I’ve long been singing the praises of the vegan food scene in Mexico City and it certainly isn’t slowing down.
Vegan bakeries, restaurants, cafés, and events are popping up all over the Mexican capital.
One of the newest additions is Naan Mexico, a vegan Indian restaurant located in the Santa María la Ribera neighbourhood.
Located on the side of Parque Santa María la Rivera – San Cosme (a small park and square just a one minute walk from San Cosme Metro station), the restaurant is a casual space with bright paint and a pleasant view of the square.
In this hands-on masterclass I’ll share my tips and tricks for making sensational gluten-free baked goods that taste even better than the gluten versions. I’ll show you how to achieve spongy textures, deep flavours and blend your own flour mixes.
– Antonio Alderuccio, Head Chef at The Plant Hub (a plant based gluten free bakery, restaurant, community and culinary academy)
Get involved in this exclusive vegan and gluten free baking masterclass taking place at Made In Hackney community kitchen on Sunday November 10, 2019.
This is a rare opportunity to learn techniques from one of the leading experts in the field of plant-based, gluten free baking.
This masterclass will include:
How to make the Plant Hub’s famous deliciously soft and golden gluten free focaccia and stunning rainbow burger buns
Learn tips and techniques for making sensational gluten free seasonal brioche and chocolate buns
A-Z of gluten free ingredients including flours, binders, seasonings and raising agents
A delicious organic plant based lunch, recipe pack and bread to take home
Antonio Alderuccio, aka The Rainbow Chef, is an experienced professional Italian gluten free baker and is Head Chef at the Plant Hub in Hackney, a plant based gluten free bakery, restaurant, community and culinary academy.
Fee: £98 (£78 Concession for students, pensioners, unemployed and low waged) inclusive of VAT, includes a delicious organic plant based lunch.
This fee is used to fund the Made in Hackney programme of free courses for vulnerable and low-income community groups. By attending a Made In Hackney masterclass you get a great day of learning AND you’re providing the charity with essential funds for them to continue their work with vulnerable community groups.
Click here to book your spot now and follow Made in Hackney on Instagram.
The legendary Coventry brewery and tap house (where I once hosted Coventry Vegan Beer Fest) has a part time job available.
They are looking for part time Bar Staff for their Tap House in Fargo Village.
The job involves:
• Preparation and serving of food and drink • Developing an in depth knowledge of Twisted Barrel Ale products and guiding customers through the beer styles on offer • Maintaining a clean and welcoming bar and tap house • Assisting with ad hoc brewery and tap house requirements
The successful applicants will:
• Be interested in craft beer • Have bar and customer service experience • Be able to work well with others, follow instruction and adhere to health and safety practices • Be available to work evenings, weekends and bank holidays
To apply, please send a cover letter and CV to jen@twistedbarrelale.co.uk
The closing date for this job is October 27, 2019.
Do you love candles AND improving outcomes for people living with HIV?
Buy this vegan candle and do something nice for yourself and an important charity.
The One Love candle is now available on the Avanti Candles website.
This vegan candle is handmade with natural soy wax, resulting in a soot-free burn. The company cleverly craft the candles with a wooden wick which crackles when it burns, adding to the enjoyment of the high grade fragrant oils.
The One Love candle has notes of cedar and sandalwood, blended with Moroccan rose, jasmine, lily, and patchouli.
It retails at £25 (reduced price of £20 at VegFestUK London if you are heading there) and with each sale, Avanti donates a percentage to Terrence Higgins Trust.
But what is the Terrence Higgins Trust?
Terrence Higgins Trust describes itself as the HIV and sexual health charity for life.
Their vision is a world where people with HIV live healthy lives free from prejudice and discrimination, and good sexual health is a right and reality for all.
Terrence Higgins Trust is the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity, providing a wide range of services to over 50,000 people a year. The charity also campaigns and lobbies for greater political and public understanding of the personal, social and medical impact of HIV and sexual ill health.
You can read more about Terrence Higgins Trust online here.
Now, back to the candle business.
Buy the gorgeous One Love candle from Avanti online and they will donate 10% of all sales to Terrence Higgins Trust.
Click here to buy online and make sure you take a look around the rest of their range of candles and diffusers.
Have you ever felt like the only LGBTQIA+ person in the vegan village?
Join Fat Gay Vegan (that’s me!) at VegfestUK London for an hour-long social event designed especially for LGBTQIA+ plus vegans and their allies.
