Top chefs meet their match as vegan duo 'bitch' their way to a bestseller

THEIR opening salvo was called a "funny, foul-mouthed ode to adopting a vegan diet" on its way to becoming a runaway best-seller.

Skinny Bitch, by American authors Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, flew off the shelves on both sides of the Atlantic after being endorsed by stick-thin fashion icon Victoria Beckham.

Now, in a challenge to the conventional wisdom of Nigella and Co, the vegan revolution is continuing with a second outing into publishing. Skinny Bitch In The Kitch – a vegan recipe book – has become one of the best-selling volumes of its type over the festive period, shifting more than 20,000 copies in the UK alone in less than a month and rivalling those produced by culinary stars such as Gordon Ramsay, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Rick Stein.

The cookbook continues in the same irreverent tone as its predecessor in its feisty attitude towards the meat and dairy products industry and promoting a healthier, vegetable-based diet. It describes itself as "kick-ass recipes for hungry girls who want to stop cooking crap and start looking hot!"

It contains more than 100 dishes in chapters entitled Bitchin' Breakfasts, Pissy Mood Snacks (PMS), Skinny-Ass Salads and Skinny Bitch Staple Meals.

Chicken noodle soup is described as "just like mum used to make – minus the pieces of decomposing rotting chicken carcass".

Despite its seemingly-indigestible qualities, the original Skinny Bitch became one of the hottest-selling vegan books ever published, with approaching 900,000 sales.

The message is simple. In order to be skinny like the authors, throw out meat, eggs, dairy products and refined sugars and flours, and join the ranks of vegans.

"I ate at Burger King every single day of 1992," Freedman said. "For years, if it didn't come from a drive-through or a can, I wasn't interested."

She first adopted veganism, a diet that avoids not just animal proteins like meat, but also foods animals make, such as milk, eggs and honey, not as a health or weight-loss regime, but as an extension of her interest in animal rights. At the time she was a booker for runway models, and Barnouin was one of her clients.

With a vague notion of educating other people, 38-year-old Barnouin went on to study holistic nutrition. Freedman, 33, went further down the vegan path, to the point that her dogs, Timber and Joey, eat a meat-free, dairy-free diet.

After the success of Skinny Bitch, the authors were overwhelmed by requests for recipes and menus.

Barnouin had learned the basics of French cooking from her husband, a chef from Provence, in France. But she and Freedman hired a vegan "cookbook consultant" to write the recipes.

Barnouin said: "I do think we tapped into the anger and frustration a lot of people feel about food and dieting and body image."

Sales of Skinny Bitch took off last May when Victoria 'Posh Spice' Beckham, a vegetarian, was spotted carrying a copy, according to Vicky Gilder, spokeswoman for the book's London publisher, Running Press.

But nutritionists in Scotland sounded a note of caution over the adoption of a strictly vegan lifestyle.

Dr Catherine Hankey, senior lecturer in human nutrition at Glasgow University, said: "The problems with a vegan diet is that it needs huge preparation time so it might not fit in to today's busy lifestyles.

"You also need to take supplements of vitamin B12, which are found in animal products, or there is a risk of developing anaemia."

But Lynda Korimboccus, founder of the Scottish Vegans group, said: "This book sounds great because anything that helps challenge the assumption that vegans only eat lettuce has to be good thing."

'Chicken' Noodle Soup

Just like mom used to make – minus the pieces of decomposing, rotting chicken carcass

Makes about 2.25 litres

1 tablespoon refined coconut oil

1 carrot, 1 stick celery

diced onion

115g white or brown mushrooms

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

teaspoon pepper

teaspoon curry powder

2 litres vegan chicken stock

2 teaspoons Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or 1 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce)

1 bay leaf

225g vegan chicken strips

115g wholemeal or brown rice pasta

Heat the coconut oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the carrot, celery and onion. Stir occasionally, until crisp-tender (about two minutes). Stir in the stock, Bragg's Liquid Aminos and bay leaf. Bring to the boil. Add the vegan chicken and pasta. Cook until the pasta is tender. Remove the bay leaf and serve.