London can you wait?

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.

Vegan afternoon tea in London

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I have heard a lot of questions and pleas for information over the years as FGV, but nothing gets asked about quite like vegan afternoon tea options in London.

So I thought it best if I share this information with you as I know there are a lot of plant-based eaters out there who LOVE a quality afternoon tea experience.

Nora and Nama is a vegan bakery and deli situated in Camden Lock Market. I’ve written about them a few times and the business has created a loving and loyal fan base thanks to their exquisite products.

It is also home to an incredible-looking vegan afternoon tea.

Check out this menu.

The afternoon tea is available at a cost of £26 per person for a minimum booking of two people.

Follow Nora and Nama on Instagram and book your afternoon tea online here.

Vegan Japanese London pop up

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London, you had better not sleep on this incredible food event.

It is sensational.

Anri of Fussy Chilesaurus was always a crowd favourite at my market and her delicious vegan take on Japanese cuisine is legendary. She once had a queue of dozens and dozens of people on a bizarrely warm day at Guildhall market because word had spread among the diners about how fantastic her food was that day.

So you need to take advantage of the fact that Anri will be cooking and serving her exquisite menu as a pop up at Tottenham Social Pop Ups at Craving Coffee this week.

Check out this menu.

How about the finer details?

  • 8-10 August, 2019
  • Bar 5-11pm
  • Happy Hours 5-7pm
  • Food 6-10pm
  • Book via tottenhamsocial@gmail.com
  • Walk ins welcome but book to secure a space

Be sure to follow Fussy Chilesaurus on Instagram.

Vegan cooking classes for children in London

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A Culinary Trip Around the World!

Top facts to know:

  • Monday 5th to Friday 9th August, 2019
  • 10:00am to 12:30pm
  • Held at a community hall in Queensbury, north-west London.
  • Open to children aged 8 to 14 years.
  • Not restricted to children from a particular borough
  • Your child can be enrolled for all five sessions or for individual sessions of your choice

Now in their sixth year of running this unique and special series of hands-on cooking classes, Shambhu’s chef Nishma Shah will expertly guide and inspire young students as they produce delicious healthy meals. They will be applying culinary styles from around the world, using wholesome plant-based ingredients together with various natural flavour-enhancing and healing spices and condiments.

These are very much hands-on cooking classes and are always a fun, fulfilling, and educational summer-holiday activity for children.

They are also an excellent opportunity for children to learn and practise food prep and cooking skills, gain knowledge on relevant topics such as nutrition, spices, flavour-pairing, and discover how to minimise food waste.

For all the finer details including prices, click here.

UK pub chain adds vegan burger to menu

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The plant-based Oumph! Burger, from Swedish multi-award winning Food for Progress, is now on the menu in a number of Shepherd Neame flagship pubs in Kent and London.

“There is a growing market for vegan burgers, so we decided to put a number of different brands to the test before introducing one on our menu. We asked 30 members of our team to try the burgers, and every time the Oumph! burger came out on top for taste and texture. When comparing the nutritional content of the burgers, the Oumph! Burger also scored very highly”, says Shepherd Neame head development chef Simon Howlett.

The inspiration for The Oumph! Burger was based on a juicy rare burger, but the difference is that the Oumph! Burger is made with entirely plant-based ingredients. Like all Oumph! products, The Oumph! Burger is made with soya beans, and the fine red colour comes from beetroot. The Oumph! Burger weighs 113g, which is the equivalent of a Quarter Pounder.

Dave Smith, head of UK Foodservice at Oumph! and Food for Progress comments:

“We’re pleased to see that such a well-established pub company as Shepherd Neame has chosen the plant-based Oumph! Burger for their pub menu. No doubt this will be very welcome among vegetarians, vegans and flexitarians.”

The Oumph! Burger is now available in the following Shepherd Neame flagship pubs: The Spitfire in Kings Hill; Ship & Trades in Chatham Maritime; Royal Hotel in Deal; Bell Hotel in Sandwich; Royal Albion in Broadstairs; Samuel Pepys in London; Sun Inn, Faversham; Market House, Maidstone; Jamaica Wine House in London; and Marine Hotel, Tankerton.

The Oumph! burger at these Shepherd Neame locations is totally vegan including the bun and all accompaniments . It’s cooked in an oven and grill, while their preparation and service of vegan food follows the same guidelines as their allergen controls. One person oversees the burger from start to finish in order to control process and quality.

Other Oumph! products include Pulled Oumph!, Oumph! Kebab Spiced, Thyme & Garlic, The Chunk, Salty & Smoky, The Oumph! Pizza Italian Style, and The Oumph! Burger.

A number of different Oumph! products are available in Asda, Tesco, Holland & Barrett, Whole Foods Market, As Nature Intended as well as independent stores across the UK.

Visit the Oumph! website and follow them on Instagram.

London has a vegan dive bar

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Stop the presses!

Did you know that London has a 100% vegan bar situated right next to a 100% vegan pizza café?

Get informed and then get along for to draw drinking.

