Haus of FGV

This weekend in Manchester

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There is a BIG vegan event taking place in Manchester this weekend and I’m so happy to announce that I will be there!

Manchester Vegan Fest 2017 is promising great food, entertainment, talks, new people to meet and lots of funky vegan stalls.

The two day event run by Vegan Organic Network is being staged at Sashas Hotel right in the centre of Manchester.

Sahsas is located in the heart of central Manchester, a short walk from from Piccadilly Train Station and a few hundred yards from the bus station.

More than 4,000 visitors are expected at the event which will have two café areas in the main hall and one downstairs with live music. Upstairs there will be a talks, a film room, cooking demonstrations and vegan fitness including exercise machines and yoga.

On Saturday at 3:00pm, I will be hosting a talk and Q&A discussion about the themes from my soon-to-be published book Fat Gay Vegan: How To Eat, Drink and Live Like You Give A Sh!t.

The book is published on January 4, 2018 but you can get a sneak preview as I share some of the stories and insights. A very limited number of the books will be for sale directly after my talk for £8.99.

You can pre-order the book online.

RSVP to the Manchester Vegan Fest 2017 Facebook event here.

Try the FGV boot

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I have to be honest and say this wasn’t a childhood dream in the same way releasing a book was, but how darn cool is it that I have just released a Fat Gay Vegan boot?!

I’ve teamed up with an ethical boot manufacturer to create the FGV Vaquita.

The gorgeous boot is made in Portugal and its features include:

  • 100% vegan (of course)
  • durable and water-resistant black patent microfibre upper
  • 1 pair of thin waxed pink laces
  • 1 pair of thick waxed black laces
  • Pink faux-fleece lining

If you want to try this boot on before they are released to the public on a wider scale, I am hosting an exclusive VegfestUK London viewing of the boot THIS WEEKEND (Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 October, 2017).

We will have the boot in sizes EUR36/UK3 all the way up to EUR46/UK12.

If you love the boot and want to order a pair after trying, we will give you a 10% off voucher so you can order your very own pair online.

The boot will not be available in stores for a little while so this is your chance to try the boot on for size, be certain you like the fit, and order now for savings.

If you celebrate birthdays or Christmas, this is the perfect way to ensure you get a gift that is comfortable and fabulous. Bring the present buyer along with you!

I hope you love this boot as much as I do.

The Fat Gay Vegan stall at VegfestUK London is number U45 on level 3. I am also selling early release copies of my first ever book.

Vegan Life Magazine

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Remember when I announced with sadness that my monthly advice column for Vegan Life Magazine had been discontinued?

It appears that there were a few people who loved my column, so much so that the magazine has asked me to return with a brand new monthly column!

The latest issue has just hit new stands and magazine racks around the UK (and the world).

I’m thrilled to be back and getting the chance to share my insights with Vegan Life Readers. It’s also very cool that I have been bumped up to a coverline with my story right there on the cover for the world to see!

You can subscribe to Vegan Life Magazine online here.

The FGV book arrives early

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Of course you all know I have a book being released in January 2018, right?

Fat Gay Vegan: Eat, Drink and Live Like You Give a Sh!t is being published by Nourish Books and is available to pre-order via Amazon right now.

But…

If you are super keen to read what I am calling my ‘manifesto for living a compassionate life’ and can’t wait until January, my publisher has made a limited number of copies available for VegfestUK London on October 21 and 22, 2017.

I will have 300 copies of my first ever book to sell from a stall on level three of the VegfestUK venue and I will be on hand for most of the weekend to chat with you about it.

I am also hosting a presentation in the auditorium on the Saturday at 4:00pm to talk about the themes of the book and explain my approach to veganism, how I think we can expand our compassion beyond caring for animals and where I think veganism is heading in the future.

In addition, I will be hosting an informal discussion about the importance of running local vegan markets and offering some tips for anyone interested in starting one on their area on Sunday at 2:00pm.

You can read about my VegfestUK London talks online here.

Hope to see you at the show!

Helping Mexico

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As you probably know, I have a strong connection to Mexico City. Some of the people I love most in the world are there and I live in the city for 6 months of each year.

I’ve been deeply worried about the devastating earthquake that affected the people of Mexico City last week and have felt helpless in London with no chance of being on the ground to help.

As a response, I have asked my publisher Nourish Books to help me raise money for a special charity based in Mexico City.

Isla Urbana works hard to install and maintain clean water infrastructure for some of the city’s most vulnerable people. Each water tank and system they install costs money but has the ability to give water security to an entire household and sometimes local schools.

Between Sunday September 24 and Saturday September 30, 2017, Nourish Books will kindly donate £1 to Isla Urbana for every copy of my book ‘Fat Gay Vegan: Eat, Drink and Live Like You Give a Sh!t’ that is pre-ordered via Amazon.

Use this link to pre-order the book: http://tinyurl.com/CDMXwater and please share this post where you can. If you prefer to donate directly to the charity, you can do that here: http://islaurbana.org/english/

Fat Gay Vegan at VegfestUK London

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I’m happy to announce that I will be taking part in the annual VegfestUK London event happening on October 21 and 22, 2017.

I will be talking during two events:

Main talk in auditorium on Saturday – Fat Gay Vegan: Eat, Drink and Live Like You Give a Shit

Sean O’Callaghan (Fat Gay Vegan) previews his book ‘Fat Gay Vegan: Eat, Drink and Live Like You Give a Sh!t’, set to be published via Nourish in January 2017. Sean will discuss themes from the book including expanding compassion beyond the plate to include other social justice issues.

