and not a true representation. Certainly, this series projects Paris as a romantic wonderland, and although this is unrealistic it brings the watcher joy to see such an idyllic city. Indeed, the Financial Times recognised that some of Paris’ “real-life dwellers” found it to be a “light-hearted antidote to Covid”. With such mixed reviews it seems that the only way to truly judge this show is to watch it for yourself.

Header Image Credit: IMDB

Miss Americana: Taylor Swift’s Political and Musical Journey

Anushka Searle on 21 February 2020

This eye-opening film begins with Taylor Swift looking through her old diaries and songwriting books, immediately declaring to the audience that this film will expose Swift’s secrets, both personal and musical. Swift reminisces over the quill pens she use to write with and shows her nerdy side with excitement over her “glass quill with an inkjet”. Through all the controversy that we’ve seen Swift go through, the world began to ignore her talent. However, this film begins by bringing us back to Swift’s humble beginnings, of writing songs when she was just 13, a girl with stars in her eyes. The film engages you with home videos from Taylor Swift receiving her first guitar on Christmas morning, to Tim McGraw hitting number 60 on the Billboard charts. 

Credit: Netflix

This biographical documentary depicts Swift’s musical journey from country star to pop icon, while also showing the creation of her new mature masterpiece, Lover. What stood out for me specifically was the clear artistry behind Swift and Joel Little’s song producing process. The film not only showed how Lover was created as an apologia for Swift’s lack of political activism but significantly exposed her talent for songwriting and for making hit-worthy music. Swift is not seen writing in a flashy music studio with a big production company. Lover is instead created with just Joel Little beside her, with Taylor Swift wearing joggers and a baggy t-shirt. Indeed, the studios Swift and Little write in (Electric Lady Studios) were designed to be relaxing to encourage artists’ creativity, and most famously that of Jimmy Hendrix. Swift, unlike many big artists, isn’t hiding behind a glass screen singing into giant microphones and letting big producers do the work for her, she is part of the entire creative process. We even get to see how Swift comes up with the music video for ‘Me!’, which won three awards for Best Video (MTV Europe Music Awards), Best Visual Effects (MTV Video Music Awards), and Best Female International Artist Video (MTV Video Music Awards). 

Credit: The New York Times

Additionally, the release of this film was coupled with the release of Taylor Swift’s single ‘Only The Young’, and much like the film, it expresses Swift’s opinion on the current political climate and her place in it. We see in the film how it was Swift’s court case against David Mueller that produced this fire in her to speak up, not only for herself but also politically. However, it is Taylor Swift’s disappointment over the result of the Tennessee midterm elections, and her want to no longer be silenced by men in her life, that fortified the power song ‘Only The Young’. This song powerfully declares that Swift and any other young individual should never let their voice be silenced, because it is the young that are most affected by this political climate, and therefore only the young can understand the struggle and must be the ones to continue to advocate change. Though the young may have been “outnumbered, this time”, and may be disheartened by a bad election result, or problematic legislation, Swift tells us that this song is “basically saying resist”. Telling us to keep resisting, because social movements are gradual, and change will only come about if the young persist in making their voices heard.

No matter your opinion on Swift this is an astonishing film, that explores how female celebrities are controlled and silenced. It truly shows how passionate Swift is about human rights, and her impassioned need to use her influential voice for social and political reform. Therefore, this film will undoubtedly give anyone newfound respect for Taylor Swift, not only for her artistry but for how unfairly she has been treated over the years. 

Header Image Credit: Pitchfork