I love sugar

London vegan business celebrates 5 years!

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Bow down.

The revolutionary, trailblazing and pioneering Ms Cupcake vegan bakery in Brixton, London is celebrating its five year anniversary tomorrow (FGV was at the grand opening back in 2011).

Can you even imagine the energy, dedication and hard work required to not only keep a London business open for five years, but to make it thrive? Mellissa Morgan has succeeded and thrived by committing herself to her business wholeheartedly.

To truly understand how hard Mellissa has worked, take a moment to reflect on your own life during the past five years. You will have endured hardships, stress, possibly health concerns, the daily grind of general life and countless other confronting situations.

Now add to this the running of an independent business with your own money, being responsible for the livelihood of a dozen or so people, writing and promoting books, launching your products into a nationwide retail chain as well as being seen as one of the driving forces behind the UK vegan movement.

I’m worn out just typing it.

I was going to ask you all nicely, but have decided to be a bit more direct. Go to Twitter and Facebook to congratulate Mellissa and the Ms Cupcake team for five amazing years, as well as thank them for their tireless dedication to improving outcomes for animals and for kickstarting UK veganism like no one else was able to manage.

ms-cupcake

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MORE vegan ice cream

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I can’t keep up with all the new vegan ice cream products being launched by UK supermarkets.

Check out the range now available in Tesco stores around the country.

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Those fruit splits remind me of my childhood in Australia. I remember being on the beach, trying to eat this exact type of treat before it melted in the extreme heat.

Have you tried any of the dairy free frozen range at Tesco? Are the splits as good as they look?

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Finally! Eat Natural has a vegan bar

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How many times have you picked up an Eat Natural in the supermarket only to put it back on the shelf when you remembered it had honey in it?

The protein bar people have been teasing us vegans for years with their honey-laden range, but now they have thrown us a bone. A bone in the form of a delicious-sounding vegan bar.

This new bar is crafted from maple syrup, pecans and peanuts, and you can get your compassionate fingers on these newbies at Tesco stores around the UK from this month (March 2016).

The press release for the new bars tells me it “contains 40% more protein than a standard Eat Natural Brazil & Sultana bar. It’s made using naturally protein-loaded nuts and contains no soya. Packed with over 70% nuts and seeds: a mix of Peanuts, indulgent Pecan nuts, Golden linseeds and nutty sunflower seeds all gently drenched with Canadian maple syrup and baked lightly for a mellow, rich taste and crunch. (Vegan, Wheat, Dairy and Gluten free.)”

Sounds tasty! Have you tried one yet?

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Ice cream! Milk! Chocolate!

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As of the end of April/beginning of May 2016, I no longer work with Besos de Oro

I teased you all a few days ago about the upcoming developments from my client, Besos de Oro.

Well, the time has come to give you a sneak peek behind the curtain. Are you ready?

Besos new vegan products

Yes, you are seeing what you think you are seeing.

Besos de Oro is the creamy drink crafted from brandy and horchata, a milky liquid made of chufa. Chufa is a tuber also known as tiger nut and is the star ingredient of horchata from Spain.

Besos is now changing the way vegans and dairy-free consumers get their milk, ice cream and chocolate. These creamy new products are made from the chufa plant and the entire range is also gluten free.

As if that isn’t enough to impress, Besos is also set to please with a brand new tomato frito. Frito is a decadent sauce made from roasted tomatoes and is the main tomato ingredient in Spanish cuisine. Peter from Besos de Oro assures me that his frito is the best you will ever taste.

This news is intense and is wearing me out, so let me recap.

The new Besos frito and milk will be available in the UK not long after you read this post, followed by the Besos ice cream and chocolate. All vegan!

As of the end of April/beginning of May 2016, I no longer work with Besos de Oro

You should follow Besos de Oro on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to find out where these glorious new vegan products will be sold (and what those mysterious unannounced products are!).

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Vegan chocolate Easter workshop

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Do you want to learn how to handcraft mouthwatering chocolates? Do you want your teacher to be an expert? Do you want to eat delicious sweet treats?

Yes to everything?

Check out this fabulous vegan chocolate Easter workshop where all of the above will happen.

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On March 25, 2016 you can join chocolatier Ela Harpak, a Le Cordon Bleu graduate, for a fun and delicious Easter vegan chocolate workshop. Ela will teach you the basic skills of a chocolatier as well as introduce you to some surprising vegan ingredients and flavours.

You will make and decorate vegan chocolate eggs, as well as craft delicious vegan creamy pralines, truffles and more!

The cost of the workshop is £35 per person and bookings can be placed via ohlala.workshops@gmail.com. You can also RSVP over on the Facebook event.

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Jammie Dodgers no longer vegan

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All I seem to do lately is report on food stuffs not being vegan and here is another that is going to break a few hearts.

Jammie Dodgers.

These glorious and highly-addictive biscuits with a jam centre were accidentally vegan for many years, but times have changed and the ingredient list now includes milk protein.

