Doppleganger levels up
to use traditional techniques and ingredients was really interesting to me.” After trying a plant-based diet for a month, he read into veganismmore and began to notice he felt healthier, so decided to stick with it, but found the options for dining out uninspiring. “There was a lot of bean patties and not very adventurous food,” he laughs. Working at the time as a designer for a consultancy in Cambridge, his boss allowed him to use the office’s Regent Street rooftop as a venue for his first series of pop-ups – and Doppleganger was born. With every event a sell-out, Alf knew he was onto something and began emailing venues in the city to see if they’d allow him to use their kitchens for his new venture. Eventually, 2648 took him up on his offer and he began making burgers there at weekends alongside his regular job. Soon, the pop-up was doing a roaring trade and Alf realised he wanted to take Doppleganger full-time, so handed in his notice at his job and took over the kitchens at 2648 on a permanent basis. Before long an investor took notice and expressed his interest; an “out of the blue” opportunity that set Doppleganger on the path to opening a permanent restaurant in Cambridge. A deal was struck and premises – the building previously home to Caffe Sicilia on Regent Street – was found.
I f you’ve had your ear to the local food scene ground, you might have already got wind of Doppleganger, the vegan burger outfit making waves with a hugely successful residency at cocktail bar 2648. With the city already in thrall to its intriguing plant- based creations, the company is about to take things to the next level with the launch of a restaurant in the city centre – and all signs point to it being one of the most interesting new openings of 2019. The story began around a year and a half ago, when owner Alf Fowler became a vegan. For him, it wasn’t so much about ethical considerations as the exciting challenge it posed for him as a chef. “It was like learning to cook again,” he explains. “I worked in kitchens throughout my time at university, but they were predominantly meat-based, using a lot of game especially – it was very classic cookery. “Going vegan seemed like a massive challenge: the idea of not being able
“Going vegan was like learning to cook again”
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