Hackney Dive is the latest vegan venture from hardworking legends Carla and Marco, the humans behind the incredibly-adored Young Vegans pie and mash shop in Camden and the gourmet vegan pizza hotspot called Death By Pizza.

Carla and Marco have worked tirelessly to bring London some of the best vegan food on the planet, so their next logical step was give vegan London a better drinking experience.

Hackney Dive is your number one spot to grab cocktails, beer, and cider in east London. The bar is situated in a shipping container right next door to the Death By Pizza pizza hatch, making it the perfect destination for eating and drinking.

I reached out to Carla of Hackney Dive to ask for her top 5 drinks you MUST try on your next visit:

1. Köln Style Lager by Hackney Brewery (Draft)
2. Hackney Mule – Double Vodka, Ginger Beer and fresh lime juice
3. Aperol Spritz
4. Kapow! – Pale Ale by Hackney Brewery (Draft)
5. Crate Brewery Cider (Draft)

OK. Now I’m thirsty.

You can see the exact location of Hackney Dive in Netil Market thanks to Google Maps.

Check out these gorgeous photos from Hackney Dive and neighbouring Death by Pizza below and be sure to follow London’s most fabulous vegan bar on Instagram.

Traders for the return of Hackney Downs Vegan Market

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Have you been missing Hackney Downs Vegan Market ever since we wrapped it up earlier this year?

Well, dry your tears because we are coming back in mini form for one night only… and the food line up is set to be legendary.

Thursday July 4, 2019 marks the tenth anniversary of the Open Studios celebration at Hackney Downs Studios and as part of their mammoth party they have asked me to return with my favourite traders for the evening.

From 6pm you will be able to feast heartily on the following:

Arancini Brothers will be there with their famous food truck selling their even more famous loaded arancini balls. This is some of the finest food in the city and will be difficult to turn down if you are there on the night.

Bar Dei Baci have built up a huge and loving following of customers and it’s not a surprise why. Their deep fried pizzas are the stuff of dreams.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwOjQXTA0No/

I am so deeply proud of Let’s Do Temaki and the growth they’ve shown since debuting at the original Hackney Downs Vegan Market. Maki rolls and sushi burritos from Temaki are second to none.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByKsbFKJ4SN/

The 100% plant-based cuisine by Oh My Gulay! is spectacular. Filipino recipes done vegan and done better than most food you will ever taste. I promise.

Shakey Shakey is involved in our special return to Hackney Downs and you will be thrilled by their vegan fish and chips.

Vegan Delice was the reigning sugar queen of the original Hackney Downs Vegan Market so it makes sense to have Chanel back for our special night. Expect the usual decadent treats from one of the best vegan bakers on the planet.

What a line up!

If the food isn’t enough to get you down there, certainly all the other fun stuff happening on the night will do it.

The Open Studios event will allow you to meet and network with over 300 inspiring creatives, as you discover their spaces and check out their incredible work. Take a tour of our collaborative spaces Palmspace and Heartspace to meet the makers & artists behind them for a chance to purchase original works of art, craft and design.

Expect exhibitions and talks curated by residents as well as taster classes & workshops, exclusive sample sales and art showcase at Public Gallery. Enjoy live music, food, drinks and dancing at our after party.

In addition, Venetia Falconer will be bringing you an insight into the world of sustainability with an exclusive talk and Q&A at low waster shop Re:Store as part of the Open Studios programme.

Venetia Falconer has long been an advocate of reducing plastic usage and promotes mindful consumption, and has been featured in Vogue as one of the ‘Top Eco Influencers To Follow’.

Find out more at her website and follow Venetia on Instagram.

This is all a lot to take in but the basic fact of the matter is you NEED to be at Hackney Downs Studio on the evening of Thursday July 4, 2019.

You need tickets for this event but tickets are FREE. Click here to RSVP to the Facebook event and register for your free tickets now.

Who’s excited?!

Mauritian vegan supper club in London

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London. You know you have it real good, right?

And it just got better!

Book your tickets NOW for this sensational vegan pop up event featuring the flavours of Mauritius.

Vegan Mauritian Supper Club is taking place at Black Cat Café in Hackney on Tuesday July 30, 2019 from 7pm.

This is a meal you do not want to miss. Chef Khaleed is ready to feed you some of the finest plant-based cuisine in the capital.

Khaleed says of the night:

In Mauritius, we have a phrase we say ‘La case Mama’ which means Mother’s House. My food will be proper home cooked food and hopefully you will not be leaving hungry. Please feel free to ask for seconds!

The menu? Check it out below:

  • Starters: vegetable samosa and gateaux piment (chilli cakes, crushed split peas) served with a tomato and coriander chutney
  • Mains: tomato curry, butter bean curry, chow chow curry, aubergine and potatoe curry served with rice and ti puri (fried roti)
  • Dessert: tarte bannan (banana tart) served with vegan vanilla ice cream

Black Cat will be selling their drinks at this event.

Click here to book your tickets before they are all gone and be sure to follow Mauritian Vegan Supper Club on Instagram.