London can you wait?

Shoreditch loses vegan food stand

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Remember how excited we all were when the vegan kebab stand launched in Shoreditch?

A post shared by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on


These delicious wraps from What The Pitta took Shoreditch by storm, but sadly a lot of good things have to end.

PUMP was the food court hosting What The Pitta but it appears the organisers had to close down the entire complex. This means What The Pitta was forced out of Shoreditch, which is obviously sad news for their hundreds of loyal customers.

As upsetting as this news is, all is not lost.

What The Pitta now has a permanent location in the Boxpark Croydon complex and in addition, if you live around the Hackney area, their completely-satisfying food is available for delivery.

Get over to the What The Pitta website for links showing the Croydon location and how to order in East London for delivery.

RIP PUMP. Long live What The Pitta!

Vegan work available in London

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Are you looking for part-time work with a vegan company in London?

Legendary vegan restaurant Manna of Primrose Hill is offering work for part-time waiting staff. The role of course requires you to be available for flexible shifts including possible night and weekend work.

Working in a non-vegan restaurant when you are a vegan has got to be a pretty bad situation in which to find yourself, so please email manage@mannaV.com if you are interested in having a completely plant-based job.

They are particularly interested in you if you have experience handling cash/cash registers/payment systems.

New monthly vegan brunch club in London

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Hey, do you all know about Pesky’s?

This completely vegan food provider is the resident restaurant at The Yard, Hackney Wick. They serve plant-based cuisine that looks superb and I originally wrote about them back here.

Well, now I have some new news about Pesky’s and it’s fabulous.

Once a month, commencing Sunday April 9, 2017, Pesky’s will host a vegan brunch club.

The brunch consists of two drinks (Bloody Mary or Mimosa) plus the main meal of either decadent pancakes or a full English breakfast (with dessert and sides) for £18 in advance or £20 on the day.

You can buy tickets for the launch event online here.

Stay updated with all future brunch dates by following Pesky’s on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Huge promotion for dairy-free milk

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As far as mainstream promotions for vegan alternatives go, this is one of the best I’ve heard.

Offer people a free coffee outside a busy London station but only if they take one made with oat milk. Otherwise, they have to pay £2 for a black cup of coffee. I love it!

And it gets better. This promotion is running for an entire week!

Non-dairy milk superstar Oatly is hosting a super-sized coffee giveaway on the green at Boxpark Shoreditch (just next to Shoreditch High Street Station) between Monday April 3 and Sunday April 9, 2017.

The pop will run between 11am and 7pm Monday through to Saturday, with shorter opening times of 11am until 5pm on Sunday.

But what is going on at the marketing event?

Members of the public will be invited to watch skilled baristas create top quality coffees using the Oatly Barista Edition. Once they have been shown how to make the hot drinks to perfection and given a chance to win an Oatly t-shirt, they will then be given the coffee free of charge.

Oatly is undertaking this huge week-long advertising campaign to convince people that coffee without dairy milk is not a scary prospect and that it can actually be delicious.

Oatly will be pushing the message that choosing oat milk over dairy is a kinder, more compassionate choice that also has huge benefits for the environment.

The best part of the promotion happens when someone rejects the coffee with oat milk and asks for a black coffee.

Anyone refusing to try a coffee made with Oatly will be asked to pay £2 for a cup made black.

I absolutely love this cheeky approach to promoting plant-based alternatives to dairy. It is a sly payback for the countless times vegans have been asked to pay extra to get a dairy-free drink in coffee shops all over London.

You can wish Oatly well with their promotion over on Twitter and get along to the pop-up coffee shop in Shoreditch next week. You might even win one of these cute Post Milk Generation t-shirts in their giveaway.

Take some non-vegans friends with you. Free coffee might just be the thing that gets them to consider the switch!

Vegan pop up event

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If you were one of the thousands of people at Hackney Downs Vegan Market this past weekend, you would have seen the fabulous Cafe SoVegan serving up their delicious cuisine.

It’s looking fairly likely that Cafe SoVegan will be back at April’s market but if you can’t wait that long, or you missed out on the market, you are in luck.

Cafe SoVegan is hosting an exquisite pop up event at legendary The Royal Sovereign on Northwold Road between Stoke Newington and Clapton on Monday March 27, 2017.