I emailed the company to find out why this change has occurred and I got the following statement in return:

We have recently carried out a reformulation of our Jammie Dodgers™ recipe, based on consumer feedback as how best to improve the flavour and texture of the product.

The reformulation has resulted in the addition of milk proteins, in line with our mini Jammie Dodgers™, and is consequently now listed as an allergen in the ingredients.

We take allergen control very seriously and aim to ensure we give the correct information to customers in order to help them make the right choices.

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Well, ain’t that a kick in the teeth?

One concerned citizen is not going down without a fight and has started a petition to ask parent company Burton’s Biscuits to restore Jammie Dodgers to their vegan-friendly status.

You can sign the petition here.

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Vegan hot chocolate

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Public service announcement: the Real Hot Chocolate Co has vegan offerings!

The company does produce non-vegan products (the white chocolate ones) but you can get your hands on some of their completely dairy free lines online and in some shops.

Owner of Real Hot Chocolate Co, Phillip Easton, told me:

There is so much emphasis on quality and range of artisan coffee, micro brew beers and specialist teas, but when it comes to hot chocolate (my drink of choice) 99% of people will reach for the instant powder. Luxury means putting squirty cream and marshmallows on top, and often the manufacturer’s directions aren’t followed, meaning a bad drink.
The Real Hot Chocolate Co changes the perception that this is okay, and pushes the need for quality hot chocolate.
I also developed a unique product specifically for coffee shops, giving a wide range of flavours and serving sizes with all natural gluten-free ingredients, made from real Belgian chocolate.
There’s also a range coming soon which is a bit darker (64.5%), from single-source Costa Rican cocoa which is Rainforest Alliance Certified.  It’s not yet released as I’m looking to distribute that rather than sell through the website – but I do currently sell it if I’m running a stall, and it is being served fresh in some coffee shops – such as Anna Loka, the vegan restaurant in Cardiff.
I sell directly to customers, wholesale to shops and cafes to sell packaged or fresh, and also as party favours and corporate gifts!
The product is truly artisan.  I design and make the moulds, packaging, website, recipes, etc.  The only thing I buy in is actually the Belgian chocolate – all other ingredients are as local as possible.
real hot chocolate co

If you like decadent hot chocolate, you might just want to check out the real Hot Chocolate Co online and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

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Vegan cakes in Margate

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A new vegan cake shop has opened in Margate, Kent.

The owner of Seaside Cake Parlour will probably look familiar to a lot of readers as the same person who owned, operated and baked for Cakes ‘n’ Treats in Camden (yes, the place with this history here, here and here).

Click here or on the photo below to read the full article about the new shop on the Isle of Thanet Gazette website.

thanet vegan cake story

The article states the baker Sarah (did her name used to be Kim?) also creates non-vegan wedding cakes in addition to the menu at her completely vegan cafe.

You can find Seaside Cake Parlour on Facebook and Twitter.

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Probably not vegan. Stop eating them!

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UPDATE

Wall’s have now confirmed to multiple people via social media and email that the new Swedish Glace ice creams ARE suitable for vegans. They have also apologised for the confusion caused by saying the opposite a few days ago. Buy them all, eat them all.

END UPDATE

I wrote about my bewilderment caused by the new Swedish Glace chocolate coated strawberry ice cream sticks not saying ‘vegan’ on the box when all other Swedish Glace products do have vegan written on them.

Well, straight from the source (with the source weirdly being Walls ice cream) we have been told that these products ARE NOT VEGAN.

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I am not 100% sure that this is true. People running social media accounts have made mistakes before but this matches up with Sainsbury’s listing the products as only vegetarian on their website.

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I am still waiting to get a response to my email from parent company Unilever but I think it is safe to say that all vegans in the UK should STOP buying this product.

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New Swedish Glace in Sainsbury’s

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UPDATE

Wall’s have now confirmed to multiple people via social media and email that the new Swedish Glace ice creams ARE suitable for vegans. They have also apologised for the confusion caused by saying the opposite a few days ago. Buy them all, eat them all.

END UPDATE

This news is blowing up everywhere so you have probably already seen it, but in case you haven’t…

Sainsbury’s are now selling boxes of strawberry flavoured soya ice cream treats made by Swedish Glace. The chocolate covered delights come five to a box.

swedish glace

Exciting news, but weirdly the Sainsbury’s website lists this new product as suitable for vegetarians but not vegans. A quick search reveals they use ‘vegan’ to describe other Swedish Glace products such as this tub.

I’ve emailed Unilever (yes, that is the company in charge of Swedish Glace) to ask if the strawberry and chocolate sticks are made with only vegan ingredients but am yet to hear back.

Please fill us in if you have any information on the veganicity of these ice creams. I can’t get my chubby hands on a box from here in Mexico but I thought someone reading would have a closer look to see if the box is labelled vegan.

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