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Ferments and Pickles

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Celebrate Veganuary’s Finale with Purpose and Flavour

Join me for an exclusive, one-night-only dining experience at E3 Vegan, a proudly independent and celebrated restaurant nestled on Roman Road, East London.

This special supper club is your chance to savour an inventive three-course plant-based menu created by Head Chef Marc Joseph, formerly of the iconic Vanilla Black, London’s first vegetarian and vegan fine dining destination.

Born out of a love for sustainability and a passion for exceptional cuisine, E3 Vegan’s hyper-local, seasonal approach has made it a standout on the culinary map.

This January, I’m bringing you an unforgettable evening to celebrate Veganuary’s close, with 50% of ticket sales going directly to support the impactful community work of Made In Hackney.

Details:
📅 31 January 2025
📍 E3 Vegan, Roman Road
🍴 Multi-Course Dinner: £40pp (plus booking fee)
🎟️ Only 20 seats available – reserve yours today!

Menu will include:

  • E3V Focaccia with cream sheese and mixed pickles
  • Beetroot Borscht with pickled gherkins, beetroot and dill
  • Pomme purée and grilled baby leeks with pickled purple potatoes, pickled shallots and a yeast cracker
  • Ginger cake with pickled rhubarb and E3V vanilla ice cream

Additional purchases available: cocktails, wine, beer, soft drinks, and indulgent desserts like cakes and brownies.

Spaces are limited, so don’t miss this exclusive chance to indulge in an extraordinary menu while supporting a meaningful cause. Click here to book now!

You can watch/stream my weekly podcast Tell Me Where I’m Going (Wrong) on YouTube and Spotify.

Follow me on Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Facebook, Blue Sky, and X(I know, I know!).

Mini festive market 2023

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If you think it feels like a long, long time since I’ve posted on the blog you are completely correct.

The reason I’m coming back to speak to you all after all this time is because it’s the end of 2023 and I’m inviting you to a celebration!

To celebrate this blog being alive and well again, I’m thrilled to announce that I’m hosting a vegan mini festive market in conjunction with vegan food charity, Made in Hackney.

Please join us in The Redmond Community Centre on Saturday December 16th, 2023 between 11am and 4pm for festive fun, gift shopping with local traders, tombola, live music, and time to socialise with friends old and new.

Drop in anytime across the day and say hi… we can’t wait to see you! The market is in support of all the crucial work Made in Hackney does around plant-based food security and nutrition.

Independent traders and stalls will include:

VG Coffee – selling hot drinks and hand held nibbles
I AM NUT OK – award-winning plant-based cheeses perfect for your festive table
Pinkeens Prints – gift ideas including hand-painted mugs in support of London wildlife conservation
Ecotricity – chat with Britain’s leading ethically-sourced energy company
Made In Hackney – chat with us about or community classes and masterclasses
Citizen Cake – homestyle cakes and bakes
Con Pasión Perú – cook-at-home Peruvian tamales and snacks
Cake Cult – decadent cookies, cakes, and tray bakes
Canopy Indoor Plants – plants and pots for you to buy for loved ones… or yourself!
Copperhouse Chocolate – handmade artisan chocolates and chocolate drink mixes
POH Books – specialist in African and Caribbean books for all ages… including vegan recipes!
Singing Santa – the jolly old man will be on the mic singing your favourite pop songs

Extra note: FGV and Made In Hackney would like to thank Ecotricity for financially supporting this event. If you would like to find out more about this ethical energy supplier, click here for a quote. Ecotricity will kindly donate money to Made In Hackney for each new customer signing up via that link.

Vegan pizza party with FGV

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I love a good party just as much as I love a good pizza, so why not combine my love for these two things?!

Join me in a week for The Future of Food co-presented with NXT LVL PZA.

Join Fat Gay Vegan at NXT LVL PZA’s Hackney Wick launch party!

Your £5 entry goes straight to madeinhackney.org, a local plant based cookery school and food kitchen helping some of East London’s most vulnerable people. It also entitles you to 1 free beer and free pizza all night!

