London can you wait?

Vegan café in northwest London

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Another amazing stockist has come on board to sell my book Fat Gay Vegan: Eat, Drink and Live Like You Give a Sh!t.

Ahimsa The Vegan Café is a gorgeous vegan eatery located in Pinner, a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Harrow.

The food served up in Ahimsa is some of the best in London. Take a look at some of these food photos below.

As the photos show, the Ahimsa menu is overflowing with everything from fresh salads to gourmet pizzas.

And now they also sell my book!

Support this wonderful community-focussed café by dining with them often and when you buy a copy of my book, they get to keep 50% of the money.

See the exact location of Ahimsa thanks to Google Maps.

You can follow Ahimsa on Facebook and Instagram.

You can also buy my book online via Amazon, Foyles, WH Smith, and Audible.

Vegan dinner at Black Cat Hackney

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Black Cat Hackney is one of the finest places to eat vegan food in the UK so you know you don’t want to miss out on their exclusive one-night-only Christmas supper club.

The exciting menu consists of a mix of classics and new items:

Starter (to choose from):

Caramelised cauliflower bisque topped with grilled seasonal mushrooms and served with garlic sourdough bread
OR
Wild mushroom croquette, whipped cashew chevre cheese, salt baked heritage beets, Hackney leaves and balsamic reduction

Main (to choose from):

House made seitan steaks, steamed seasonal greens, roast potatoes, lemon white wine shaved brussels sprouts, pastrami seasoned carrots and parsnips ribbons. Served with Black Cat’s gravy
OR
Blue corn crusted tofu cutlets, sweet potato and pumpkin mash, braised cabbage and roasted red pepper, Mexican chiles and peanut sauce

Desserts (to choose from):

Lemon thyme yoghurt cake, rhubarb compote, caramelised figs and coconut sour cream
OR
Peanut-butter chocolate cheesecake with bourbon biscuit base and salted candied nuts

The dinner is taking place at Black Cat on Clarence Road, Road on Saturday December 15, 2018.

Book now your tickets to spend this great evening with Black Cat. Choose from two time slots:

  • 6pm until 8pm sitting
  • 8:30pm until 10:30pm sitting

This event is BYOB meaning you are welcome to take your own drink.

You can also follow Black Cat on Instagram.

Buy my book AND support a vegan business

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My first ever book was published back in January and I’m here to give you two good reasons why you should by it right now.

Well, one of the reasons is just an OK reason while the second idea is the very good reason.

Idea the first: my book is a fabulous Christmas or festive present to give a loved one. Even if you think the person has little chance of switching to a vegan lifestyle, the book is an engaging read packed with funny and touching personal stories.

There are also plenty of arguments for why we can be kinder by choosing veganism, as well as how we can also make choices to challenge racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, and worker exploitation.

Reason the second and the best reason?

You can buy my book directly from the Shoreditch, London cafe Essential Vegan.

It is crucial that we support independent vegan businesses such as this cafe founded and operated by my dear friends Vanessa and Neni. You won’t find two people working harder to put veganism on the map and their food is sensational.

Grab a copy of Fat Gay Vegan: Eat, drink and live like you give a sh!t from the shelves of Essential Vegan for £8.99 and 50% of this money stays with the cafe.

Yep! You can eat some of the best vegan food in the UK, do some Christmas shopping, and ensure that more of your hard-earned cash is staying in your vegan community.

If you aren’t able to get along to Essential Vegan but still would like a copy of my book, you can order online from Amazon, WH Smith, or Foyles. You can also buy the audio version via Audible.

You can follow Essential Vegan on Instagram.

Try vegan Baileys for free

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Have you been curious about the vegan Baileys drink called Almande?

If you are interested in sampling the drink for no charge, get along to Hackney Downs Vegan Market this Saturday December 8, 2018.

Baileys will be on hand to impress market goers with their popular dairy-free drink.

Almande by Baileys is a liqueur made from sweet almond oil and almond essence (extracted from crushed almonds), cane sugar and purified water with a touch of real vanilla. It has a creamy feel, but is light in taste.

I enjoy mixing Almande with chocolate milk for a fun drink, while blending it with soya milk, ice, agave syrup, and peanut butter is a dream come true.

The sampling team will be serving tasters from 2pm until 4pm so get along early (the market opens at 11am) for lunch and then stick around for some free Baileys! It is also a great time to start some of your vegan Christmas shopping as we will have cheese, vegan fish, gifts, and more. Full market line up is here.

Extra note: Chanel of our resident bakery stall Vegan Delice is planning some special vegan Baileys themed treats on her stall this Saturday to coincide with the tasting session. Eat cake and be happy!

New vegan bakery for London

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One of the most popular traders we have ever hosted at Hackney Downs Vegan Market is LuckyLek.

Nora was always drawing large crowds with her exquisite baked goods and her patisserie items were snapped up quickly by eager fans.

Nora and LuckyLek disappeared from our market lineup a while back but for very good reason.

London has a brand new vegan bakery now that Nora has teamed up with her friend Nama. Get ready to visit Nora & Nama: Vegan Bakery & Deli in Camden.

If you can see the photo above, you will see that Nora & Nama have extremely special menu items and expertly-crafted baked goods.

Customers will discover and adore cakes, celebration cakes, finger food, cookies, bread, canapes, pies, tarts, baked goods, starters, spreads, and gluten free options.

The bakery is located in Camden Market (unit 596-598 Camden Lock) and the grand opening celebration is taking place on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 December, 2018.

Click here to RSVP to the Facebook event for the opening weekend, follow Nora & Nama on Facebook and Instagram, and see their official website here.