Eat cupcakes with your community, share and listen to stories, and of course make new friends!
There will be two one-hour sessions (Saturday and Sunday October 26 and 27, 2019 1pm – 2pm) located on Level 2 of Olympia Central (located within the Natural Therapy Zone). You can see the floor plan here.
The sessions will be informal socials. Nobody will be lecturing you about anything. It is simply designed to be a social space for queer vegans.
Let’s hang out!
VegFestUK London is a huge, two-day event showcasing vegan living. Enjoy talks, cooking demos, new products, good eating in the food hall, drinks, music, and so much more.
Essential Vegan is an independent café run by chef Vanessa Almeida and her husband Neni.
I got to know Vanessa and Neni several years ago through the vegan scene in London. They would both come along to events I hosted and it wasn’t long until we counted on each other as friends, not just vegan comrades.
Vanessa and Neni work as hard as anyone I’ve ever met in the vegan community, if not harder.
I have seen them pull all-nighters, often multiple nights in a row, in order to prepare for large scale vegan festivals such as VegFestUK. At the first ever Hackney Downs Vegan Market Vanessa was swamped by customers and sold out of everything instantly, resulting in her actually RUNNING home to bake more cakes for attendees while Neni stayed at the stall and chatted with customers.
Their shed/hatch window takeaway stall in the now-defunct PUMP foodcourt in East London was crucial in pushing vegan food forward in the capital. Vanessa and Neni worked tirelessly to make delicious seitan burgers and succulent cheesecakes to keep the hungry crowds satisfied.
Essential Vegan also became famous around this time for their gourmet plant-based cheeses.
Vanessa has invested thousands of hours in order to perfect her handcrafted artisan cheeses. If you consider yourself a vegan cheese fan, you owe it to yourself to get along to Essential Vegan to buy a few of Vanessa’s creations.
As Essential Vegan Café turns two years old, it is also important to recognise how Vanessa has helped put Brazilian food on the London map. As a chef, she is a pioneer in the UK.
Vanessa and Neni relocated from Brazil to London many years ago and it was a dream of theirs to feed traditional dishes from back home to the population of their new home. They have realised this dream with Essential Vegan Café.
Feijoada is one of their specialties and I promise you will struggle to find a weekend brunch as delicious as this anywhere else in London.
I haven’t even touched on the rest of the sensational menu which includes cake, cassava chips, Brazilian cheese balls, seitan wings, salad, quiche, and casserole.
Congratulations to Vanessa and Neni for two years of Essential Vegan Café. I’m truly inspired by your determination, work ethic, and commitment to improving outcomes for animals.
See the exact location of Essential Vegan Café thanks to Google Maps (just a few skips from Shoreditch High Street Station).
I understand that I rattle on endlessly about the importance of supporting independent vegan businesses, but like anything worth saying it is worth saying until you can’t say it any longer.
With that unstoppable determination in mind, I want to share my list of the top 5 online UK vegan shops that you could be supporting right now.
It includes a mix of groceries, cheese, clothing, wine, footwear, and baked treats.
Shopping online with these businesses keeps money in the pockets of vegan and independently-owned operations, allowing them to offer work to other vegans.
These businesses support other independent traders. Your money spent with these people keeps money in local UK communities, more so than if you shop with huge chain stores.
The Vegan Kind Supermarket is grocery heaven for online plant-based consumers. Of course the shop grew from the runaway success of their monthly subscription boxes, but the online shop has become an unstoppable force all of its own.
Click here to shop with The Vegan Kind Supermarket. They offer 15% off your first order!
The Third Estate is not just the physical vegan boutique in London. Angela and James also operate an online version of their ethical shop. These people care about every aspect of doing the right thing by animals, people, and the planet so expect fairtrade and zero sweatshop goods. Select from a range of gorgeous boots, dress shoes, sneakers, sandals, handbags, belts, backpacks, clothing, and seasonal trinkets and candles.
Click here to shop with The Third Estate. Be sure to check out the online sale section.
Ms Cupcake is a world-famous, pioneering vegan bakery based south of the River Thames in Brixton, London but did you know they also deliver a selection of their treats all around the UK? Choose from tray bakes, cookie sandwiches, muffins, brownies, branded merchandise, and even the Ms Cupcake recipe book!
Click here to shop with Ms Cupcake. Look for seasonal items available for a limited time.
La Fauxmagerie is a 100% vegan gourmet cheese deli in East London. If you are a cheese lover, this place is your dream come true. If you don’t have a lot of spare time for vegan cheese shopping in that part of the city or you live at the other end of the country, why not shop for their gourmet cheeses online?
