Below is a collection of just some of the vegan dishes and experiences that caught my attention over the past week. Do you like the look of anything in particular?
Haus of FGV
Top of the heap
I get asked daily (often multiple times a day) to share details of my favourite vegan meal in London.
I don’t think about it. I don’t deliberate. I answer quickly and succinctly.
My favourite vegan meal in London is…
by CHLOE
I’ve met thousands of people during my time as FGV and very rarely do they turn out to be as friendly and fabulous as Chloe Coscarelli.
In case you don’t know, Chloe Coscarelli is a superstar vegan chef with an arsenal of plant-based recipes that could turn the head of any carnivore. I adore Chloe’s recipes and was beside myself with glee when I had the pleasure of hosting her family at London Vegan Drinks a few years back.
The latest news out of camp Coscarelli is the recent opening of a 100% vegan restaurant called by CHLOE, situated in the West Village district of Manhattan .
Keep scrolling to read my exclusive interview with Chloe about this exciting business development, her favourite items on her menu and if we can hope to welcome her back to the UK anytime soon.
Thank you, tibits
Do you all remember when we helped a young person named Alex with a school marketing project involving a collection of his vegan recipes? Sure you do!
Alex went on to have the most successful project in his school and was shortlisted as a finalist in a business competition run in Sheffield.
Flash forward to last night and I met up with Alex and his mum for dinner in London!
Vote for me again
I was once awarded the runner up ribbon in a creative writing competition as a child and everyone took great delight in telling me the thrill actually existed in the nomination.
I expect to hear that phrase a lot this year after discovering I have been nominated in the VegfestUK Awards.
You can check out my insurmountable competition in the Best Vegan Lifestyle Website category by clicking here. Not sure if I’ll enjoy losing to Viva!, Animal Aid or The Vegan Society more but of course the real pleasure is in the nomination.
Thanks, VegfestUK!
It’s all over
After 10 shows in 9 cities, my first ever Vegan Roadshow is all over.
I want to give a massive thank you to all the people who supported our Indiegogo campaign, helping us to cover some of the costs associated with taking a band, a blogger and an activist group on the road.
Lots of love and appreciation goes out to the venues that hosted our event. Thank you for taking a chance on our unique tour and I hope it was worthwhile for you. Your support was invaluable in helping us spread our message of compassion.
We wouldn’t have had a tour without the attendees. The people who came to the shows were full of enthusiasm and made all of us feel welcome in each city. Thank you for showing up and spending your money on merchandise. We are thankful.
Thank you to the bands and performers who helped us entertain people along the way including the wonderful Chrissy Barnacle and the irrepressible Colour Me Wednesday.
Superstar food providers kept us fed and happy during the tour. Thank you to the wonderful chefs and cooks who came out to each stop of Vegan Roadshow to impress us with their culinary skills.
HUGE appreciation goes to Connor Jackson who not only managed the Animal Equality merch stand at every stop of the tour, but also stepped up to perform at most of the gigs. Connor is an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist who works hard to spread the vegan message. Thanks, Connor.
Josh Leuner is my partner and he certainly got more than he bargained for with Vegan Roadshow. Josh drove the van all on his own for the entire tour and performed an acoustic set at most of the stops. His unwavering support of my outlandish pursuits is the stuff that makes life bearable. I love you, Josh.
Final thanks to the Vegan Roadshow resident band, Love Like Hate. Sonja and Heather are two of the most passionate, authentic and compassionate people on the planet and I’m extremely fortunate to have shared this experience with them. Their unwavering love of music and doing the right thing pushed them into agreeing to fly all the way from Brisbane, Australia at great personal expense to help me bring Vegan Roadshow to life. I am forever humbled by their musical talent and kindness. Saying goodbye to them as they prepared to return to Australia filled me with a definite sadness. Thank you. Lots of love, always.
Team fox
In case you didn’t know, the Prime Minister is leading the charge to relax laws governing fox hunting.
Read this and feel outraged.
The vote to relax these laws which will allow the widespread harassment and murder of foxes is happening within days.
It is CRUCIAL that you contact your MP and demand that they vote against any such relaxation of hunting laws.
You can visit one of the following websites that will help you contact your MP:
We must work together to stop the Hunting Act from being repealed or relaxed.
I know we get asked to sign a lot of petitions and take a lot of action over the Internet and it is easy to feel swamped by information.
But I implore you to click on one of the above links and take 5 to 10 minutes out of your day to send a loud and clear message to your MP.
We need to protect foxes from cruel hunts.
Compassionate feast
This is not a vegan meal you will be able to get your hands on, unless I can talk my mother-in-law into staging a supper club with me.
We recently celebrated both Josh and his sister Sophia completing their university degrees, so that meant a jumbo vegan meal with the family to mark the occasion.
Check out the glorious Middle Eastern inspired meal Sara prepared for our party. Don’t drool!
Dairy is crueler than meat
This isn’t going to sit well with a lot of readers but I’ve got something I want to get off my chest.
I believe the dairy and egg industries are responsible for much more harm and suffering than raising and killing animals solely for meat.
I think a meat eater who doesn’t eat dairy or eggs is far less complicit in animal suffering than a vegetarian who consumes dairy and eggs every day.
Highly skilled food transportation
I’ve developed incredible skills when it comes to transporting chilled and frozen vegan food from one part of the planet to another.
You could be forgiven for thinking a flight from Los Angeles to London is too much time in the air for frozen food to make it back safely, not to mention the long periods at either end getting to and from airports.
But I’m FGV and nothing stands in my way when it comes to the food I love.
All of the goods you see below were frozen and wrapped in multiple plastic bags before being swaddled inside my favourite Harrington jacket and crammed into a suitcase.
Every single item made it back to my London home still frozen.
Check it all out below. I’m off to eat it all!