Four nights in central London. Four visiting chefs. All vegan. This multi-night food event is a celebration of vegan cuisine from all over the globe and something food lovers certainly do not want to miss.
Spread across Friday nights in March 2014, Around the World with FGV is a collaboration between London’s leading vegan event planner and four of the finest vegan cooks in the UK.
Each night will be an intimate affair accommodating only six diners. The menu for each event has been personally created by the visiting chef, who will also handcraft the meal on their corresponding night. The dining experience is to be hosted by Fat Gay Vegan (that’s me!) in his home.
Who is doing the cooking and what are they making? Hold on to your hats!
I am passionately in love with potato and firmly believe the humble hash brown is one of the finest achievements in the long and colourful history of this vegetable.
The photo above shows a simple snack that had me feeling joyous a few days ago. Sainsbury’s own brand hash browns with yellow mustard created the perfect coupling. Amazing.
Do you have a favourite brand of hash browns? Suggestions below!
Hey! Yes, you. Single, straight vegan man. Come over here for a moment. I have something I would like to talk to you about.
You know how tough it can be as a single vegan, right? It is difficult to find time and situations for romance. You want to be in a relationship and you can’t imagine fostering intimacy with a non-vegan.
You might be thinking the answer to this situation is to go to as many vegan social events as possible and approach as many women as you can.
Wrong. Treating vegan social events as your own singles hotline leads to women feeling harassed, annoyed, objectified and unsafe.
But maybe you have no idea what I am talking about. Well, good news follows below.
I have taken time out of my intensive eating schedule to lay down some common pointers on how you can be a valuable and valued member of your local vegan community. The tips detailed below will help you rise from the ranks of creeper and sex pest to the lofty heights of respected and respectful member of your social group.
Fat Gay Vegan’s Guide for Single Straight Vegan Men
What’s better than a gorgeous vegan meal in a convenient central London location? A 10% discount off your total bill at the end of your meal, that’s what!
I had the pleasure of working with Saf Restaurant & Bar to help deliver a memorable dinner party on New Year’s Eve and now I get the thrill of offering a special discount to all my readers.
Saf reached out to ask if my readers would like a discount to dine with them until February 28th, 2014 at a 10% discount. I said, “Of course!”.
The restaurant has an attractive menu featuring raw starters, hearty mains, irresistible desserts and an impressive selection of vegan drinks. I truly believe it is the leader of the pack in London at the moment for vegan dining.
How do you get the discount?
White chocolate dumplings with vanilla ice cream in cinnamon broth
Dinner tonight was this lovely vegan meatball stew I threw together using VBites meatballs. I flavoured it with plenty of chipotle and hot sauce while my rice stack in the centre was packed with coriander.
My pal Messy Vegetarian Cook was over for the meal and her Instagram photo took into account our drinks for the evening, including two bottles of red wine and some shots of delicious mezcal. Check it out!
Make your last meal of 2013 extra special as Fat Gay Vegan partners with vegan cuisine leaders Saf to bring you a New Year’s Eve supper club to be remembered. Book now or read on for more details.
Saf Restaurant & Bar (located inside Whole Foods Market on Kensington High Street) serve some of the finest plant-based food in the UK. Every item featured on the Saf menu is world class and lovingly-prepared by the staff.
This exclusive New Year’s Eve event will see Saf closed to the public and will feature a 3 course meal (2 options for each course) with a fizzy welcome cocktail all for £30 (+fee) per person. Fat Gay Vegan (that’s me!) will greet and host throughout the dinner.
There will be time to mingle around the bar and diners can purchase extra wine, cocktails or beer from Saf. All alcohol served in the restaurant is vegan and there are gluten free drink options.
The event will commence at 7pm and come to an end at 10pm, allowing diners time to spirit away into the night to ring in midnight with friends and loved ones.
My mate and all round good person Kip from Messy Vegetarian Cook has stopped by to let you know her take on my recent 2nd Annual Day of the Dead vegan supper club.
She even took fab photos for you to drool over. Thanks Kip!
————————————————————————————————————-
Another event organised by Fat Gay Vegan, the second annual Mexican Day of the Dead supper club went off without a hitch.
Día de los Muertos—Day of the Dead—is a Latin American holiday that originated in Mexico to remember and celebrate the lives of those who died. Food and friends are a central theme in the holiday, and this supper club lauded both.
The dinner comprised of five courses (six if you count the hibiscus tequila cocktail): esquites (Mexican sweetcorn salad, a typical street food), smoky lentil soup with fried plantain, potato taquitos (deep fried stuffed corn tortilla rolls), seitan in hibiscus mole sauce with cacao nibs, and cinnamon rice pudding.
FGV in the middle
While I think it’s safe to say the overall diner favourites were the taquitos and lentil soup, what stood out most to me was the mole sauce. This rich preparation is the end result of a laborious task of toasting, grinding, and mixing a number of latin ingredients. Aside from the necessary chili component, other popular ingredients include nuts, seeds, chocolate, various spices, bread, and various fruits and vegetables. A mole can be incredibly complex, so to know someone painstakingly prepared it from scratch made the whole meal worthwhile for me.
Many thanks to chef Julio for his efforts and skill in the kitchen, and for his enthusiasm in presenting the food and culture of his country with such passion. Hats off also to Josh for his help and to Sean for hosting such a great evening. Also a massive final thanks to all of the companies who donated to guests’ take home goody bags.
I’m already excited about next year’s supper club!
I just need to take a moment to give my heartfelt thanks to all of the people who voted for me in the VegfestUK awards 2013.
The award ceremony took place on Saturday during the show and I was genuinely thrilled to be presented with the award for Best Blogger of the Year. It was lovely. This blog has been running for almost three years and recognition isn’t expected, but it certainly is appreciated.
From the bottom of my fat gay vegan heart, I thank you.
As the colder weather approaches, take comfort knowing there is an exclusive vegan supper club full of hearty pies and sweet tarts just around the corner.
Fat Gay Vegan (that’s me!) has teamed up with pie experts The Tickled Tastebud Co. for an evening of delicious, handcrafted vegan pies and tarts.
Hosted in the intimate setting of a Kensington apartment on Saturday October 12th 2013 from 6pm, this exclusive meal is open to only six diners. You will need to be faster than speedy to secure a place.
Once you have read the menu below, I am certain you will be booking instantly.
The creation of the Internet has led to some strange and wonderful occurrences in life. But I’m not sure I’ve experienced a more unexpected social media surprise than pop star Darren Hayes sending me a recipe for soup, with personalised tips on how to make it vegan.
My history of interaction with the ex-Savage Garden singer goes way back. There was the time I gave Darren a Stars Wars figurine as a gift. I was much, much younger and hanging out to meet my pop star idols was a favourite past time. Pop-loving me was was beyond thrilled when Darren phoned me at home in Sydney, Australia that night to say thanks for the action toy.
Fast forward a year or two later and I was hanging out after seeing Darren’s band Savage Garden in concert in Manchester, UK. I think it was around the time I was about to turn vegan and Darren was about to turn gay (love and jokes, Darren!).
Darren loved the Madonna t-shirt I was sporting and invited me onto the tour coach for a short chat about pop music and other hot topics. It was a fabulous opportunity for fan boy me to spend some time talking with someone I looked up to musically.
Then we need to fast forward about 15 years for my next Darren Hayes encounter.
