Haus of FGV

I’ll be at Vegan Life Show

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If you can’t get enough of my self-involved online ramblings, how about watching me in person?

I am delighted to have been asked to talk at the first ever Vegan Life Live show taking place at Alexandra Palace in London on January 7 and 8, 2017 (my talk is on Sunday 8).

Click on the image above to visit the Vegan Life Live website.

My talk will be a journey through my life as a vegan blogger made up of a few anecdotes and sassy asides.

Topics I’m likely to cover include:

  • when and why I started living vegan
  • how I became FGV
  • why I stopped saying ‘cruelty free’
  • keeping progressive politics at the heart of my veganism
  • Dear FGV, Vegan River Cruises and Vegan Beer Fest UK – how I survive as a vegan blogger
  • the reasons why I blog and why you should too (including some how to tips)

Of course there will be plenty of time to ask questions and I’d love to hear from anyone who already has a ticket if they want to hear me discuss anything in particular.

The show itself looks fantastic with all sorts of food stands, information sessions, cooking demos and more. Even my favourite vegan brewery, Brass Castle, are going to be running a beer bar. I think it is going to be a big crowd having a lot of fun!

Hope to see a lot of readers there. Get show details here.

Exclusive at Vegan Christmas Market

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My first ever Vegan Christmas Market is coming up close at a rapid speed and I’m beyond thrilled with the fabulous vendor line up I have gathered together.

If you missed the initial announcement of food traders, you can get updated by clicking here.

But this blog post belongs to only one piece of news.

In a London exclusive, award winning vegan meat company Sgaia will be trading at the Vegan Christmas Market in London on Saturday December 17, 2016.

Sgaia is nothing short of a phenomenon. This company burst onto the UK vegan scene only a short while ago and has quickly developed into one of the finest brands on the planet.

But what will they be selling at the Xmas event?

You will be able to get your hands on their brand new festive fillet. This gorgeous looking slice of vegan meat is perfect for rolling and filling with your favourite filling as a roast dinner centrepiece.

Check it out!

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In addition to this AMAZING festive fillet, Sgaia will also be selling ready to consume sandwiches stuffed solid with all sorts of tempting seasonal fillings.

sandwich_smlI predict a stampede for this food. Sgaia will also be selling other packs of their incredible slices and burgers, so bring a few shopping bags.

Get over to the Facebook event for Vegan Christmas Market, invite your friends, dress warm and get there early on the day so you don’t miss out.

You also need to follow Sgaia on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Order your own home delivery of their food via their website if you can’t join us on the day.

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Vegan dinner party

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I love a good dinner party.

Get me over for a few homemade dishes, a drop or two of drink and a healthy dose of conversation and I’m one happy FGV.

My buddy Mark treated me to an incredible dinner at his house last night and I really wanted to share the photos with you on here. He is a talented chef!

Watching @vegan_mark cooking up a #vegan storm. Watch him describe what is going on and follow him now!

A video posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on


What do you think? Pretty spectacular, right?

I’m trying to convince Mark to start running supper clubs at his West London house for paying guests, so follow him on Instagram to keep updated on any developments. Plus, his food photos are gorgeous.

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Sad news

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A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on


This is a personal post.

Today I attended the funeral of my friend, Indira.

If you read my blog often, you will know that Indira was battling secondary cancer of the liver a few years after conquering breast cancer. Indira once wrote a poignant guest blog post for me detailing her emotions around taking medications that had most certainly been tested on animals. She felt conflicted but wanted to be a voice for vegans in a similar position. She was always thinking of others throughout ordeals that would have left most of us thinking of little more than how horrible life can be.

Indira died last week and by all accounts she remained strong and compassionate right up until her passing.

Indira’s beautiful children (aged 1 and 4) will forever hear stories that their mother was one of the kindest and most compassionate people on the planet. If they ever stumble across this post, I want Thilini and Dilan to know that their “Mummy” was the kindest person I ever met in London.

Indira’s husband Martyn spoke with such affection and strength today, always with his children by his side.

This post is my personal memorial to a remarkable human. Indira was whip smart, accomplished, loving, down to Earth, an amazing vegan cook and forever looking for ways to help people and animals.

I would also like to express my sorrow for Indira’s family. Her father Karu and sister Lanka showed me warmth and affection on what is surely one of the most difficult days of their lives. I’m sorry for your loss.

We must all be more like Indira. We must learn to accept the impermanence of existence and turn our fear of that ever changing unknown into compassionate action.

Thank you Indira. You were a powerful and kind force to be reckoned with in an often hostile world.

I miss you.

2 million

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This post is kinda a chance to come up for air.