NXT LVL’s master chef will be cooking up a storm in our courtyard, showing us the secrets of making food so good, you don’t notice it’s saving the planet. Come down, try some next level pizza, talk about the future of food and get to know your community.

@ HWK – 29 White Post Ln, London, E9 5EN

Thursday 12th May: 7pm – 11pm

£5 entry – free pizza + 1 beer* – 100% of proceeds go to Made In Hackney

CLICK HERE to buy your ticket now. Numbers are strictly limited.

*Pizza will be served by the slice. Beer tokens will redeem 1 alcoholic or 1 non-alcoholic beer. A soft drink option will also be available. Please check bar listing for more information.

Win some food with FGV

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Here is a super rapid Instagram competition where you can win some food and hang out with a bunch of vegans and vegan-friendly peeps.

On the first Wednesday of each month, I host a London’s best party for compassionate people. Get excited for London Vegan Social!

London Vegan Social is the place to meet people, sing karaoke, eat delicious food, and sip refreshing cocktails. Spread across three floors of the Old Crown Pub at 33 New Oxford Street. It’s perfectly located halfway between Tottenham Court Road and Holborn Underground stations.

The monthly party runs between 6pm and 10pm on the first Wednesday and this month I am giving away a food and drink package for two. The event is tomorrow (May 4) so get reading below about how you can win!

This food and drink prize is supplied by resident vegan kitchen Vetomeato and host pub The Old Crown.

Here is what you need to do to win:

I’ll be picking a winner at 5pm on Wednesday May 4th, 2022. The prize can be claimed at London Vegan Social that same night!

The prize does not cover any travel expenses but the winner will get the following:

  • 2 burgers
  • 2 fries
  • 2 Mac n cheese bites
  • 2 vegan cocktails

Click here to visit and comment on the Instagram post.

Don’t forget to follow Fat Gay Vegan and Vetomeato on Instagram.

Wanna invest in vegan pizza?

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Ever since I adopted a vegan lifestyle over 20 years ago, I’ve been searching for the best plant-based pepperoni pizza.

We didn’t have a lot of pepperoni pizza opportunities in Australia when I was younger and by the time I got to the UK where they were more popular, I was vegan!

But hey, guess what, people? I think I’ve found the vegan pepperoni pizza of my dreams… and you can invest in the company responsible for bringing it to the UK capital.

NXT LVL PZA is a fast food concept that was pretty easy to fall in love with.

I stumbled upon the NXT LVL pop up restaurant in Soho just over a month or so back and was swept up by excitement and greed. The brand is all bright colours and video game imagery while the menu is 100% plant-based.

The idea of the concept is to give hungry people (like me) the food they desire while doing good stuff for the planet and animals. I saw so many people getting excited about the pizza before they realised it was plant-based and that excitement didn’t let up when they started eating.

The pizza from NXT LVL is extremely tasty.

I think what NXT LVL PZA has got right is not trying to invent the wheel when it comes to ingredients that other people do incredibly well already.

The brand has created partnerships with leading plant-based companies such as Beyond Meat to create pizzas with toppings that can’t be, er.. topped!

This is why the pepperoni pizza has got me all hot and bothered.

The Spice Invaders pizza (see photo above) features the mouthwatering pepperoni slices of Verdino Foods. This is by far the best plant-based pepperoni I have ever enjoyed. My childhood dreams are coming true!

Following on from a trial delivery kitchen near Battersea over the past few months, NXT LVL PZA is ready to take their delicious vegan menu across London via a series of delivery kitchens. I think they plan on opening ten delivery kitchens as a starting point!

And if you like the sound of getting a slice of the action (get it?), you can invest in their expansion via a crowdfunding campaign. Of course you need to know that any sort of investment opportunity carries risk, no matter how much some chubby Australian blogger loves vegan pepperoni pizza.

Click here if you want to discover more info about investing in a chain of vegan pizza kitchens.

You can also follow NXT LVL PZA on Instagram.