 

Special vegan Christmas dinner in London

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Are you in London during the week before Christmas and are you interested in delicious vegan food?

Get the facts below and book!

Superstar food creators Phung Kay are staging a very special pop up at Craving Coffee Tottenham this year.

They are serving a four-course meal and the menu sounds sensational. Check it out below:

  • Course 1: Hoisin “Duck” and Yam in Netted Roll with juniper berry, cranberry and plum sauce.
  • Course 2: Chickn & Chestnut bao with pickled daikon.
  • Course 3: Pi Pa Tofu & sage stuffing served in a fried potato bird’s nest served with steamed rice in lotus leaf and braised red cabbage and pan fried brussels sprouts.
  • Course 4: Goji berry & Chrysanthemum jelly with lychee ice-cream and black sesame tuile

I am BOWLED OVER by those gorgeous food photos taken by the talented Sara of Shisho Delicious.

Dates for this very special dinner are from the 20th until the 22nd December, 2018. They have added a new sitting on Thursday 20th at 6pm and only a handful of seats remain for Friday 21st at 6pm.

Click here to check for availability and book.

Follow PhungKay on Instagram.

Vegan fish alternative set to be next big thing

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What is the next big thing when it comes to vegan food?

Vegan fish, people. Vegan fish.

F-ish is a brand new fish alternative brand that only days ago launched their first products in London and you can be one of the first people on the planet to buy some THIS SUNDAY December 2, 2018.

The first product launched by F-ish is the smoked salmon alternative available in both original and dill & lemon varieties.

The dill & lemon is ready to be added to your bagel or meal while the original is perfect for adding to vegan sushi.

Honestly, this product is going to set the UK alight.

Get along to Hackney Downs Vegan Market from 11am on Sunday December 2, 2018 in order to be one of the first ever people to buy and try F-ish.

Be early on the day because this is going to be an in-demand product.

Follow F-ish on Instagram.

Full Hackney Downs Vegan Market details available online here.

 

Hackney Downs Vegan Market looking for traders

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Hackney Downs Vegan Market is on the lookout for vegan cheese traders.

Are you a new vegan cheese producer looking to expand your business? Are you ready to take your products in front of the public?

Our weekly market has been the launching pad for many vegan cheese brands that have gone on to bigger and better things and now we are looking for tomorrow’s superstars.

Traders who have been featured at Hackney Downs Vegan Market over the past few years include I AM NUT OK (now stocked in Fortnum & Mason), Kinda Co (now working out of a professional kitchen), and Black Arts Vegan (about to launch their online store).

All of these traders will tell you that our local community market helped them establish public awareness of their brand while they developed and improved their products.

Hackney Downs Vegan Market is low cost for traders as we only charge a percentage of takings. We support and encourage traders who identify as women, non-white, disabled, and/or members of LGBTQI communities to apply as traders.

The market is currently on every Saturday and Sunday with winter hours of 11am until 4pm both days. We have market stalls for you to hire if needed.

If you are interested in coming on board as a vegan cheese trader to take your business up a notch, please email josh@fgvpr.co.uk to express your interest.

Extra note: joining our market is also a great way to build your social media following. As a trader you will be included in my social media announcements and market blog posts, reaching thousands of people each week.

That Sloppy Vegan supper club

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South London. Are you ready to get sloppy?

If you’re interested in an evening of hearty, wholesome, and fresh food served in an informal, soulful space you are in luck.

That Sloppy Vegan has crafted a menu that fuses Indian and European styles for her FIRST EVER supper club. The freshest ingredients and flavours will be combined to create four courses of hearty, vibrant food.

WHAT:
4 courses of fresh, delicious, Indian-fusion food cooked by That Sloppy Vegan (that name though!!!!!!).

WHEN:
5th December, 2018 – 7pm until 10pm

WHERE:
Eleven, Balham, 5 Fernlea Road, SW12 9RT (only a 2-minute walk from Balham Station)

TICKETS:
£35 for four courses and a drink. Click here to book.

Join That Sloppy Vegan for what is set to be a gorgeous night of tasty food and socialising.

You can also follow That Sloppy Vegan on Instagram.

Massive vegan chocolate Santa giveaway

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Do you like vegan chocolate? How about FREE vegan chocolate? How about free vegan chocolate in the shape of Santa?!

The wonderful people at Moo Free Chocolates have given us 200 chocolate Santas to giveaway at Hackney Downs Vegan Market this Saturday and Sunday (November 24 and 25, 2018).

There will be 100 vegan chocolate Santas given away for free each day!

These organic chocolate Santa bars are always a favourite at this time of year, alongside the Moo Free advent calendars which have been known to completely sell out across the UK.

Moo Free Chocolates just won the Best Vegan Chocolate category at the VegFestUK Awards so they are excited to share their award-winning chocolate with our market visitors.

Hackney Downs Vegan Market starts trading at 11am on both Saturday and Sunday, so please arrive early if you would like to get your hands on a Santa. Only one per person until they run out.

Two of our fabulous traders are taking charge of the giveaway so this is who you need to say hello to in order to collect your free chocolate:

  • Saturday – Vegan Delice – our superstar resident baker with cupcakes and hot donuts
  • Sunday – Pason’s Pots – our regular baby food maker selling locally made food for young people!

If you would like to see the full range by Moo Free Chocolates, please visit their website and be sure to follow them on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Moo Free Chocolates can be purchased in stores everywhere including supermarkets, health food stores, and independent vegan shops.

See full Hackney Downs Vegan Market details and trader line up for Saturday and Sunday online here.