vegan UK

Three weeks until LVBF

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With just three weeks to go until the 6th annual London Vegan Beer Fest, I wanted to drop by and give you an update on what is happening on Saturday July 14, 2018.

London Vegan Beer Fest is taking over Hackney Downs Showroom, Hackney Downs Studios and TEMPLE GOODS cafe for one hell of a party.

Some of the attractions include:

  • MASSIVE indoor beer hall hosted by superstar brewery Brass Castle
  • Outdoor food and beer market featuring some of the best vegan street food in London and breweries from all over the UK
  • Indoor food and beer hall run by Temple of Seitan
  • Sponsor Follow Your Heart sampling products
  • Karaoke performance room
  • Face painting (yes, for adults!)

This is going to be a party you don’t want to miss.

We are currently selling early bird tickets for just £5 plus booking fee. If we have space on the day, tickets will be £9. Almost 50% of tickets have already gone, so be quick.

Click here to book now and RSVP to the Facebook event page.

New vegan restaurant in Kensal Rise

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Located in vibrant Kensal Rise, Comptoir V brings international vegan cuisine to the heart of west London.

The restaurant descibes itself as having an international, plant-powered menu with decor inspired by the souks of Marrakech. Comptoir V aims to make plant-based eating and drinking exciting for everyone in a beautiful yet relaxed environment.

Some of the menu favourites with diners are the Tempura ‘Shrimp’, Barbecue Mushroom ‘Ribs’ with Vegan Mac and Cheese, the Tagine Special and Oreo ‘Cheesecake’.

Comptoir V also has a large selection of vegan wines, beers, soft drinks and superfood lattes.

Click here to visit the Comptoir V website and view their incredible menu. You can see their exact location here thanks to Google Maps.

Follow Comptoir V on Instagram.

Ethical vegan market in Essex

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The Feel Good Fair has been running monthly since the beginning of 2017 and is the first of its kind in Essex. All products are 100% vegan, traders are local and independent, and all are working towards or currently use environmentally sustainable packaging and production.

This sounds wonderful!

The market has a teaching focus for visitors each month. Past months have focused on zero waste, teaching about composting, demos on making tofu and plant based milks, make-do-and-mend with sewing machines and electrical repairs.

Organisers of The Feel Good Fair told me the focus for the event is on building a sense of community and togetherness. People get along and hang out for hours just chatting at the large communal coffee shop table with books to browse or in the street food section sharing recipes and kind living tips.

The event is free to attend and is run completely by volunteers. It takes place once a month in the town of Coggeshall near Colchester. Click here to see the exact location thanks to Google Maps.

Follow the Facebook page for latest news and dates. The next monthly event is this Sunday June 24, 2018.

UK has a vegan shake diner

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Hold onto your vintage petticoats because this is some hugely fabulous news.

The Essex town of Colchester has just welcomed a 100% vegan, 50s-style diner that has a distinct rockabilly vibe.

It looks marvellous!

You need to follow Shakers Dairy Free on Facebook and Instagram. You can click here to see the exact town centre location thanks to Google Maps.

Not only do I adore the idea of a completely vegan diner selling ice cream, shakes, and sandwiches, but I’m also in love with the fact that Shakers are using 100% compostable packaging.

Yay for vegan Colchester! There is definitely a fabulous compassionate scene building in strength in that part of the world.

Pride month

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As June is Pride month, I am thrilled to find myself listed on not one but two lists championing LGBTQI+ vegans.

  • You can click here to see 11 Vegan LGBTQIA+ Activists You Need To Know About thanks to LiveKindly and writer Kat Smith.
  • In addition, you can read the 20 Highly Influential LGBTQ+ Vegans list put together by Emily Court over on Plant Based News by clicking here.

Thank you for the inclusion on your lists.

I truly hope a lot of FGV readers will take a moment to discover some of these queer voices mentioned and work hard to help elevate and amplify what they have to say.

Zero waste vegan market for London

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London will soon welcome its first ever vegan, zero waste market.

Set to take place between 10:00am and 5:00pm on Saturday September 29, 2018 at the beautiful palm tree filled Conservatory (at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel, Kensington), Zero Mkt London will involve zero animal products, zero single-use plastics and zero waste. Everything will be edible, reusable, recyclable or compostable. Guests will have an array of stalls to explore, ranging from vegan food and drink, eco lifestyle products, and sustainable clothing items.

Abigail Penny and James Morgan – founders of the market – describe this as a “celebration, where together we can bask in plant-based goodness, explore sustainable products, and begin to live more consciously”.