Click here to shop with La Fauxmagerie. Spend over £100 for free shipping. It’s easier to do than you think with such a huge range! Perfect for special occasions.
Vegan Wine Box is THE online place to shop for home delivery wine that is all guaranteed to be vegan. Their selection of mixed cases is perfect for adventurous drinkers. The company has a strong focus on sustainable wines and you won’t get cheap, nasty vino in any of your deliveries. You can order a one-off box or subscribe for monthly deliveries.
Click here to shop with Vegan Wine Box. Look out for the Prosecco and rosé boxes!
London. What are you doing this Saturday October 5, 2019?
This aquafaba masterclass being hosted at Made in Hackney is exactly where you need to be. Aquafaba is versatile and a true must-use ingredient in every serious foodie’s kitchen.
When is the masterclass? Saturday 5th October 2019 between 10:00am and 2:30pm.
I’ll show you all the tips and tricks for using aquafaba as an amazingly versatile vegan egg replacer to make delicious meringues, chocolate mousse, mayonnaise, butter and more
Bruna Oliveira, Raw Chef & Nutritional Therapist
If you have made it this far and don’t know what the flip I’m talking about, let me briefly explain.
Aquafaba is the name given to the liquid leftover when you open a tin of chickpeas. Clever people discovered that this liquid has similar properties to egg white meaning it can be whipped into meringue, used for buttercream frosting, and even helps make vegan chocolate mousse a reality.
This masterclass will include:
Learning all the tips and tricks for using aquafaba as an amazingly versatile vegan egg replacer
Making vegan versions of show desserts such as pavlova, perfect meringues and chocolate mousse
How to use in baking to create light, fluffy pancakes and waffles
Techniques for using in delicious vegan omelettes, mayonnaise and butter
A delicious organic lunch and recipe pack
10% discount in neighbouring wholefood shop, Food for All
Bruna Oliveira graduated in physiotherapy in Brazil before moving to London in 2008, where she studied Naturopathy and Naturopathic Nutrition at CNM London, in order to pursue her passion for healthy and natural living. Bruna loves creating delicious recipes with the aim of inspiring people to transform their lives through making positive changes in their diet.
Fee: £84 (£66 Concession) inclusive of VAT, includes a delicious organic plant based lunch.
This fee is used to fund the Made in Hackney programme of free courses for vulnerable and low-income community groups. By attending a Made In Hackney masterclass you get a great day of learning AND you’re providing the charity with essential funds to continue their work with vulnerable community groups.
Click here to buy your aquafaba masterclass ticket now.
View all upcoming classes at Made in Hackney online here.
Esme of London Afro Vegan and Deserted Cactus fame is putting on an amazing community event focussed on vegans of colour in the UK and she needs our help to make sure it runs smoothly.
Any event in London is sure to face financial obstacles and the UK Vegans of Colour event taking place in Peckham on October 5 and 6, 2019 is no exception.
Esme has created this historical, first time event to bring together the most talented and diverse showcase of designers, activists, crafters, artists, and culinary creatives.
The two-day event will feature workshops, discussions, demos, and talks.
Sessions include:
Parenting whilst vegan discussion
Black History talk
Intersectionality panel
Womens health
Multiple cooking demos
There will be vegan food traders serving up mouthwatering cuisine, as well as vendors selling crafts, candles, and clothing. Make sure you check out the designated area for children if you have young people in your life!
The UK Vegans of Colour event is welcoming to all vegans and vegan-curious people, however it is firstly a safe space created to celebrate and elevate the voices, experiences, and knowledge of vegans of colour.
This crucial event is looking for your support. Your donation will help Esme put on the best community collaboration possible while ensuring she is not out of pocket herself.
Every single pound raised will go directly to the logistical and organisational needs of UK Vegans of Colour. Costs include venue expenses, promotions, travel, and infrastructure.
By supporting UK Vegans of Colour financially, you are helping Esme and her guests resist oppressive forces that silence and minimise their voices within the vegan scene and broader society.
Donate now and share this campaign. We are aiming for £1,000 so we just need 1,000 kind people to send £1 our way. Or one rich person to send us £1,000. Or 100 middle class vegans to give £10 each. Geez, you get the idea. Give what you can!
You can also support the event by attending the event. Book tickets to UK Vegans of Colour online here
Read more about the UK Vegans of Colour lineup online here
