London can you wait?

Vegan fried pizza pocket menu

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If you have been to any vegan events or markets over the past year or so, you would have probably encountered Bar Dei Baci.

This independent vegan food business has forged a unique place and a strong following for itself within the London street food scene.

Not only are the owners some of the nicest people on the planet, the food has people leaving rave reviews. But what is so special about the Bar Dei Baci menu?

Fried pizza, that’s what.

These fried pizzas, or Frizza as they are called by the food creators, are decadent savoury dough parcels crammed with fresh and handcrafted ingredients.

It’s like an entire pizza is folded over, stuffed with the toppings, and then fried!

If you get along to our Hackney Downs Night Market on September 13, 2019 from 6pm, you will be able to enjoy the full frizza menu from Bar Dei Baci.

Hackney Downs Studios asked me to turn the market vegan and I couldn’t invite Bar Dei Baci faster!

Check out the menu for the evening below and be sure to follow Bar Dei Baci on Instagram. You can read about the market line up here and RSVP/invite friends on the Facebook event.

Low waste low packaging store in London

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Re:Store is a packaging-free shop in Hackney where customers bring their own containers (or grab a spare one in store) to refill, to reduce use of unnecessary plastic!

The low waste store is located at Hackney Downs Studios, the place where we used to do Hackney Downs Vegan Market.

Customers can refill store cupboard and household essentials as well as some special treats.

Re:Store works with small, local producers and companies such as Kompassion Kombucha brewed in Hackney Wick and the’artyvegan fresh tofu made just across the road.

The store also has an exciting new addition in the form of a candle refill station from small business Every Origin. You can bring an old candle or jar and get it refilled with a new delicious smelling candle, with three options to choose from.

If you want to check out Re:Store AND have a fab night out, get along on Friday October 13, 2019 as Hackney Downs Studios celebrate the last night market of the year.

This version of the Night Market has been turned vegan by me and will include a bunch of vegan food traders plus Re:Store will be open until 9pm for all your refill needs, plus they’re adding some new vegan goodies so come along and be the first to try them!

Click here to read about the Vegan Night Market and be sure to follow Re:Store on Instagram.

Vegan comedy night in London

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On 18 September, 2019, a line-up of vegan comedians take to the stage in a vegan venue to raise money for international development charity, Child.org.

The Funny Thing About Vegans at Karamel in North London will see Carl Donnelly, Chris Stokes and Adele Cliff give up their time and talent in support of Child.org’s evidence-based projects to improve the lives of children in some of the world’s poorest communities.

This all-vegan line-up in an always all-vegan venue is believed to be the first of its kind in London.

The event is organised by Robb Masters, a participant of Child.org-affiliated “Charity Fast-Track 2019” (a year-long training course on all aspects of the charity sector) and organiser of London Vegan Meetup (a free social group for vegan and the vegan-curious, and the current home of FGV-founded London Vegan Drinks). This is his second fundraiser for Child.org, after he and a group of friends embarked on the “Sukuma Wiki Challenge” earlier in the year – spending a week eating just five plant-based ingredients.

Tickets for The Funny Thing About Vegans are £10 online here, or £15 on the door.

Who are the comedians on the night?

Carl Donnelly has twice been nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award, won a variety of other awards, appeared on a selection of TV shows (Mock The Week, Russell Howard’s Good News, etc.) and travelled the world performing at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, The Melbourne International Comedy Festival, The New Zealand Comedy Festival, and pretty much every other comedy festival there is. He is co-host of the Two Vegan Idiots and Babysitting Trevor podcasts.

Chris Stokes is an award- winning comedian who “was a comedian, then a van driver and now I’m a comedian again”. He has supported Milton Jones on UK tours (Milton Jones is Out There, and Milton Jones and the Temple of Daft) as well as appearing on BBC Three, Dave, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5Live – and performing at an Annual General Meeting of The Vegan Society.
Chris has been described by The New Statesman as “One impressive comic”, and the British Comedy Guide as “Laid back, disarming and very funny”.

Adele Cliff’s jokes have been featured in The Top 10 Jokes Of The Fringe for four years running (2016-2019). With regular appearances on the BBC, Funny Women describes Adele Cliff as “consistently intelligent, witty, and (most importantly) very funny!”, while The Huffington Post called her a “must-see” act.

Book your tickets for The Funny Thing About Vegans online now.

Super quick post: cake!

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I’m stopping by today for just a few quick minutes to make sure you know about The London Vegan Bakery.

