London vegan news, reviews & events
fatgayvegan Loving Hut in Camden is a good place to go for cheap, tasty food. Like all of the Loving Hut locations worldwide, the food is plant-based and the menu never breaks the bank. I have written about it previously here and here.
So, how could this vegan eatery with cheap prices and tummy-filling vegan food get any better? Read on and then start planning your next trip…
Here is an interesting turn of events for the coming week.
On Tuesday January 29, 2013 at 7:00pm (London, UK time) you will be able to watch me host a global video chat on Google +. That’s right! No matter where in the world you are situated, your Internet connection will allow you a front row seat so you can see and hear a real life FGV in action.
But what’s it all about?
Google + Local in London have asked me to host a Hangout (video chat) for new vegans and people considering trying a vegan diet on for size. They didn’t have to twist my chubby arm too much, especially when they agreed I could bring two friends along for the ride.
Helping me field questions on the evening will be Catherine ‘Kip’ Dorrell of Messy Vegetarian fame. As a lot of you already know, Kip’s blog is one of the best on the entire planet for creative plant-based cuisine and recipes.
Also joining us will be vegan blogging megastar and all round publishing busy person Laura Hooper Beck. Laura is probably best known to readers of this blog as the founding editor of one of the most popular (and awesome) vegan blogs out there today…. Vegansaurus!
How does the Hangout work?
If you have a Google account, head on over to the event page and sign up. Once there, you can add questions you would like our panel of vegans to answer.
If you don’t have a Google account but would still like to be involved, visit the event page as the Hangout is taking place and there will be a link for the live video stream. Anyone can watch, with or without a Google account.
Click here for the event page on Google +
Hope to see a lot of you in cyberspace!
I love announcements and I especially love announcements featuring a whole lot of vegan food. If the news can also contain a bit of info about a cool animal charity too, I am giggling with delight.
This month, London Vegan Potluck will be hosting a raffle on behalf of Moo Free Chocolates. The company is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for new chocolate making equipment in order to expand their business.
Any money gathered from the raffle will be added to the Kickstarter fund. Moo Free are supplying us with a selection of their delicious and tempting treats for the competition. Read about my love for Moo Free Chocolates here and here and here and here.
As Kickstarter requires fundraisers to reach their full target before collecting any of the money, Moo Free have indicated they would like the raffle funds to go to The Farm Animal Sanctuary in the instance of their target not being reached.
Find out about and donate to the Moo Free Kickstarter campaign here
Follow Moo Free on Twitter
Discover The Farm Animal Sanctuary here
Like The Farm Animal Sanctuary on Facebook
Come along to the February London Vegan Potluck. You could win some tasty vegan chocolate. You might just raise some funds for a compassionate company. There is a chance your money will support a wonderful animal sanctuary. And you are certain to eat a whole lot of delicious, homemade vegan food. Winners all round!
Horsemeat fever has taken over the UK as major retailer Tesco became embroiled in a scandal concerning their beef burgers.
If you feel like being disgusted on multiple levels, check out some of the news stories and exposés surrounding this topic. It is truly disgusting. Horses and pigs rendered into powder before being added to beef burgers. Revelations that beef burgers only need to contain slightly less than 50% beef to be legally named a beef burger. Approximately ten thousand live horses are shipped out of the UK every year once they are at the end of their working lives, destined to be chopped, pulverised and rendered into ‘food’.
The horror goes on and on and on.
Thankfully for people who choose to opt out of this death and despair cycle, vegan companies such as The Redwood Wholefood Company are here to make sure tasty treats are never off the menu just because someone rejects horrific cruelty.
My life got a whole lot tastier a few days ago when I picked up the new frozen beef style pasties by Redwood from a local retailer. I must admit, lately I have been a bit skeptical of the consistency of Redwood products. For every four products I adore, there seems to be a straggler that comes along that doesn’t do them any favours. I won’t name names as I’m not here today to criticise. It’s a big food love in.
However, the beef style pasties are vegan food perfection. Crunchy, flaky pastry gives way to a stunning filling consisting of beef style chunks, herbs, gravy, swede and potato. I was delirious with joy. I haven’t had a pastie in a very long time and certainly can’t recall ever experiencing one as tasty as the Redwood variety.