Activist Corner talk on Sunday – So you wanna start a local vegan market?

Join blogger, journalist and event planner Fat Gay Vegan as he hosts a Q&A session on the importance of setting up local, independent vegan markets. His popular Hackney Downs Vegan Market has just become a weekly happening and FGV wants you to start one in your area, too!

In addition to my talks, there will be a table selling exclusive advance copies of my new book Fat Gay Vegan: Eat, Drink and Live Like You Give a Shit. This early release is only for VegfestUK London. If you are unable to make it to the show but are still interested in grabbing a copy of my book, you can pre-order via Amazon ahead of the January release by Nourish Books.

Click here to find out more info about VegfestUK London and to buy advance tickets.

Join FGV for a bubbly and cake party

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London. You are not just getting a few more vegan establishments opening lately.

You are being completely OVERRUN by some of the best vegan food outlets on the planet.

My friend Vanessa Almeida is opening her gorgeous vegan café in Shoreditch following on from years of running pop ups and residencies around the capital.

The lease is signed on the shop and I’m sitting inside right now as people paint furiously around me. It’s so thrilling to see Vanessa’s hard work and dedication to good vegan food finally paying off.

I’m working with Vanessa to raise some funds to ensure her Essential Vegan Café gets off to the best start possible. We are running a fundraising campaign to help pay for equipment costs, legal fees, paint, stock, furniture, and the countless expenses associated with opening a world class café in one of the most expensive cities on the planet.

If you think you have an idea of how expensive it is to open a business in London, I’d hazard a guess that your figure would be nowhere close to the reality.

I am trying to help Vanessa raise £30,000 to safeguard her business beyond opening. Most of the money is coming from Vanessa and her husband Neni, but they need a little bit of help from team vegan.

Essential Vegan Café is set in a stunning space just off Shoreditch High Street and it is the perfect location to showcase Vanessa’s Brazilian inspired menu that features seitan burgers, cheese bread and artisan coffee.

Of course there are a whole bunch of rewards on offer if you are able to support Vanessa’s campaign, but the one reward I’m most interested in telling you about today is the opening night party hosted by me!

If you donate £40 to the Essential Vegan Café fundraising campaign you can choose a ticket to the opening night party on Saturday September 30, 2017.

There are three separate sessions to join:

  • 6:00pm until 7:30pm
  • 7:30pm until 9:00pm
  • 9:00pm until 10:30pm

The ticket includes entry to the party where you will enjoy:

  • Free vegan bubbly to drink
  • A slice of cake (you get to choose from a selection!)
  • An Essential Vegan tote bag
  • Sneak preview of the café’s new menu before anyone else in London
  • 10% off your bill if you want to order food at the party

This is a very special event to help support a very special person. You will not meet anyone on the vegan scene who has worked as hard as Vanessa.

Join me for a party, eat some cake, drink some bubbles AND support an independent vegan business. It is going to be the MOST FUN.

Click here to see all of the rewards. If you can’t make the party launch, perhaps you will be tempted by some of the other rewards such as gourmet vegan cheese, private dining experiences and more.

FGV ice cream

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Here is a super quick post to let you know about one of the biggest honours of my life.

The Ice Shack vegan ice cream parlour in Manchester is serving a Fat Gay Vegan flavour!

The mojito flavour is packed with lime and is incredibly creamy.

Of course the FGV mojito is not the only reason to visit this ice cream shop, but it is a damn fine one. So is the salted caramel ice cream, the dozens of flavours of handmade truffles, and the ever rotating selection of ice creams.

Follow Ice Shack on Instagram.

Follower drives on Instagram

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One form of support I’ve been involved with as a blogger and social media person recently is Follower Drives.

I got the idea a few days ago when I was visiting a brand new vegan restaurant in Sitges, Spain. Spice Garden is the only 100% vegan restaurant in Sitges and I was a bit disappointed that the Instagram account for the restaurant had quite a small number of followers.

During my meal, I posted a series of photos on my own Instagram asking my followers to consider following the restaurant. I set a target of 500 followers and if you click through to the account now, you will see that we were able to zoom right past that number.

The restaurant started with 187 followers and now has over 1,300 in just a matter of days.

I applied the same campaign idea to raising the follower count for a brand new late night vegan bar in Barcelona called Bar de Retro. This time we took them from 99 followers to over 1,200 in a day!

My latest Follower Drive is for a London vegan shoe store and ethical boutique called The Third Estate.

This store is exquisite but their Instagram account had been languishing around the 700 follower mark for a while. I set a target of 2,000 followers and we are almost there within 24 hours. I think they need just about 200 more.

Please get involved and get over to their profile.

I hope you can join me for more Follower Drives in the future. I think it is a great way to give independent vegan businesses a boost and help raise their online profiles.

Vote for FGV (if you want!)

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Hey!

It is always lovely to get a spot of recognition for this blog. Of course I don’t do it for awards but it does feel nice when someone tells me they appreciate what I do.

VegfestUK reached out to inform me that my website has been nominated in the VegfestUK Awards 2017 for the category of Best Vegan Online Resource.

How fab!

You can click here to vote for me or any of the other nominees in the category (I won’t be upset) and make sure you vote for your other favourites across all categories.

Thanks to everyone at VegfestUK for nominating me and for all their tireless work when it comes to spreading the vegan message.