London can you wait?

A very vegan Christmas

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Join me as I take over The Gallery Cafe for a night of festive food, stellar company and vegan drinks.

Frequent visitors to my blog know I don’t celebrate Christmas but I always say I do celebrate delicious food. When I was approached by The Gallery Cafe to host this event, I took about one second to squeal “Yes!”.

On Friday December 13, 2013 from 7pm, this east London eatery will be closed to the public for a private vegan Christmas dinner that you will not want to miss.

Attendees will be welcomed with a warm cup of mulled wine before being served a delicious 3 course dinner directly to their table. The menu for the evening is mouth watering:

Welcome drink – cup of homemade mulled wine

Starter – wild mushroom pate served with toasted sourdough bread, locally sourced chutney and a salad garnish

Main – homemade nut roast A walnut and brazil nut roast served with roast potatoes, glazed root vegetables, seasonal greens, cranberry stuffing and a good glug of gravy

Dessert – mince pie served with brandy cream

Entry to the event is for ticket holders only. The restaurant will be closed to the public for the evening. You must buy a ticket to secure your place.

All food is included in the price of £25 plus booking fee. Additional drinks including vegan beer, wine and cider can be purchased throughout the evening at additional cost.

Buy tickets from here: A Very Vegan Christmas

Bah humbug, indeed!

Would you like to marry me?

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Here is some interesting news. Well, interesting if you are planning on getting married and buying a glamorous frock in which to walk down the aisle.

Yesterday I visited a gorgeous showroom (or atelier if you want to be impressive) tucked down a side street in the heart of Bloomsbury. Tammam is a destination for exquisitely handcrafted dresses, recycled jewellery and bespoke fashion.

I know. You are probably asking yourself why FGV is giving airtime to high end wedding gowns. It just so happens an upcoming event held in the showroom caught my attention.

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Nine lives

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Pogo Cafe is gone but in a city the size of London, vacant cafes don’t sit empty for long. 

It is with great excitement that I welcome Black Cat Vegan Café to the capital food scene. This workers’ co-op has taken over the old Pogo site and looks set to keep the spirit of vegan eating alive and well in Hackney.

I am yet to make it over to the new cafe but that hasn’t stopped me from sharing with you what I know. Here are some bits of information sent through by Carolyn, the chef at Black Cat Vegan Café.

I would love to hear what you all think of the food on offer.

Black Cat Vegan Cafe
Black Cat Vegan Café

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Brecknock Road Vegan Festival

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London vegans, friends and the vegan-curious are invited to a day of celebrations along the plant-eater friendly Brecknock Road in Kentish Town.

Brecknock Road Vegan Festival
Brecknock Road Vegan Festival

The local business holders have come together to celebrate everything they have to offer in the way of vegan food, goods and services on Saturday November 9th, 2013. It is an all day shopping, eating and social event from 11am, culminating with a party in the pub from 6pm until late.

Attractions on the day include:

– The Third Estate who will be launching Wills Vegan Shoes winter collection as well as their new website

– Bumblebee Health Foods serving Manna vegan cakes all day and will be sampling Fry’s Vegetarian products

– Muya Ethiopian restaurant with a separate vegan menu

– Salvino Italian deli serving vegan food and groceries plus will have live music in the store

– The Admiral Mann pub hosting the official afterparty (with vegan bottled beers by McMullen Brewery) featuring Motown/R&B/Soul singer Steve Lucas

– The Mighty Fork will be selling their delicious range of gourmet vegan hot dogs until 4pm

– The Vegan Society will be on hand to spread the vegan message and sell merchandise

– More stores, products and specials to be announced

Every visitor to the street will be given a vegan loyalty card. When you buy a vegan item from any of the participating stores on the day, your card will be stamped which you can then use to collect a very special gift bag from The Vegan Society stall.

The Vegan Society will be filming the entire day for a video to be shared on their website and social media platforms. It is our opportunity to show on a grand scale how London vegans and their friends can come together!

Please stay tuned for regular updates to this event. It is a real first for London and an amazing way to encourage local businesses to take notice of vegans. The event aims to support local traders while promoting and supporting the vegan community!

**Entry to the after party is FREE**

Autumn vegan pie feast

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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.

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East End pie

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I love discovering something unexpected in London and it doesn’t come more left of centre than a vegan pie in a jellied eel shop in the heart of London’s East End.

Lesley Brown recently wrote to me to say she enjoys my blog (aww!) and wanted to know if I had heard of a vegan pie available in the most unlikely of locations. Here is her email reproduced in part. I am sure you will find it as eye-opening and wobbly tummy-inducing as I did.

This is what Lesley had to say:

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Waffles and pizza

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You gotta give props to The Gallery Cafe in Bethnal Green. They don’t rest on their east London laurels and are constantly looking for inventive and tasty ways to make hungry vegans like me visit them more often.

And here they go again!

The Gallery Cafe on Old Ford Road
The Gallery Cafe on Old Ford Road

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Water lapping up on the cement

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Josh has kindly stopped by to tell you about a little vegan surprise he found in central London, just a short stroll from Holborn Underground station.

Talk on it, Josh.

A couple of weeks ago my dad told me of a small independent bakery near my work which proudly displayed a sign out the front asking, “Have you tried our vegan options?”. The establishment in question is the Fleet River Bakery on the northwest corner of Lincoln’s Inn Fields just behind Holborn station. Many colleagues had spoken very highly of this bakery/cafe and I was excited to hear of their vegan-friendly bragging.

Fleet River Bakery London
Fleet River Bakery London

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