DUH!

Once, I was offered to make authentic Indian samosas for a traditional Portuguese restaurant. I did do it. It was fun and seemed like a good business to run. Making samosas from my tiny kitchen. Ultimately, for me it was fun as a one time thing. One of my friends started selling Pão de Queijo (Brazilian cheese bread which is really delicious) from his house. He did quite well with it but eventually that ended too. See, the thing with selling one particular dish is to really believe in it. Even if it works, it is not an easy thing to keep going. But if you really believe in your product and are resilient enough, it just might work. Elodie Gomes, really believed in her cause and ended up with, according to me, the cutest place in Porto selling vegan donuts.

Elodie and her best friend Patricia are vegan. You can find good places to enjoy vegan food in Porto now, but back then it was a struggle. They really believed in it and were constantly trying new dishes. They were also coming up with ideas to make it more accessible to everyone. One thing they loved were donuts and they could never find vegan ones around them. On a trip to Berlin, they came across all the food they loved and adored the donuts they had there. After coming back to the ‘no donuts for them’ reality, they started making their own. When they got to a recipe that really worked it was time to test them out on their friends. The friends enjoyed them too and it turned into a small household business. 

With all the response they were getting, it seemed natural to have a proper space where people could access them. They used to make donuts for a vegan restaurant in the centre too, to see how things would go but found it better to have their own space. About a few years ago the search for a location began. There are a lot of tiny streets in Porto where you can find hidden gems and a lot of building complexes have little alleys passing through them. There is one right in the centre with a great vintage clothing store called ‘Mon Père’ and at the entrance of the alley, an extremely tiny shop that is owned by the store. That shop used to be the home to many businesses, a guy used to sell plants, then someone sold magazines through it and so on. While Elodie was on a trip, Patricia came across this shop. The rent was under their budget, they had no investors and it seemed like a good starting place, so 4 years ago Duh! Vegan Donuts became a thing. 

I am always open to trying new things. One thing that I can be skeptic about is turning baked goods that really work, Vegan. They taste great but I always sense something missing. Maybe it is just that my taste buds have been primed to a certain texture, a feel. These donuts though, are fantastic, I could never distinguish these from the normal ones and turns out that it takes a lot of work. Now, Elodie is running this place alone (don’t worry, Patricia and Elodie are still best friends). So, every morning she makes these donuts in her kitchen which is a difficult task. Porto homes are generally not equipped with heating and specially during the winters it is a hassle to control the temperature. And we all know how much of a difference the climate makes while baking stuff. She is always working on her techniques, learning something new everyday, to make these donuts perfect. The best thing about them is that they are naturally fresh. Like the normal ones, they don’t work the following day. So, you will always get the fresh stuff. 

They are a delight! You can either enjoy them sitting in front of the shop and really take in the essence of this space or you can carry them for a walk on a sunny day around the centre. Elodie does make a limited number, so on a good day, the donuts can be sold out very fast. She is always experimenting with new flavours and combinations that work really well. See, Elodie’s resilience and love for her product really panned out, and I hope she is able to continue this ( because I love these donuts). Go on and show some love to this place. Maybe, have a talk with Elodie too, she is really fun.