The food line up for this Moroccan-inspired dining experience sounds stunning:

  • Starter: Harira Soup
  • Main: Mixed platter of Baba ganoush, Seitan Kabab, jewelled cous cous, tomato and roast pepper salad all served with houmous, olives and bread
  • Dessert: M’hanna, a sweet filo pastry and ground almond dish lightly flavoured with rose water

That is one dreamy menu.

When you book your ticket, you get to choose the time you dine on Monday night. Of course you are welcome to relax in the bar with a drink or two before your meal. Cafe SoVegan will let you know when it is your time to dine.

You should book your ticket now for this exclusive food event. Tickets are limited to just a handful for each sitting.

You can RSVP and invite friends on the Facebook event page.

Click here to book your ticket now. Just £15 plus small booking fee which is incredible value for a handcrafted three-course vegan meal in London. Enjoy!

Autumn Yard is vegan for a day

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If you are planning to be part of the first monthly Hackney Downs Vegan Market, you now have another option for dining.

As if all of the amazing street food wasn’t enough, you can now also plan on sitting down for a meal with onsite restaurant Autumn Yard. Like they did for the Christmas Market, the restaurant is switching to a 100% vegan food menu for the day.

Isn’t that fab?!

Would you like to see the menu?

That looks like a tasty line up!

Autumn Yard is a gorgeous setting inside an old warehouse and the perfect place to relax with a warming meal if the March weather is a little on the grim side. The food is exquisite and you might even be tempted by a cocktail or two.

You can visit Autumn Yard online and follow them on Instagram.

Check out the line up for Hackney Downs Vegan Market here.

Vegan capital of the world is not a city

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To be honest, I’ve spent a lot of time moaning about London and how it always seemed behind other world capitals when it came to vegan food. It always felt 5-10 years behind NYC, LA and Berlin.

However, things are now changing rapidly for the UK capital and nowhere is heralding in this plant-based revolution faster than the north London Borough of Hackney.

To celebrate it rapidly becoming veganised, I wanted to give you my top ten reasons why Hackney is the most-vegan neighbourhood/district in the UK and one of the finest plant-based destinations in the world.

10 Essential Vegan – Vanessa lives in Hackney and now has launched a six-week kitchen takeover with her Essential Vegan goodness in trendy neighbourhood bar, Haunt. If you love seitan burgers and cheesecake, head here as soon as possible.

9 Redemption Bar – I’ve never been to this venue but it does seem to be a popular choice for a lot of vegans on Instagram. Diners can get their fill of wholefoods and non-alcoholic drinks.

8 What The Pitta – if you need something to fill you up, this is the place. Actually, the kebab wraps are so huge you might actually struggle to finish one. What The Pitta now have a second location in Croydon, but the original location at the PUMP food court in Shoreditch means Hackney will not have to miss out.

7 Club Mexicana – this street food vendor has become a legendary staple of the London food scene and now with this ongoing residency inside Kingsland Road bar Pamela, Mexican-inspired cuisine is in Hackney to stay. While at their street stands you can enjoy tacos, burritos, loaded nachos and fried cheese sticks, this residency is taking things up a notch with handmade tortillas and fancy desserts. All drinks and cocktails served by host venue are vegan, too.

6 FED by Water – this Italian gourmet dining restaurant changed London forever when it switched from a meat and dairy laden menu to one that is now 100% vegan. Last time I checked, they even had a pizza named after me!

5 Made in Hackney – a crucial component of Hackney’s plant-based revolution, this charity funds community education and support work centred around vegan eating by hosting paid-for cooking lessons that can be attended by anyone.

4 Black Cat Café – this café is one of the food champions of the UK. If comfort eating is your thing, you will adore the regular and rotating dishes including burgers, cakes and breakfasts.

3 CookDaily and HOME – imagine two of the best vegan eateries in London being 10 metres apart. Both of these fast food outlets are packed solid with bowls of irresistible cuisine created by genius Chef King. Located upstairs at Boxpark Shoreditch.

2 Temple of Hackney – nothing has taken the UK by storm quite like this vegan fried chicken shop. The shop frequently sells out completely before the end of the day and you’ll often find a line of hungry customers down the street.

