Vegan rolled ice cream business hits the UK

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Do you know what rolled ice cream is?

Rolled ice cream (also sometimes known as stir-fried ice cream) is a dessert made on a cold plate. Liquid (sweetened and flavoured) is spread thin on the cold plate and scraped using spatulas.

Once the liquid starts to turn into ice cream, it is scraped into rolls and served.

I recently heard from Cassie who has started a vegan rolled ice cream business called Twisted Tulip in the UK.

Cassie told me:

I started Twisted Tulip in August this year and have been attending vegan markets in the South West so far, but am hoping to attend larger markets and festivals across the country next year. We also have plans to cater weddings, parties, and events. As far as I am aware, I am the only 100% vegan rolled ice cream company in England.

How fab!

I love this idea. Vegan ice cream being made on site at events!

If you would like to keep updated on events where Twisted Tulip will be appearing, follow the company on Facebook and Instagram.

And hire them for your own markets, parties, and celebrations!

Vegan café in Avignon, South of France

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My recent trip to Avignon was a dream.

We enjoyed gorgeous weather. The city was beautiful. Everything about my visit was perfect.

One component of the trip that added to my enjoyment more than most other aspects was my visit to Theias vegan café.

The food!

I was greatly impressed by the cuisine on offer at Theias. Sure, it was simple stuff but simple stuff done extremely well.

My favourite menu item was the bánh mì which was made with the most gloriously irresistible baguette I have ever experienced. I loved this sandwich so much, I bought an extra to eat an hour later!

The soup, the apple pie, the cheesecake, the quiche… it was all sensational.

There were also tubs of salad available along with vegan coleslaw dressing and mayo.

I truly haven’t been this satisfied with a meal in a long time. I was so happy!

You can see the exact location of the café thanks to Google Maps.

Extra note: Avignon is situated alongside the rive Rhone in the South of France. If you join me on our Vegan Culinary Cruises Provence adventure in November 2020, it would be my pleasure to personally accompany you to Theias for lunch during our stop in Avignon!

Read more about the cruise online here.

Return of Hackney Downs Festive Vegan Market

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It is back!

The original London vegan market, Hackney Downs Vegan Market, is back for one day only in festive form on Saturday December 14, 2019.

This festive market has become an annual tradition for vegans, the vegan-curious, and our friends from all across London. Our traders help us showcase the best plant-based street food in the capital and there are always plenty of cheeses and gifts, ensuring quality shopping.

Traders on the day include:

Vegan cheese and pantry

  • Kinda Co. – a London favourite when it comes to cheeses, they will be selling cheese boards for your Xmas table
  • New Roots – Vegan Cheese – one of the most innovative vegan cheese companies out there at the moment with spectacular products
  • Vegan Cartel – need vegan bacon? They have it for you in take home packs
  • Plant Based Artisan – the original and the best gourmet vegan honey alternative

Hot food

Cakes

  • Vegan Delice – one of the original Hackney Downs Vegan Market traders and our resident queen of cake

Gifts

Beer

  • All Good Beer – beer to help make your Xmas market experience even better!

Whether you are stocking up for Christmas or just coming along to eat your fill on the day, Hackney Downs Festive Vegan Market is the place to be.

The market will run between 11am and 5pm.

You can see the exact location of the festive market online thanks to Google Maps and be sure to invite your friends using the Facebook event.

New vegan pizza and beer hot spot for London

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The team that founded Young Vegans Pie Shop – London’s only vegan pie and mash outlet – have opened a new pizza restaurant in Bethnal Green, East London.

Young Vegans Pizza Shop opened its doors to the public for its launch on Wednesday the 13th of November, 2019. The restaurant contains 30 seats, a licensed bar, and a dedicated takeaway/delivery counter.

The Pizza Shop began life as ​Death By Pizza​, a small pop up based out of a ramshackle hut with clay pizza oven in Hackney serving up highly rated wood fired vegan pizzas. One year later and the company has rebranded it to Pizza Shop, aligning itself with the Pie Shop, and relocating to a much bigger space in Bethnal Green.