When asked what inspired them to set up the event, they added: “As consumers we can choose to have a positive impact on this world. We’re on a journey of discovery ourselves and want to share our experience with others. Animal agriculture, non-recyclable plastics, and throwaway fashion each have devastating impacts on our environment, so we hope that by bringing exciting alternatives to our community we can empower and equip others to change their habits and perspectives too!”

Zero Mkt London has partnered with City Harvest who will redistribute surplus food to London’s homeless community and any profit will be donated to Animal Equality, a leading animal protection organisation.

Zero Mkt London founders recognise that many stallholders will need to travel to the venue, so they will be planting trees as part of a carbon offsetting mission.

Visit EventBrite to buy your ticket online here.

Stallholders will be announced nearer the time – keep an eye out and follow the handle Zero Market London on Instagram and Facebook.

Temple of Seitan in Coventry

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Here is a short and snappy blog post to give you some exciting news.

The first ever Coventry Vegan Beer Fest is taking place at FarGo Village on July 28, 2018. There are so many exciting things lined up for the day including a huge selection of beers, special tie-ins from local vegan businesses such as The Green Unicorn, and even karaoke.

But what has everyone buzzing is that superstar vegan food providers Temple of Seitan will be trading on the day, serving up their exquisite and adored cuisine.

Temple will only be serving people with beer fest wristbands, so be sure to grab an early bird ticket for just £4 plus booking fee. Click here to book.

I’m so excited to showcase one of the best vegan food providers on the planet at this event in Coventry. You can invite friends over on the Facebook event page.

You can follow Temple of Seitan on Instagram.

Big vegan shake up in Sheffield

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Sheffield. Get ready for a big change.

Superstar vegan eatery Make No Bones is closing this Saturday June 16, 2018 in order to move to their new location with a grand re-opening in early July.

Dave from Make No Bones told me:

We’re really excited about the new venue but we’re a bit sad to be leaving our little yellow cafe. MNB has been going for nearly 5 years now with 2 of them in our current place. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has eaten with us and supported us all along the road. The new venue is a lot bigger and we have designed a lot bigger menu to go with it. The place looks amazing and will have a great selection of vegan beers, cocktails and soft drinks as well as our food. Last day at this place is Saturday and the new one opens early July.

Congratulations to Dave, Lauren, and the entire MNB team for what they have done for vegan food in Sheffield.

They are most definitely entrenched on the list of best vegan food providers in the UK. Everything they create is sensational and I can’t wait to see what they conjure up in their brand new location. I’m hoping to share some sneak preview photos from inside the new place soon, so stay tuned.

Don’t forget that Make No Bones will also be involved with the 2nd annual Sheffield Vegan Beer Fest this August. You can buy cheap early bird tickets online now.

Be sure to follow Make No Bones on Instagram.

I’m finishing off this post with some glorious food photos. Get into Make No Bones this week for these specials before they close for the relocation.

Legendary vegan burger trader opens store

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If you know anything about the London vegan street food scene, you will be aware of Big V London.

Big V is a superstar vegan burger business with multiple locations scattered around markets, including a weekly spot at Hackney Downs Vegan Market. Their burgers are the stuff of legend, lighting up social media every time they make an appearance.

Not satisfied with multiple street market locations each week, Big V owner Jill has taken the leap into the world of running a permanent burger bar every night on site at Exmouth Coffee Roasters in Whitechapel.

Open 7 nights a week from 6pm until 10pm, they have started with their full burger menu with fries and a mayo dipping menu. The business will slowly add more items over the coming weeks.

In addition to the incredible Big V burger menu, they are serving the wonderful Hell.Yum! ice cream (another Hackney Downs Vegan Market regular), FIX8 kombucha on tap, and sodas by Dalston.

You can see the exact location of the new, evenings-only Big V burger bar thanks to Google Maps. They are just a few steps from Aldgate East Underground station.

Be sure to follow Big V London on Instagram for latest updates.

New vegan bakery in London

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The title of this blog post is a little misleading.

VIDA Bakery isn’t new exactly, but they are opening a new bricks and mortar location in London!

VIDA has been around for a few years, serving delicious and adored cakes at pop ups, markets, vegan fairs, and in other vegan food businesses.

The love this company receives across social media from its fans is a great measure of how anticipated this permanent bakery is in the capital.

The bakery is located at 139 Brick Lane and you can see the exact location thanks to Google Maps.

The grand opening is at midday on Sunday June 10, 2018. Get down there for some amazing treats.

Keep updated with all things VIDA Bakery via their Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages.