Calum Harris is a 22-year-old ‘Instagram-sensation’ who goes by the handle @madebyblitz. He started making simple, accessible vegan food content for Instagram in 2019 and has worked with some of the UK’s biggest food brands already, as well as holding a sell-out pop up restaurant in London and most recently appearing on Jamie Oliver’s new TV show – The Great Cookbook Challenge. We spent ten minutes with Calum to find out some of the questions you’ve been dying to know!

365: Describe a typical day in the life of Calum

 C: Honestly you’re probably going to go “is that it?” But yeah, it mainly consists of creating videos and cooking. I’ll work out in the mornings, I think for me it sets me up for the day better rather than delaying it till the end of the day. I’ll also factor in time to plan recipes for future videos, possibly a meeting or two, my day is odd. On the one hand, it’s predictable, but at the same time, anything can come up that I’ll have to do there and then. That’s the fun of it! 

365: You have 122k followers on Instagram now and Plantboiis have over 23k, how did you start out on this incredible journey? 

C: For me, I wanted to prove that going vegan, or eating more plant-based food specifically, is easier than everyone thinks. And if someone like me, who didn’t know how to properly cook in the beginning, can do it, then anyone can. 

The start of the journey, however, came from making videos. I was working full time in a job and I’d film my recipes in the evening or in lunch breaks during lockdown. It was a mad routine, and I ended posting videos almost every day for a good year and a half. And it’s something I’ll always want to do, as I absolutely adore content creating and the food scene itself. What you’re seeing is the result of that, and it’s just the beginning of it.

PLANTBOIIS was slightly different. When you grow, so does your network of people in a way. And I ended up meeting people with their own pages, who weren’t the typical vegan, but lads I’d actually have a drink and a bite with regularly. So one day, I think in September 2020, myself, Ben and Johnny made an Instagram group chat, then the group account. And now we’re here. 

365: What do you love most about your career? 

C: I love the fact I can make a good living out of something I love doing. That in itself is what everyone aspires to have, and the fact I’m lucky enough to do it is amazing. The whole digital creator space is exciting as well, and it presents some brilliant opportunities that prove that you can have big dreams and be yourself and absolutely go and smash them.

 365: Tell us some of your favourite places to eat out/shop for ingredients in London.

C: Funnily enough, I love a Tesco shop. That Clubcard is like gold dust, if you know, you know. I enjoy shopping in Borough Market, and I think there you really appreciate good food, and how it ends up in the market.  For eating out, I love Mildreds and their sister restaurant Mallow, which is just proper grub that just so happens to be plant-based. I’m also a fan of Club Mexicana, however, there are plenty of places that I still need to go to, and I bet I’m definitely going to be blown away by.

365: What’s your favourite dish/recipe at the moment? 

C: I made a rendition of a butter “chicken” which of course, was plant-based (omg no way, I didn’t realise in sarcasm) which is a right crowd pleaser with everyone who has tried it. However I’ve started to be picky with what I post, I’ve started plotting what recipes do the best in terms of repetition by other people and how they perform on a like/comment/share perspective. I don’t like comparing likes and stats, but it’s my job to see what people like and what they don’t, and making sure I’m staying relevant in the scene, as well as making stuff I love. Does that make sense? I hope it does. 

365: Tell us a few of your ‘must have’ recipe books. 

C: Any book by Jamie Oliver and Yotam Ottolenghi sit well with me. I also love the BOSH and Happy Pear books too. I just got my first Nigel Slater book recently so it’s pretty nice to see why people enjoy his writing. And lastly, soft spot for Joe Wicks, guys a legend. 

365: What does 2022 have in store for you? 

C: As I said above, pretty unpredictable. I managed to be picked as a cook on The Great Cookbook Challenge and got to work with Jamie Oliver. Which, for someone who considers him a hero, was pretty out of body. And I absolutely adored the process. I’d love to have my first cookbook ready to go, as well as a proper attempt at the YouTube channel, as I started and, as you know, things get in the way that need attention first. Sky’s the limit, and I want to do as much as I can to be the resource for vegan cooking.