This independent vegan business is causing a storm with their delicious plant-based cakes and bakes, mostly showing up at markets around the UK capital.

The London Vegan Bakery is the exclusive sweet stall at the final Hackney Downs Night Market for 2019 on Friday September 13. They will be there from 6pm with STACKS of gorgeous vegan cake. Click here to read about this fun night out.

But what about if you are not in London?

The London Vegan Bakery sends their tasty products around the UK via Royal Mail and you can even buy gift cards for friends and family.

Even if you can’t get along to our vegan market night on September 13, you can get familiar with The London Vegan Bakery online.

Yay for cake! Follow The London Vegan Bakery on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Gorgeous vegan food and clothes swap event

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Pea Shoot is teaming up with Made in Hackney to bring you an evening of feasting, drinking and merriment.

Get involved with this fab event for a hearty meal, clothes swapping, and games in order to raise funds for Made in Hackney’s vital work.

Made in Hackney is a community kitchen that teaches nutritious, plant-based cooking to London communities and promotes sustainable and local food practices.

If you want to show your support and eat some delicious food, grab a ticket and join the party on September 11, 2019.

Your ticket gets you three hearty vegan courses, including a decadent dessert and a festive aperitif, all cooked up by the Pea Shoot chefs.

Expect colourful and creative dishes, celebrating seasonal British fruits and vegetables using the freshest ingredients from local farms.

This is a win-win situation. Great food and fun for you, plus you raise funds for one of London’s most crucial organisations.

Click here to order tickets.

RSVP and invite friends via the Facebook event.

Cheap tickets for VegFestUK London

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It’s almost that time of year again.

VegFestUK London is back in a big way for another huge year in West London.

VegFestUK has long been the best vegan lifestyle show in the UK and really one of the best on the planet.

You get to see and taste all the latest plant-based products, watch exciting cooking demonstrations, meet independent business owners, listen to fascinating talks, meet friends new and old, eat delicious food, drink tasty drinks, and SO MUCH MORE.

Get along on October 26 and 27, 2019 at Olympia, London.

Need another reason to go? How about cheap tickets?

Buy-one-get-one-free tickets for VegFestUK London are available online only until August 31.

Click here to buy them now and save money.

Follow VegFestUK on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

In other news, I will be there on site all weekend running the stall for my new Vegan Culinary Cruises venture and hosting some social sessions. More details will be coming soon!

Vegan night market in Hackney this September

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Come along for a rollicking night market with AMAZING vegan food on the site of the original mega vegan market.

Friday September 13, 2019 marks the final Night Market of the year at Hackney Downs Studios and I’m helping them turn the whole thing vegan!

For one night only, I’m working with the Studios to bring back a taste of Hackney Downs Vegan Market.

Our traders announced so far include:

Update: sadly Arancini Brothers have pulled out at the last moment, but some good news about food is below:

Also expect cocktails, beer and wine (all vegan too!) to be flowing, brought to you by All Good Beer and El Garito.

On the night, you’ll also be able to explore on-site zero waste emporium Re:Store for environmentally friendly and sustainably sourced goodies, as they’re extending their opening hours just for the event. Bring your refillable containers!

You will also be able to check out Public Gallery‘s brand new exhibition ‘Echolocation’ by Charlotte Edey.

Entry to all of this is FREE, as usual.

You will also be able to visit the resident shops of Hackney Downs Vegan Market including Low Company record store, The London Loom, and The Well Garden and expect a vegan cheese tasting at Re:Store.

So much fun.

The Facebook event already has over 1,500 RSVPs so we expect this to be a big night. RSVP to the event now and invite friends.

The final Hackney Downs Studios night market of the year is taking place on Friday Septmeber 13, 2019 between 6pm and 11pm.

Click here to see the exact location thanks to Google Maps.

Vegan bread masterclass

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Made in Hackney is a community kitchen running ongoing vegan cooking and food preparation classes.

You knew that, right?

One upcoming class I thought you all would be interested in is the Sourdough Bread Making Masterclass.

Date and Time – Saturday 14th September 2019 – 12:00pm – 5:00pm

Cost – £89 (£71 concession available) inclusive of VAT

The Event

“Bread makes itself, by your kindness, with your help, with imagination running through you, with dough under hand, you are bread-making itself, which is why bread making is so fulfilling and rewarding” – Edward Espe Brown, The Tassajara Bread Book.

“I’ll show you how to successfully bake your own delicious, nutritious loaves at home” Becca Dye, wholefood chef & baker.

