I often enjoy strolling aimlessly around London. I pick a general direction and just set off. These random wanderings have helped me unearth some of the most wonderful vegan discoveries, as well as rediscover gems I had completely forgotten about.
It was during one of these unplanned strolls a few weeks ago when I came across the gorgeous and exquisite creations of The Chocolatier. I am fairly certain I had seen them at VegfestUK London last year but didn’t manage to get close to them due to the swarms of people converging on their stand.
This time I was able to find my way to the front of their table at an open air market just a block back from London’s South Bank. While not being a completely vegan company, the majority of their handcrafted delights are vegan and oh so delicious.
It is a wonderful time of year. A time of year I always look forward to with great anticipation. No, not spring. It’s time for discounted vegan chocolate.
Here are two delights I picked up this week in the post-Easter sales.
How about you? What have you found in the chocolate bargain bins this week?
I have been hearing good things about new(ish) soda company Square Root and was keen to get it on my chubby tastebuds.This Hackney-based company make all their drinks by hand from seasonal ingredients and they sell them from a gorgeous vintage tricycle fitted out with taps from which they pour the tasty liquid.
I have been racking my feeble brain for a witty or whimsical way in which to announce this epic news, but I have been reduced to a quivering mess and can no longer think. I’m going to just have to come straight out and say the facts.
The best vegan cakes and desserts in the whole of Europe are now available in London.
If you have been loitering around these parts of the Internet for a few years, you should be able to recall this mammoth post I wrote about irresistible vegan cakes in Barcelona created by the magical company known as Lujuria Vegana.
Their cakes are absolutely peerless in Europe. I am a super fan.
Imagine then my sheer delight/shock/convulsions of hysteria when I was confronted by masses of Lujuria Vegana desserts sitting in the chilled fridges of the brand new Whole Foods Market location in Fulham. I almost fell over.
The range in Whole Foods is staggering in size. You can see by the photos below that I was completely unable to control myself and bought many varieties. I was overcome by a cake buying frenzy.
As far as I can tell, this particular Whole Foods Market is the ONLY place in the UK selling these gluten free and vegan desserts. I had heard whispers of them making inroads over here but this is the first time I have seen them on a store shelf.
Check out my photos (yes, I bought ALL cakes featured). Get to Fulham. Buy many cakes. Be happy.
The Vegan Ice Cream Wars just got serious. Yes, we have enjoyed slurping away at chocolate, vanilla and other plain favours in the UK for years but what we desperately needed was someone to add a bit of excitement to proceedings.
Get the job done, Bessant & Drury’s.
I was waddling through Waitrose today when the familiar B&D packaging caught my eye as I passed the frozen food section. I almost passed without incident until I did a double take when I saw a magical word.
Swirl.
Yep, you got it. Vegan frozen dessert containing luscious fruit swirls all throughout. Mango swirls or coconut and raspberry swirl. Oh my!
The first photo shows the two flavours being considered while the second shows the fortunate flavour that made it back to my freezer. The raspberry is rich, decadent and lovely. I can’t wait to get back for the mango.
Good job, Bessant & Drury’s. You are winning the UK league of the Vegan Ice Cream Wars.
Click here for more tales from the frontlines of the Vegan Ice cream Wars.
Can you remember a time when finding vegan cake in London was a struggle? Now it seems you can’t walk down the street without tripping over a piece of dairy-free sponge or accidentally eating half a dozen cupcakes. OK, that last one might be just me… and you can take out ‘accidentally’.
It seems the more cake vendors we get in the capital, the more up-and-coming bakers are inspired to get in on the act. It’s a fabulous win/win situation for fat, gay vegans and other cake aficionados.
The latest cake maker to catch my attention is the super friendly Kirsty of Garden of Vegan. Kirsty is a home baker turned business person looking to impress London with her cruelty-free cakes. She generously hand delivered a bag of her goods for me to sample and asked me to let you all know about her new business.