When I checked in on my blog statistics this morning, I noticed the all-time viewer count had passed the two million mark.

I know that number is not huge when some popular blogs are pulling those sorts of numbers in every month but for my little old blog, with just me behind the wheel, two million feels like a big milestone.

I started this blog almost six years ago as a way to keep self-publishing following the collapse of MySpace and as a platform on which to inspire people to go and/or stay vegan.

I was really inspired by the superstar blogs of the day such as Quarrygirl, Super Vegan and Vegansaurus. I wanted my blog to be fun, accessible and full of a very distinct voice.

The decision to launch my own blog has taken me on some unexpected paths.

I used the initial popularity of Fat Gay Vegan to help start the monthly London Vegan Potluck, a social event where people shared food and got to know each other. This event was much-loved and ran for four years and helped me develop another monthly party in the form of London Vegan Drinks.

The huge popularity of these events coupled with the demands of my blog forced me to step away from my job as a school teacher.

It was at this moment where I had to make Fat Gay Vegan pay.

Flash forward and you’ll now find me working alongside vegan brands, hosting vegan beer events, freelance writing, publicising vegan river cruises, and advising people on social and business matters.

I’m not sure how long this blog will continue, but the decision to start documenting my food and views on veganism almost six years ago has definitely been life defining.

Thanks for being part of this journey, thanks for improving outcomes for animals and thanks for contributing to that huge milestone of two million views.

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Dead animals are not art

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Lie down with roadkill, wake up with fleas.

It will be interesting to see how The Vegan Society responds to this situation.

BrewDog is expanding rapidly and part of that expansion involves raising equity in the USA. Long story short, the company’s equity scheme likes to reward investors with rewards such as discounts at their bars and so on. They had also promised a very special money-can’t-buy gift for their top investors in the USA.

Fast forward to today and the company posted details of the special reward on social media platforms as well as its website.

I’m going to leave a bit of space before I post the photo as a buffer zone for anyone who would like to check out now before they are faced with a dead animal.

Do not scroll down if you don’t want to see dead animals.

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Yep. The special reward for top investors is a limited beer housed inside an animal corpse.

The company explains on its website that roadkill has been used. Listen, I’m not here to debate if this is ethical or even in good taste. I know some people think animals should not be glorified as decorations or trophies and I also know some people are fucking horrendous pieces of shit who can fuck off.

You know which side of the line you fall.

Now, the real reason for this blog post is to ask The Vegan Society to rapidly and loudly remove themselves from any association with BrewDog.

The beer company recently started using the trademark of The Vegan Society on all of its vegan-suitable bottles.

Surely The Vegan Society is not interested in taking money from, or promoting, a company that uses the bodies of dead animals as a marketing gimmick?

I think we are all looking for swift action here.

Also, that’s me done being one of the most vocal supporters of BrewDog. I’m out.

You can see the original tweet here.

You can read about the special gift online.

The vegan cruise is over

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I am tired but happy.

Right this very moment I am sitting on my bed in west London after calling a cruise ship home for the past week. It has been a wonderful trip with lots of unique experiences.

I’m about to post all my favourite photos from the trip with Vegan Travel, but I also need to remind you of the next wonderful adventure coming up.

Click here to read about the New Year’s Eve cruise heading out of Amsterdam on December 29, 2016. It is going to be a trip to remember!

Now my photos from the south of France!

Fab salad plate on the #vegancruise today. Incredible maple mustard dressing. #vegan #vegantravel

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

If I see ONE MORE enchanting castle in the stunning French countryside… #vegan #vegancruise #vegantravel

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

Just devoured this sloppy cannelloni for lunch on the France #vegancruise #vegan #vegantravel

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

So pretty! Lunchtime dessert on the #vegancruise today is pineapple rice pudding with cream! #vegan #vegantravel

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

Ratatouille with rosemary potatoes for dinner on the #vegancruise tonight. #vegan #vegantravel

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

Enjoying a rain day on the river with a bottle of @fritzkola #vegancruise #vegantravel #vegan

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

Dang! Afternoon #vegan cake on the @vegantravel cruise. #vegancruise

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

Josh is getting VERY comfortable with living on a cruise ship. Pot of tea and a 500 piece jigsaw!

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

Hanging out in my cabin, watching France roll past. Dreamy times on the south of France #vegancruise with @vegantravel

A video posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on


Get booking for the next cruise. You’ll love it!

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Award winning

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This is big news.

The VegfestUK Awards were held during the huge two-day London event over the weekend and I’m thrilled to report that this blog was recognised!

I had been nominated in the category called Best Vegan Blogger/Info Website alongside some true giants of the plant-based community including The Vegan Society, Animal Aid and Viva! Campaigns.