The huge Bowl for Oceans fundraiser party that took place in Central London last weekend was the result of a lot of planning, a lot of support and some very special people/businesses coming together in the name of helping sea life.
On top of the good times involving bowling, karaoke and music, we ended up selling enough tickets to make a wonderful £800 donation to Sea Shepherd UK. In addition, we collected a lot of cash and coins on the day in the Sea Shepherd bucket and the charity sold a walloping amount of their own merchandise.
Before I share some photos from the day, I would like to take a moment to thank the following people who made the event the huge success it was. It would be very thoughtful if you could take a minute out of your day to thank them on Twitter for their support.
As you all know, there is a glorious vegan food destination located down in Brixton that has been keeping me well fed for over a year and a half. The Ms. Cupcake bakery is a world-class cupcake specialist that also supplies hungry people like me with chocolate, cookies, snacks and vegan ice cream.
If you haven’t managed to get down there yet, this piece of news I’m about to share with you will seal the deal. If you are already a regular, you might just want to prepare to do your happy dance for what is in store.
Read on…
Brixton is already a fab place for vegan food.
To start with, there is the amazing Ms. Cupcake vegan bakery with their huge range of cakes, savouries and packaged treats. You probably are also aware of the gorgeous vegan pizza options available from Franco Manca. I’ve even heard whispers of a new French vegetarian restaurant with vegan options.
Yes, Brixton is a fun place for vegans to go hunting for snacks and it just got a lot more exciting with the arrival of vegan cake stall The Vegan Tart.
I get a lot of stick for giving bad reviews to restaurants. Some people are of the mind that it is detrimental to veganism to publish negative reviews of vegetarian establishments that serve sub-standard vegan food. Maybe they think a cafe deserves credit for just trying to include us. That attitude doesn’t fly with me.
Why shouldn’t we expect the best when paying for vegan goods and services? Why shouldn’t we speak up when we think what we received was less than the best?
Restaurants and cafes deserve to know and I have the right to voice my opinion in any way I see fit. And when a veggie restaurant serves me delicious and well-made vegan food, I’m the first one to get the news out. I don’t complain for the sake of complaining.
All I do is tell it like it is and the way it is in Leeds at the moment is very promising indeed! A new vegetarian cafe has popped up in this Northern city and their commitment to vegan options could teach many vegetarian eateries more than a thing or two.
Bowl For Oceans is turning into what will surely be an amazing event. We have vegan snacks to feed attendees. We have three very different DJs to supply us with an eclectic mix of tunes. We have karaoke. We have ten pin bowling. We even have pool tables.
But one thing we won’t have with us on the day is all of you.
Distance gets in the way of a lot of celebrations and Bowl For Oceans is no exception. That noted, a lot of you have reached out to say even though you can’t be physically with us on the day, you would still like to make a contribution to the fundraising efforts.
In order for friends to make a financial contribution even if they are not in London on the day, we have created a special non-attendee donation ticket. For just half the price of a full ticket, you can help us in our campaign to raise money and awareness for the UK arm of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Click here to buy a ticket or make a donation NOW!
Your ongoing support and dedication to helping animals is what makes events like Bowl For Oceans possible. Please spread the word across all of your networks and help us make the biggest donation to Sea Shepherd that we possibly can.
Businesses come and go quickly and sadly vegan businesses can be the swiftest departures of them all. It is extremely difficult to stay afloat at the best of times and even harder when you are part of a ‘niche’ market.
I am sad to hear of the closure of a gorgeous vegan cafe in Barcelona called Vegan Bakery. I had only just visited a few months ago and now it appears to be no more. I’m not on the ground in that town to do my usual snooping, but I have seen whispers on the Internet that the close is temporary until a new location is found.
I would love to hear from anyone involved in the cafe or anyone with information on their future. It won’t be too long before I’m heading back that way and I would really love to support their endeavours.
Until then, take a sneak peak of what I enjoyed during my recent visit to Vegan Bakery.