Up Close: Meet Holly from Dopa Delights - creating acclaimed plant-based delicacies in Hitchin | Local News | News | Hitchin Nub News

Hitchin Nub News aims to support our community, promoting shops, businesses, charities, clubs and sports groups.

We showcase some of these businesses, organisations and interesting individuals from our area displaying creativity and innovation in our regular feature called 'Up Close'.

This week we are featuring Dopa Delights, a brilliant independent business in Hitchin.

So, here to speak more on plant-based delicacies in Hitchin is Holly Merry from Dopa Delights, interviewed by Cianne Khan

For more on Holly and Dopa's mouth-watering vegan fayre, follow Holly and Dopa on Insta

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Up Close: Meet Holly from Dopa Delights - creating succulent plant-based delicacies in Hitchin

By Cianne Khan

"I believe that helping to show people just how good dairy free food can be is just one way we can encourage a plant-based diet, along with activism in the form of protests, education in the form of documentaries and books and just having open discussions with people". – Dopa Delights baker Holly Merry

Last year Hitchin was named as one of the best places to live in the UK, and every year we see more and more people come to our beguiling town, writes Cianne Khan

Yet, not only is Hitchin rising through the ranks - so is veganism.

According to DataHub, there were record breaking stats for the amount of people signing up for Veganuary, with one person signing up every 2.4 seconds on New Year's Day. This could mean veganism is on the rise, including in Hitchin.

This can also be backed up by the fact that in the UK alone the number of vegans has quadrupled in the last five years, according to DataHub.

Dopa Delights is a 100 per cent vegan home bakery and patisserie, based in Hitchin.

It is run by 31-year-old Holly Merry, who has been vegan for seven years and has been in the cooking world for the last 18.

The name Dopa Delights is inspired by the word dopamine.

Holly told Nub News: "For me, eating a nice piece of cake or a lovely bake with a coffee has always been something that can help me feel just a little better on a bad day", which I think a lot of us can agree with, "whether it's a celebration cake or a doughnut you bought for a friend having a bad time, the dopa is the part of the brain that creates dopamine".

There is often a stigma associated with the word 'vegan' that defers people from trying anything labelled so, but actually the best part about vegan food is that everyone can enjoy it even those with dairy allergies.

Part of the reason why Holly refers to their bakery business as plant-based instead of vegan is to avoid any backlash.

"There is still negative around the word 'vegan' for some people," concedes Holly, adding: "and I wanted to make sure that everyone felt welcome to try our food".

When asked if it was harder for Holly to gain customers due being a plant-based business they responded "I get a lot of customers come to me because I can cater to their milk/dairy allergies.

"I also think that plant-based eating, or at least people trying to consume less dairy and eggs for the environment is becoming more popular and dare I say fashionable".

By Cianne Khan

For more on Dopa's mouth-watering vegan fayre, follow Holly (below) and Dopa on Insta