Meet the Happy Pear!

Say hi to David & Stephen Flynn! The twin brothers from Ireland, who are very much into vegan cooking. On February 9, those guys visited the ‘Gezondheidsbeurs’ (Health Fair) in Utrecht, the Netherlands. We had an interview with them at the ‘Kook Theater’ where they gave a presentation.  

It all began in 2001. The two brothers changed their diet. At first, they became vegetarian. However, that triggered it all, and they opened their own fruit & veg-shop. After that, they opened their café in 2005. They did this as vegetarians, because vegan was not very well-known at that time. In the meantime they have 33 products in around a thousand stores in Ireland, from hummus to pesto, to granola, to juices and soups. Their products are sold in the Irish supermarkets, as well as in the UK. “We’ve got three cafes, we do cook books, we do talks, we do YouTube and TV. There are 130 people in our team, it is quite a business…” As the business was growing, they had opportunities to open up many more shops and to become more busy: “But we made the decision a few years ago that we want a happy lifestyle, have breakfast with our family, bring our kids to school, put our kids to bed, have a balance between the work you love and have family time. What I’m most proud of is that we combine it all.” But what is coming up next? “At the moment we’ve got online courses, we just released ‘the happy gut course’. And we are building on an online vegan cooking course at the moment.”

The Happy Pear: Recipes for Happiness
Their last book, ‘The Happy Pear: recipes for happiness’, is the first one that is an international bestseller. They put in a lot of easy, quick and tasty vegan food and 10-minute vegan dinners. It was all based on their YouTube channel: “We were asked by Jamie Olivier to join his YouTube channel, five years ago. Through YouTube we realized; people want quick dinners. You can cook a dinner in five minutes; like we just did in the workshop.” In the meantime, they’ve got 50 five minute dinners with 20 million views on YouTube.

For the book they turned the five minute dinners into 15 minute dinners: “In 15 minutes you will have a nice, healthy dinner, such as tikka masala with chick peas or a Thai yellow curry.” Also, they offer you smart healthy alternatives to burgers, nuggets and kebabs and sweetness like chocolate chip cookies and brownie pie. When we ask them to tell us what their favorite snack is David & Stephen Flynn answer: “Fruit. I like navel oranges, blueberries or raspberries, nuts and dried fruits, like dates. And  dipping an apple in almond butter!” His brother adds: “I like dried figs and brazil nuts.” At the question if they know a healthier receipt for the in Ireland famous Banoffee pie, they answer: “Yes, we make it a lot! Our version won’t fill you up to the same degree, but it tastes better and it is much healthier!” The book contains about a hundred recipes, and furthermore, inspiration to feel happier!