1 Hackney Downs Vegan Market – I know it’s a bit unfair to put my own new monthly market at number one, but it really does feel like such a big deal. This is the very first vegan monthly market in London and it is packed solid with some of the best vegan traders in London. The third Saturday of each month at Hackney Downs Studios with plans to have 10 or so food vendors on site each time we fling open the gates.

What do you think? Is Hackney the vegan capital of London? Is there another borough with more plant-based options crammed inside its borders? Have I missed any vegan Hackney landmarks?

The list above features only 100% vegan outlets. There are of course many more that are vegan friendly. There are also vegan places just blocks outside the Borough of Hackney boundaries, such as the wonderful Just Fab.

Get busy in Hackney!

Huge vegan show heading for Wembley

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Exciting news for anyone in West London.

Animal rights champions Viva! have announced a huge event in September 2017 that will take place in the London suburb of Wembley. As a matter of fact, the venue is right next door to Wembley Stadium.

What does the line up of the show look like?

  • Over 200 stalls
  • Catering area
  • Cooking demos
  • Talks
  • Clothing, toys, chocolates, treats

It’s great to see a show like this NOT in central London.

Viva! Vegan Festival London is set for Saturday September 16, 2017. Click here for all the details.

Art for animals

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Up to forty artists are set to show their work in a London gallery to advocate for animal rights.

Here are all the details you need.

Artist Aisha Eveleigh has organised an art exhibition in central London to raise awareness of animal exploitation and its consequences.

The name Behind Closed Doors refers to the way our mistreatment of animals is hidden from the general public. Most of us have little idea what happens to animals behind the doors of factory farms, slaughterhouses and vivisection labs.

The exhibition seeks to bring these issues into the light, changing the way we think about animal rights.

For this reason, Aisha views the Behind Closed Doors exhibition as a form of activism. Vegan artists like Dana Ellyn and Sue Coe will be exhibiting their work, whilst YouTubers Earthling Ed and Vegan Geezer are among those giving talks.

The exhibition will take place at the Strand Gallery in London. It will be open from the 26th to the 29th of May, with an open event day on the 27th. On this day, there will be a variety of talks and performances, along with creative workshops to get involved in.

If you’d like to support this inspiring project, make a donation via the Indiegogo fundraising page. Donating £5 gets you unlimited entry into the exhibition, while donating more gets you added perks. Even if you can’t make it to the event, donations will no doubt be very much appreciated!

For more information on the exhibition, visit the website.

You can also RSVP and invite friends on the Facebook event page.

Vegan Peasant back again

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I love bringing you news of London vegan events and pop ups, especially when I know how popular they are going to be. I get all tingly and excited.

Last month I wrote about my buddies Diana and Adrian of Vegan Peasant hosting a glorious one-night-only food affair and I think the tickets sold out in about 48 hours.

Vegan Peasant is back in March with another canapés and bowls pop up event and you will have to be super quick to secure your spot.

 

Just like last time, the pop up is located near Hackney Central. You are given the exact location 48 hours out from the event.

Check out this glorious menu being prepared for Vegan Peasant guests:

Canapés
– Beetroot Rösti, Horseradish Cream, Carrot and Mizuna
– Sea Salt & Rosemary Puff Twists, Smokey Chipotle Aioli
– Basil & Sunseed Arancini, Basil & Rocket Pesto Mayo

Bowls
– Artichoke Hearts, Red Pepper, Broad Beans over Olive Oil dressed Linguine, Fried Garlic Shards & Baby Leaf
– Saffron Carnaroli Risotto, Shallots & Sweet Mange Tout Finished with Shredded Radicchio & Snipped Chive

Sweet Bites
– Three Layer Boozy Trifle with Whipped Coconut Cream
– Brownie, Meringue & Ice Cream Sundae

Vegan Peasant is responsible for some of the finest plant-based cuisine you will find in London. That menu is world-class.

Tickets are £25 and all guests will be presented with a welcome drink on arrival. Don’t show up without a ticket. Advance ticket purchases only at this exclusive event.

Click here to buy your ticket now and RSVP/invite friends over on the Facebook event page.