This masterclass will include:

  • What is sourdough and how does it work?
  • Health benefits, costs, and how to choose your flour
  • How to create and maintain a sourdough starter, and fun ways to use excess levain
  • How to use bakers percentages and create and tweak your own formulas
  • Seeds, spices, soakers; working with flavoured doughs
  • Learn how to mix, fold, shape and bake a variety of doughs
  • Q&A session, sourdough 101 and trouble-shooting
  • A delicious organic plant based lunch, your own starter, recipes and bread to take home

Becca is a wholefood chef and baker, who has worked in top bakeries across Berlin and London, and currently bakes at social enterprise Better Health Bakery in Haggerston. Becca has a particular love for wholegrain baking, and utilising ancient varieties of wheat and freshly milled flour.

Fee: £89 (£71 Concession*) inclusive of VAT, includes a delicious organic plant based lunch.

This fee is used to fund programmes of free courses to vulnerable and low-income community groups. By attending a Made In Hackney masterclass you get a great day of learning AND you’re providing the charity with essential funds to continue their work with vulnerable community groups.

Concessionary rate available for students, pensioners, unemployed and low waged.

Click here to book your spot for the Sourdough Bread Making Class.

Click here to see other upcoming Made in Hackney masterclasses.

Follow Made in Hackney on Instagram.

New vegan café near Old Street station in London

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Good To Go is a new 100% plant-based cafe in Old Street (less than a year old) and is currently running a £2 offer on any coffee for an entire year to anyone that comes in and picks up one of their coffee cards for free.

Good to Go offers pretty much every plant-milk you could imagine! From pea and hemp to classics like Oatly and Bonsoy. With their food and drinks, they want to show that being vegan, and trying out vegan alternatives can be accessible and affordable for everyone.

The £2 coffee cards can be picked up anytime from now through September. All the card-holder has to do is bring in their card each time they get a coffee and they’ll get the deal.

Good to Go also offer plant-based baked goods to go alongside your morning (or afternoon) coffee, such as soft and sweet banana cake, flakey croissants and fudgy chocolate brownies and cookies, too.

They also serve a range of hot and cold foods which are perfect for lunch. From chilli with tortilla chips and guacamole, to kimchi pesto bagels or aubergine baguettes, hot creamy macaroni with roasted mushrooms, hummus protein pots with crunchy baguette slices, and tofu poké bowls brimming with edemamé, all delicious food that is good to go.

Chilli bowl with guacamole, tortilla chips & sour cream
Aubergine banh mi
Blueberry and peanut butter porridge with date syrup
Croissant!

Good to Go are open Monday – Friday from 8am to 4pm.

You can see the exact location of Good To Go thanks to Google Maps and be sure to follow the café on Instagram.

Brazilian vegan pop up for London

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Read this menu and then click to buy your tickets IMMEDIATELY because this is gonna sell out quickly.

Essential Vegan is the much-beloved Brazilian vegan café located in Shoreditch, London. It is one of the best places in Europe for vegan eating and now you can attend an exclusive pop up dining event featuring an eight-dish tasting menu that is exceptional.

Check this out:

  • Pinto beans soup (caldinho de feijao) with farofa and cheese crackers – Rich and hearty, this slow-cooked beans soup is served with a seasoned and toasted cassava flour and cheese cracker
  • Tapioca dice with green apple chilli sauce – Golden, crispy-skinned cubes packed with melted lupin cheese combined with the sweet and sour flavours of their sweet chilli sauce
  • Warm cassava salad – Boiled and seasoned cassava sticks (mandioca) served with a fresh vinaigrette
  • Grilled okra – Crunchy, creamy okra served with their coriander chilli sauce
  • Acarajé – A fritter light in texture and bold in flavour: Stuffed with caruru (okra paste), vatapa (peanut, cashew and coconut milk paste) and fresh tomatoes
  • Ginger mango sorbet – Highly refreshing and creamy sorbet
  • Brazilian doughnut with guava paste – They call it bolinho de chuva, a deep-fried dumpling, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar served with a creamy guava paste
  • Green apple tea with Sequilho – End this journey with a highly digestive and fragrant tea served with their famous coconut biscuits

The café doesn’t sell alcohol but you are more than welcome to take your own booze, make yourself at home and enjoy their supper club with your favourite tipple.

The tasting menu night is taking place on August 28, 2019 between 7:00pm and 8:30pm. Cost per ticket is £35.

Click here to book now and follow Essential Vegan on Instagram.