Young Vegans has always proudly produced all ingredients at their prep kitchen in Camden. These include mock meats and vegan cheeses, and the vegan mozzarella used at the Pizza Shop.

The revamped menu retains previously popular pizzas such as the Devil’s Coglioni (seitan pepperoni, mozzarella and marinara sauce) and the Holy Ghost (ricotta, mozzarella, marinara, red onions and spinach) as well as new favourite Horror Show (butternut squash, caramelised onions, mozzarella, marinara, walnuts and rocket). What’s new is the full set of starters and desserts, from mac ’n’ cheeze and mozzarella fingers to cheesecake and a cookie dough pie.

Alongside the much expanded food menu, Young Vegans Pizza Shop serves a range of cocktails, wines, and local craft beers from Hackney Brewery.

The restaurant’s weekly opening hours are Wednesday to Friday from 5pm-10pm, and Saturday and Sunday from midday-10pm.

You can follow Young Vegans Pizza Shop on Instagram.

You can see the exact location of the restaurant thanks to Google Maps.

Taiwanese vegan food in central London

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Gil and I were recently invited along to an extremely popular (and busy!) restaurant in Covent Garden to try their vegan options and I was more than impressed.

Din Tai Fung is an award-winning global restaurant chain that was once named one of the top 10 restaurants on the planet.

The London location is just steps from the famous Covent Garden market.

The chain has really upped their game to make the menu more welcoming to vegans and from I sampled, they are doing a damn fine job.

Check out the photos below of my delicious meal including mushroom and truffle dumplings, sweet bean buns, garlic greens, savoury rice, and iced tea.

You can see the exact location of Din Tai Fung London online thanks to Google Maps.

Latest issue of T.O.F.U. Magazine out now

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Continuing to showcase personal stories and long-form interviews around topics of oppression and activism, T.O.F.U. Magazine is proud to announce the release of its latest issue, which focuses on capitalism and veganism.

From whether or not voting with our dollar and working within the system is creating change to dreaming of ways to build something different, T.O.F.U. #15 shares the thoughts and experiences of vegan business owners (e.g., Herbivore Clothing, Food Fight!, and Scapegoat Tattoo), activists (e.g., lauren Ornelas of Food Empowerment Project), and more to try and make some sense of the tangled web we weave when money gets involved.

“When you’re looking at the intersections between capitalism and veganism, there are no easy answers,” admits Ryan Patey, T.O.F.U.’s Editor and Co-Founder. “However, as veganism gains in popularity in many parts of the world, and large companies continue to seek profit without a real interest in our ethics, it’s a subject we’re going to have to tackle more and more.”

Thanks to the contributions of vegans involved directly with the capitalist system through operating vegan businesses and those trying to live outside of it as much as possible, T.O.F.U. #15 hopes to help encourage these tough conversations, both within the community and ourselves.

As always, the new issue is available through a pay-what-you-can system (because increasing access instead of profits is important!) along with all the other past issues.

Click here to access the latest copy of T.O.F.U. magazine.

Follow T.O.F.U. on Instagram and Facebook.

Best vegan curry in the UK

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I was recently invited by Pho to pop into one of their restaurants to try the new vegan Christmas menu.

In case you don’t know, Pho is a restaurant chain around the UK serving up amazing Vietnamese street food and a quarter of their menu just happens to be vegan, making it a loved destination for plant based eaters.

The Christmas menu is not seasonal specific food but rather focussed on giving you the choice of two courses for £14.50 or three courses for £18.50.

The menus have been designed with groups in mind such office Christmas parties, seasonal meet-ups for friends, and family dinners. It is the perfect place to suggest if you are being dragged along for a mandatory end of year dinner because there is SO MUCH vegan choice.

Check out the vegan Christmas menu for Pho below.

I ate a few things in order to give you some feedback (research purposes only!) and I was blown away. As always, the vegan options at Pho are amongst some of the best dishes on the planet in my opinion.

First up I had the Chả giò. These crispy spring rolls are served with lettuce and herbs for wrapping before plunging into the accompanying dip. I picked the peanut dip but you can opt for soy ginger sauce.

