This is what the 'bleeding' vegan burger at Mildreds is really like

Simeon Van der Molen claims to have created the burger of the future. His patty sizzles in the pan as it’s cooking, colours around the edges, and when perfected the succulent centre bleeds onto the plate. So far, nothing revolutionary, but this is no regular beef burger: in fact, it doesn’t contain a single ounce of meat.

This is the Moving Mountains B12, the UK’s first meatless “bleeding” burger. It follows The Impossible Burger, available in the US, which is also plant-based. Moving Mountains goes a step further with texture and juiciness.

Brought exclusively to Dalston institution Mildreds by Van der Molen’s food company Moving Mountains, it has taken a team of UK scientists, chefs and farmers more than two years in a lab and more than 100 attempts to create the final, recipe.

They say it’s the most impactful food invention of the century: a plant-based meat burger that requires less land, less water and generates fewer greenhouse emissions than a regular quarter-pound of animal meat. Yet it looks, smells and tastes like beef. Biting into the patty I forget what I’m eating: the burger is tender, not dry like Quorn and other meat substitutes. The only difference is it’s not greasy and doesn’t squeeze as much as regular meat as I bite.

Disconcertingly, it looks like the real deal, too. It’s pink inside and juice seeps out onto the plate. This is beetroot juice, the waitress tells me. It’s served in a toasted bun and Mildred’s basil mayo is a nice, light touch.

It feels indulgent but it’s healthier than a regular burger, says Van der Molen. Each Moving Mountains B12 is vegan, free from antibiotics and hormones and has zero cholesterol. It also contains your entire recommended daily allowance of vitamin B12, traditionally associated with red meats, so it is an effective source of nutrients, while the base is made from oyster mushrooms, which help lower cholesterol.

The mushrooms also help maintain the succulent texture. Indeed, the burger replicates animal meat in every way: peas provide a source of protein, potatoes give it a slightly crispy grilled crust, coconut oil provides a fatty, satisfying consistency, wheat and soy proteins give a fibrous texture akin to the bite and depth of a traditional burger and beetroot juice allows a juicy “bleed” at the centre of the patty.

It’s so akin to animal meat, it will convert even the most committed carnivores, says Van der Molen — just yesterday, one customer was fooled into thinking it was beef.

That is the goal, says Van der Molen. His is not just another company trying to make a higher-quality vegan burgers: it’s targeted at meat-eaters and flexitarians.

The burger will launch there on Saturday and will be available every day, priced at £10. But you’ll need to act fast: it can only be purchased between noon and 2pm and it’s first come, first served. Van der Molen says it signals the start of a “plant-based meat revolution”. He calls the burger “a huge leap in innovation for humanity” that is not only better for diners’ health but for the environment. Indeed, the company name is a bold and powerful metaphor for the brand’s “massive” goal of living in harmony on a sustainable planet, as well as a daily affirmation in the form of cruelty-free, plant-based food and human health. “We are living in this age where we are going to see this huge transition from animal to lab.”

He predicts the introduction of lab-based meat into the mainstream to be five to 10 years away as companies such as his scale up production — Moving Mountains already has other plant-based meat products, such as meatballs, in the pipeline and he hopes to roll them out across the UK over the next few years.

There are discussions about selling the burger in supermarkets but in the meantime Londoners must get down to Mildred’s to taste it for themselves. Now you can have your meat and eat it — without harming the planet.