I am absolutely shocked (and grateful) to have received almost 30% of the votes cast and to be named Best Vegan Blogger. I truly didn’t believe that I would win this award and was convinced one of the other bigger charities would scoop all the votes.

Heck, even my partner Josh told me he didn’t bother voting as he didn’t think I stood a chance!

BIG THANKS to every single person who voted for me and my blog. I have worked hard for almost six years to make it an informative and inclusive platform to help improve outcomes for animals.

I am deeply appreciative that people have recognised the blog by casting a vote. Thanks also to VegfestUK for giving people the opportunity to vote.

You can see the final vote tally, alongside all the other award winners, on the VegfestUK website here.

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Day of the Dead menu

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This is my favourite event that I put together.

Every year around this time I am filled with such excitement as I start putting together the finer details for my vegan Day of the Dead dinner party.

Not only is it fun devising a menu filled with delicious Mexican treats, it is also an opportunity to get dressed up and spend time with some of my best friends on the planet.

As you might know, Julio (of Sean y Julio fame) makes the journey every year to be with us for this event and for the past few years has been joined by his partner Carlos. Julio and Carlos are extremely special people to me and it a true joy to have them join me in London once a year.

Yes, yes. Whatever. I have friends. You wanna hear about the menu, right?

This year’s Day of the Dead dinner is getting supercharged thanks to the help of Mexican food ingredient specialists Cool Chile Co.

Our multi-course extravaganza will be decadent and packed solid with world class ingredients thanks to Cool Chile. Did you know they have a giant tortilla machine here in London? You should really get over to their website to check out the huge range of quality ingredients they have on offer. From no-fuss bean kits to blue corn tortillas, Cool Chile will have you cooking flawless Mexican cuisine in no time.

Wanna see the menu?

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Once again we have kept the menu completely gluten free.

I’m so pleased to be introducing the mushroom pie for this event, while also keeping much loved favourites from some of our earlier menus such as the flautas.

The 2016 version of this event takes place on Tuesday November 1. We have a sitting at 5pm for early birds and an 8pm sitting for those who cannot get away from work until a bit later. Book here.

It is a sit down dinner, you are welcome to bring your own vegan alcohol and of course you are encouraged to dress up if the mood takes you.

The 5th annual vegan Day of the Dead dinner is being hosted inside Black Cat Café in Hackney and I thank them profusely for their hospitality.

Gather your loved ones, book tickets now and I’ll see you all on November 1, 2016 for a night (and a meal) to remember. This event sells out every year, so please be quick to avoid disappointment.

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People for the unethical treatment of people

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I’m torn.

Do I write ANOTHER blog post about People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA) following ANOTHER appalling social media post by the group or do I ignore it?

Does using my platform to denounce and shine a light on the sexist and anti-women tactics employed by PeTA make a difference? Or am I just giving them more attention?

All I know is that it doesn’t feel right to sit around and say nothing. Not responding to this latest social media atrocity makes me feel culpable.

Therefore, I thoroughly denounce and reject this recent tweet by PeTA.


As you can see, PeTA has taken the despicable phrase spoken by Donald Trump as part of his description of how he physically treats women and they’ve attempted to turn it into a humorous slogan for rescuing cats.

This is a crass and insensitive campaign by PeTA.

By attempting to appropriate the vile language of sexual assault for the sake of making a joke statement about animal protection, PeTA has trivialised the plight of women.

Language surrounding sexual assault and harassment of women IS NOT theirs to reappropriate for another cause, no matter how noble that cause is deemed. Their actions are unethical, inconsiderate, ill-advised and show absolutely no respect for survivors of sexual assault.

The act of raising awareness for animal protection does not need to borrow language associated with human forms of oppression, nor does it have the right to do so.

PeTA knowingly uses these tactics to be provocative with zero concern shown for how their actions affect real people. They do not seem to understand or care that their actions are part of a broader problem.

The animal rights organisation has erased women from the situation, only to replace them with cats. They are showing no regard for the gravity of sexual assault, instead reducing it to a punchline meme to grab cheap and quick attention for their campaign.

Animal rights defenders need to do better when it comes to campaigning ethically. PeTA are amongst the worst offenders when it comes to humiliating, erasing and ridiculing people in the name of animal protection. It needs to end.

Women are under attack globally, both physically and institutionally. PeTA should accept that they have a responsibility to not only stop contributing to the subjugation of women, but to also work towards redressing it actively.

I sigh heavily in closing. How do we reach them? PeTA‘s actions are not in my name and I must make that heard. It’s the very least I can do.

Please tweet your concerns to PeTA.

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