I also tried two mains. They offered! What was I meant to do?

I had the giant bowl of Phở chay, featuring tofu and button mushrooms in veggie broth with rice noodles. This dish was simply delicious.

My final dish was Cà-ri. This rich, fragrant Vietnamese curry with tofu and
mushrooms was topped with nuts and served with broken rice.

This was the tastiest and most enjoyable curry I’ve eaten in my life. I will order it every single time I return to a Pho restaurant, without fail.

Make sure you get along before Christmas to enjoy the Christmas menu prices.

The restaurants do also serve meat but are extremely proud of their vegan options and do everything they can to make plant based diners feel at home.

Click here to visit the Pho website and find your nearest location.

New vegan full English breakfast in Wagamama

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The future we never thought would be possible has arrived.

Airports haven’t been known as hotspots for plant-based food. Traditionally, vegans have needed to pack our own snacks when spending time in transit or otherwise deal with uninspired crisp selections.

Imagine my shock today when I discovered a vegan full English cooked breakfast at Wagamama while waiting for my flight at Heathrow Terminal 3 in London.

This marks a huge shift in the state of mainstream plant-based foods.

The full English features seitan bacon, scrambled tofu, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, sweet potato, and toast.

The meal isn’t cheap at £10.25 but it certainly feels like good value when held up against other airport meals.

And the thrill of enjoying a plate of hot vegan food before a flight cannot be overstated. It is a real joy.

If you want to follow my travel and food adventures, follow me on Instagram.

New vegan croissants for the UK

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On the morning of Friday November 1, 2019 (World Vegan Day) I was invited to a new product launch and let me just say that you are in for a treat!

La Boulangere is a French baked goods company that has just launched vegan croissants and pains au chocolat into the UK market!

These were some of the finest vegan pastries I have ever tried.

La Boulangere vegan croissants and pains au chocolat are now available from Ocado, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.

Get shopping and enjoy. These are very special products.

Breaking News: M&S going all vegan with own wines

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BREAKING NEWS

M&S welcomes World Vegan Day (Friday 1st November) with the commitment to have an entirely vegan-friendly own-label wine range on shelf by the end of 2022 – a UK first for a chain retailer.

Animal-based ingredients are commonly used in wine production across with the most common including egg whites, milk protein and animal gelatine. Substituting these for plant-based alternatives such as pea protein, or modifying vine management and winemaking techniques means the wines are 100% suitable for those following a vegan-based diet.

M&S was an early pioneer of this movement, first labelling wines as ‘suitable for vegetarians’ back in 1998, with ‘suitable for vegans’ following in 2005 – now all bottles are clearly marked on the back label.

Currently 70% of the M&S wine range is suitable for vegans, representing a significant offering already in place. Many customer favourites are already part of the vegan-friendly range, including popular wines such as M&S Prosecco (£7), Chablis (£12), Vinalta Malbec (£9) and Delacourt Champagne NV (£25)

Commenting on M&S’ long-standing dedication to this goal, Sue Daniels, M&S Winemaker, said: “We’ve made this commitment as part of our overall aim to make M&S products more relevant to more customers and to take action to reflect their changing dietary demands.

“Obviously, such a large-scale commitment isn’t without its challenges – however we have been working on alternatives with winemakers for several years and have already seen radical changes in more traditional areas such as France and Spain. We will be supporting the rest of our partner wineries every step of the way towards this goal.”

The commitment supports M&S’ focus on plant-based eating, having earlier this year launched its hugely successful vegan-friendly range Plant Kitchen comprising over 60 products from vegan firsts such as Plant Kitchen Coleslaw to new customer favourites Cauliflower Popcorn Bites and Cashew Mac & Cheese.

This Christmas, the retailer is extending its vegan range to offer customers for the first time a complete vegan-friendly Christmas dinner, whilst this week sees the launch of a brand new vegan sandwich into its popular vegan sandwich range the Plant Kitchen Nutcracker Sandwich, £3.50.

Visit the M&S wine shop online.