Rory Cowlam – Favourite Things

Rory Cowlam, also known as Rory the Vet, is a veterinary surgeon, author and television personality. Cowlam works as a vet in South London and is the co-founder of the veterinary app VidiVet. He first featured on the CBBC documentary series The Pets Factor in 2017 and since then has featured on various radio and television shows and is the resident vet for Blue Peter. Cowlam’s autobiography The Secret Life of A Vet came out in 2020 and shines a light on mental health in the veterinary profession. He is also an ambassador for RSPCA and Streetvet.

These are a few of Rory Cowlam’s favourite things…

Dogs

This one is inevitable, I know, but dogs are everything we need in life. Unadulterated happiness, silliness and love all wrapped up in a four-legged fluffy pal. What isn’t to love? I also owe my career to dogs as I grew up with Great Danes and it was a very special dog called Lulu who began my love for all creatures great and small. I now have my own dog Nala who I rescued from the RSPCA last year and she is incredible.

Food

Few people know that I was actually a chef while training to be a vet. My love of food comes from my mum, she is an incredible cook and passed her love of cooking and eating onto me at a very young age. Living in London I love nothing more than going out to nice restaurants and I’m often the annoying punter who wants to know what was in the sauce and where they source their ingredients,

Plants

I have become obsessed with house plants; everything from growing my own herbs to trying to break the record from the biggest monstera. There are plants everywhere in my house, I essentially live in a greenhouse I picked up horticulture over lockdown and I’m beginning to be known for turning up to people’s houses with a cutting from one of my plants.

Wine

Arguably this goes with food, but not always. I’m really getting into the science behind wine and learning about growing and production. I am actually looking at courses into studying wine and would love to one day start my own cellar.

Sport

Running and cycling are my things. Exercise is good for mental health and keeps me grounded, especially when things are really busy with work. I just ran the London Marathon which I’m so proud of. I started applying for the ballot when I was 16 years old and had been refused every single year until 2020 – I decided to contact the RSPCA and they let me run for them! I’m a huge sports fan too, nothing gets between me and a formula 1 weekend.

Enjoyed Rory Cowlam’s favourites? Explore the full Favourite Things archive here.