Extra note: keep a close eye on my social media announcements in the coming week. I love NXT LVL so much, there might just be an FGV pizza party sponsored by the brand coming to London and you will definitely want to be a part of it.

Special vegan Valentine’s dinner in London

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If you know anything about vegan food in London, you’ll be aware that Essential Vegan is one of the best places to get plant-based cuisine in the city.

Vanessa has established her vegan Brazilian food business as a real leader on the food scene over the past few years and now you can celebrate Valentine’s Day 2022 with a special set menu.

Tapioca dice with homemade sweet chili chutney
Palm hearts and plantain moqueca with basmati rice

The 3-course Valentine’s Day dinner is available for one night only at Essential Vegan, inside Dalston Superstore, on Monday February 14, 2022 from 5pm.

The menu is priced at £25 per person and includes:

  • tapioca dice with homemade sweet chili chutney
  • palm hearts and plantain moqueca with basmati rice
  • Brazilian donuts with guava paste

This is an incredible line up of dishes that is going to have you all loved up!

You can choose the time that suits you with bookings starting from 5pm. Click here to make a booking.

The full Essential Vegan menu will also be available on the night, as it is 7-days a week.

If you like the sound of the Valentine’s Day dinner but can’t get along, think about getting along to the Essential Vegan Dalston Superstore drag brunch that takes place every Saturday and Sunday between 12pm and 5pm. You need to book in advance (same link as above) as this event sells out most weeks.

You can follow Essential Vegan on Instagram.

Dining at Stem & Glory

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HUGE thanks to @stemandglory for sponsoring me to try their current menu today.

This 100% #vegan restaurant is usually an eye-opening and tastebud-pleasing experience, with today being no exception.

The kimchi pancakes and Korean ‘fish’ tacos were packed with flavour. I especially loved the mini blue corn tortillas for the tacos.

The large bowl of Szechuan aubergine (with side of kimchi rice) was a fascinating mix of sweet and spicy tastes.

Before today I’d never heard of Swede gnocchi and I was impressed. The creamy sauce featuring roasted chestnut mushrooms, spinach, and spiced walnuts took it to another level.

The @stemandglory dessert game is no joke, either. Pick from sticky toffee pudding with custard or warm cherry crumble with ice cream. Or be like me and get both.

Get over to stemandglory.uk to book a table at the London or Cambridge locations of @stemandglory and watch for a second London location soon.

Take a look at the Instagram video below to see all the delicious dishes!

Veganuary at Danish bakery

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As far as Veganuary menus go, this Danish bakery chain has torn ahead of the competition in the UK.

It’s that time of the year when us vegans get inundated with extra options. There are so many plant-based options in January it can be tough to stay on top of it all.

@oleandsteenuk sponsored me to come along to try their Veganuary menu and I was blown away.

The passionfruit slice was heavenly and mousse-y and I want ten more. The berry slice was just as delicious.

I slurped every last drop of the curried sweet potato and coconut soup.

Toasted focaccia sandwich with nduja paste, cheese, and spinach? Perfect.

And… the absolutely stunning raspberry and almond swirl pastry. My life is never gonna be the same. It is buttery and creamy and flaky and my new best friend. I ate two of them.

@oleandsteenuk has 15 London locations and one in Oxford.

Big thanks to @oleandsteenuk and their PR team for the invite.

Watch my Reel from Instagram below!

Temple of Seitan in the North

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I’ve been helping legendary London restaurant Temple of Seitan for a little while now and the most common comments I see from customers when I’m hanging around their social media have to do with the North of the UK.

People really want to see a Temple of Seitan location up North.

I’m sorry if I got you excited and made you think there is now a full location of the famous food chain in the North, however you can buy and eat Temple of Seitan in Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool as part of their collaboration with Yard & Coop.

Yard & Coop is not a vegan restaurant chain, so please use caution if you go sniffing around their website. You could stumble across animal-derived foods.

The vegan offerings however ARE gorgeous-looking and they all use Temple of Seitan chick’n.