Here is what Kirsty had to say about getting your hands on some vegan cake:
“We began as wholesale but in an ideal world we want people to order directly from us. We are working on an online order form, but at the moment if people want to order they just email us at gofvegan@gmail.com or contact us via Facebook or Twitter and they can request a menu. Once they decide on what they want, they send us an email, we send them an invoice and they can pay on delivery.”
Kirsty also assured me she is proactively searching for cafes to sell her cakes. If you are a cafe owner or have a local hangout that could benefit from vegan cake, get in touch with Garden of Vegan.
I was perusing the free from aisle in my local Waitrose today when I saw the following product withdrawal sign.
If you are having trouble reading the sign, it states the dairy free chocolate covered raisins by the Fabulous FreeFrom Factory have been recalled due to a few batches showing positive results for milk.
I phoned the distributor, VBites, and was told they had been instructed by the manufacturer to recall the products.
This led me to phone the manufacturer, Winning Ways Fine Foods. I spoke with the wonderfully-helpful Deborah who gave me all the information I asked for (and some I didn’t).
Dairy free chocolate raisins
Deborah explained how a batch of the product had tested positive for trace amounts of casein, a protein found in dairy milk. The quantity was 12.6 parts per million, an almost undetectable level. But because the company is so fiercely protective of their dairy free claims, they ordered an instant recall of the positive batch and two subsequent batches to be on the safe side.
The batches recalled have the Best Before Dates of End Jan 2015, End Feb 2015 and End March 2015. Deborah stated that even though the risk of allergic reaction is incredibly low, the company decided to take drastic measures by recalling all stock that had the slightest chance of containing traces.
Deborah told me that she, along with her colleagues, has been devastated by this recall. The company can only surmise that their dark chocolate that is certified as completely dairy free was melted in or stored in a container that had previously been used to hold chocolate with traces of dairy.
The company is asking anyone with the product featuring the above mentioned best before dates to return them for a refund.
I do feel sorry for Winning Ways Fine Foods as I know how detrimental to a professional reputation a recall can be, especially when the products in question are marketed at the free from sector.
I commend Deborah and her colleagues for the decisive and prompt action they have taken to ensure the tainted product was recalled as quickly as possible. They are assuring all customers that they are doing all they can to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
Rest assured vegans and dairy avoiders. The Fabulous FreeFrom Factory dairy free chocolate covered raisins are once again suitable for cruelty-free eaters and the dietary sensitive and we should support wonderful and thoughtful companies like Winning Ways. Rejoice!
I spotted this in my local Whole Foods Market and I took a few quick photos to share with you all on here. I am hoping someone can tell me if they have used these vegan chocolate making kits and, if they have, if they will tell me about the experience.
All of the ingredients are certified by the Soil Association and the box even has a claim that all ingredients have been tested to be free of dairy, gluten and soya. I really want to try this kit but someone needs to convince me. Is it worth the money?
The Choc Chickbrand has the smaller box targeted at young people and a larger, more expensive pack for adults. They even sell individual top up packs of the ingredients. You can see them in the shots below. The kits look like they would be a fun gift for someone special. I love the fact they use Sweet Freedomas the sugar component.
There is a lot of vegan cake in London, but is it ever enough? I say no.
Congratulations to the people of Archway in north London. Their suburb is the location of the latest in a long line of 100% vegan cake stalls taking over the street markets of the capital.
A stroll around Archway on Saturday 15th March, 2014 could very well land you with a handful of gluten free, vegan cake if you make time to visit the outdoor market on Holloway Road.
Maria will be working behind the table and selling her homemade creations on a stall called Lilla Gull Cakes. The food-curious will be able to buy brownies topped with caramel corn, savoury muffins, coconut oat balls and more.
The plan is for the home business to be at that location every fortnight before making it more permanent once they are established and have a following.
Josh has been in the USA for the past week and a half in Tampa and Philadelphia. I missed him greatly and it was wonderful to welcome him home today… especially when I saw the jumbo bag of vegan snacks and treats he brought with him!
Check out the drool-worthy photos of my bumper haul below.
Are any of your favourites here? Anything you are curious to try?
