Saturday 8 October 2022

The invention of PruFections


What began in 2011 as an extension of an animation character of a koala-bear vegan chef, incorporating a set of recipes that I had converted into dairy-free, egg-free, plant-based, vegan alternatives (using avocado as the replacement for both these two ingredients used in traditional sponge cake recipes) became an exploration into more and more culinary experimentation.  

Five years later, I was in the transitional position of showcasing these new culinary treats to the public. I had acquired a catering license from LA county so I could sell directly or via stores. This was meant to run alongside my own recipe books, that would be illustrated and showcased  by BbBb - my animated, vegan chef. 

Meet Gooba and BbBb - the vegan chef


Illustrative designs in preparation for vegetable protein cook book and plushie Pru Feria Toys 

However, shortly into setting this up and doing weekly farmers markets, another pivotal event occurred that altered the direction I believed I had been heading. Invaluable advice was given to me by an executive at a ‘wrap party’ at CBS,  Radcliffe studios to not let my recipes go public - that I should protect them, as a chemist would with a new medicine. (my @prufections were selected to celebrate the end of the filming of a TV series, as I was able to create various gluten-free versions, for certain members of the cast and crew) 

Registering for a recipe patent proved problematic, as it would protect it in one sense, however would also make it publicly accessible. The patent officer advised against it , recommending I follow the example of Coca Cola and helped me to register my recipes as a trade secret.

After a few years of range development, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to be able to supply stores worldwide with my @prufections - and to do this presented a new set of obstacles that I needed to overcome. The solution I came to was the freezing of the blends - I stumbled on this being viable by chance as I had extra mixture and I thought I would test whether it was possible to freeze both the cake batter and the frosting.

I was delighted with the results and then spent the following two years testing all my blends through this process and perfecting the recipes in all three ranges - 1) Original  (all purpose flour and unrefined cane sugar) 2) Glutenfree (rice flour and coconut sugar) 3) Keto (almond & coconut flour and monk fruit/stevia)

During the pandemic, I made the decision to concentrate on the development and film promotion of these ranges and limit the amount of actual direct catering - the instructional videos and packaging are in their final stages.

These will be showcased within the educational program I have also been working on: BbBb metamorphosed from an animated character to a puppet that now has his own show - ‘BbBb’s Cosmic Creativity Show’.


BbBb’s Cosmic Cuisine - vegan recipes ( no dairy, no eggs)

Chocolate cake bites
(made with avocado)


Lemon cake bites with strawberries
(made with avocado)


Vegan Cheesecake icecream
(made with silken tofu)