Visitors to Yard & Coop can choose between:

AbraKEBABra – seitan with sweet pickled cabbage, diced tomato, minted yoghurt, chilli sauce, pickle chilli and crisp fries wrapped in pitta. All Veganuary dishes are served with a portion of fries

Karen’s Doing Veganuary – Temple of Seitan tenders accompanied with crispy bacon, street slaw, lettuce, tomato, BBQ sauce and vegan mayo

Massive Vegan Cock Burger – a 12″ plant-based version of the original Yard & Coop Massive Cock dish. Standing at 30cm tall, piled high with Temple of Seitan tenders, 2 hash browns, salt and pepper cauliflower, and street slaw. There’s also vegan bacon, cheese slices, lashings of chilli and mint yoghurt, iceberg lettuce, fresh tomato, gherkins, and red onion topped with a seitan wing perched on top. This monster is all crammed within a vegan brioche bun with loads of fries.

These Veganuary specials will not be around forever (until February 6, 2022) so if you are interested, get along to Yard & Coop in Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool ASAP.

You can get all store location info as well as links for ordering delivery on the Yard & Coop website.

You can follow Temple of Seitan on Instagram.

Now, let’s keep hoping for that permanent Temple of Seitan location in the North!

Halo Burger and Yard Sale Pizza

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Yard Sale Pizza has a new collaboration vegan pizza!

In celebration of Veganuary, the pizza shop has launched a vegan cheeseburger pizza in partnership with burger joint, Halo Burger. Additionally, as part of their Stuffed Crust Mondays, Yard Sale Pizza will be launching a very special vegan stuffed crust Margherita for January only. 

Yard Sale Pizza and Halo Burger are celebrating a month of plant-based eating in a big way. You Had Me at Halo is a fully vegan creation which will feature Beyond Meat burger patties, gherkins, melted American-style vegan cheese, vegan mozzarella, jalapeños and diced onions, finished with Halo Burger’s signature sauce. The mozzarella comes courtesy of Hackney-based vegan cheese purveyors I Am Nut Ok, which has been developed in direct collaboration with Yard Sale Pizza co-founder and director Nick Buckland to be the perfect melting mozzarella for pizza, and is used across Yard Sale’s signature vegan pizza offering.

You Had Me at Halo will be available from 5th January until 1st February and will be priced at £12.50 for a 12” (or £23.50 for 18”) The pizza will be on offer at all Yard Sale locations for delivery and collection, and for dine-in at their Crofton Park, Crystal Palace, East Dulwich, Hackney Road, Leytonstone and Finsbury Park locations. A gluten free version will also be available, meaning everyone’s invited to get in on the action. 

Halo Burger are popular producers of vegan junk food including burgers, pink salt fries, and soft-serve ice cream. Originally based in London, with branches in Shoreditch and Brixton, the brand has since expanded outside of the capital, with a Bristol location. 

Speaking about the collaboration, Ross Forder, Founder of Halo Burger said, “Halo Burger has always been committed to perfecting the taste of vegan treats and we admire the Yard Sale Pizza team for their shared commitment to leading the charge when it comes to high-quality plant-based eating. We’re excited to be celebrating Veganuary with them with this limited edition pizza.”

Co-founder and director of Yard Sale Pizza, Nick Buckland, added, “It’s very important to us at Yard Sale Pizza that our vegan offerings aren’t just great vegan pizzas, but they’re banging pizzas that happen to be plant-based. Veganuary provides the perfect opportunity to do something special so we’re thrilled to be hooking up with our friends at Halo Burger to make a plant-based cheeseburger pizza – the ultimate new year treat!”

While You Had Me at Halo will only be available for January, Yard Sale Pizza’s is serving vegan pizzas forever! The brand boasts a full-time vegan menu featuring three vegan pizzas, a vegan cheese and garlic bread (with their signature Marmite topping as an option), and a vegan ice cream sandwich featuring cashew ice cream, smoky salted caramel and a corn and miso cookie.

Visit Yard Sale Pizza online. 

You can follow Yard Sale Pizza and Halo Burger on Instagram.