Waitrose to start selling vegan chicken wings with ‘realistic bone’ by vegan restaurant Biff’s

The sugarcane ‘bone’ has divided opinions among vegans

Biff’s plant-based chicken wings with a realistic ‘bone' (Biff’s)

A vegan chicken wing product featuring a realistic “bone” will be sold in Waitrose from 6 April.

The plant-based wing, created by vegan street food purveyors Biff’s, is made from jackfruit, mushrooms, and carrots, coated in a crispy breadcrumb mixture with a spear of sugarcane that forms the “bone”.

The Jackfruit Wingz are part of a vegan street food range launching in the supermarket this month, which will also include Jackfruit Burgers, Smoky Chilli Cheeze Waffle Fries, Banging Bhaji Loaded Fries and two plant-based sauces.

According to Biff’s, the vegan chicken wing was created to resemble a meat-based chicken wing as closely as possible, in hopes of enticing meat eaters, as well as vegans, to try it.

Vegans celebrated the upcoming launch on Biff’s Instagram page, with many fans declaring it was “the most unreal news ever” and tagging other friends in the comments.

One person wrote: “This is huge”, while another said it was a signal to “get the BBQ ready gurlfrannn [sic].”

However, others were less sure about the idea of a plant-based bone-in chicken wing.

One person asked: “Is anyone else a little uncomfortable about the ‘bone’?”

On Twitter, one person called the development of similar vegan products “deranged”, writing: “I 100 per cent understand calling something vegan whatever (vegan chicken, vegan steak, vegan ribs, etc) because it’s meant to approximate that food but ya’ll be doing too much.

“Shaping that s*** like chicken wing and putting fake bones… is deranged behaviour.”

But Biff Bloom-Burrows, founder of the popular Dalston restaurant, said it was understandable that people would find it “a little weird”.

“We want to make a product that’s not only better for the planet, but can show people that even the elements of meat that seem so intrinsic to animals can be bettered in both taste, experience and impact.

“As vegans ourselves, we understand that the sugarcane can, at first bite, seem a little weird – especially if bones are something that always made you feel uncomfortable in a meat product.

“We respect those opinions, but over time it’s an element of the dish we’ve become increasingly proud of as a way to engage with people, trigger conversations and show off what natural, plant-based ingredients can achieve.”

A pack of four vegan chicken wings will cost £4.50 and will be available in 280 Waitrose stores from Wednesday 6 April.