London can you wait?

Job in vegan joint

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Hey kids.

Check out what my buddies at Kabaret @ Karamel just sent through.

Job Advert – Join the Karamel Crew

Kabaret@Karamel, London’s award-winning vegan venue & restaurant, is looking for a creative, committed and versatile multi-tasker to join the team.

In 2 years, we’ve built a small, and close-knit crew of full and part-timers who work really well together, and now we’re looking for a new member.

Someone who loves to cook for others, can hold their own in the kitchen and keep a level head under pressure. Who can jump behind the Bar at a moment’s notice, greet customers, serve coffee, beer, and cocktails, & assist where needed.

You need to be conscientious, professional and proactive, with a warm and friendly personality.

You must have previous cooking/catering and customer service experience, in a professional or semi-professional role. Also essential, is experience of collaborative team-working in a pressured environment. You will need to give details of this experience in your application, and tell us how it relates to Karamel.

It’s a demanding job: you will need to work hard, and at weekends, when we can get very busy. But it’s a rewarding and fun one too. Creating a wonderful food and entertainment experience is a buzz – and more so if you’re vegan, and keen to spread the love.

Kabaret@Karamel is unique, there’s nowhere like it. Live music, comedy gigs, art and theatre shows, club nights, private parties, socials, meetups and weddings. We do it all! This is a great chance to work in vibrant vegan venue with like-minded people, and to learn firsthand about the arts and hospitality sector.

30 hours a week. (Shift times, and rate of pay to be negotiated).

Key qualities: Committed, Reliable, Flexible, Self-motivated

Desirable Training/Qualifications: Level 2 – Food Safety & Hygiene

HOW TO APPLY: Application deadline: Friday 28th October 2016. Application by email only – please follow these instructions carefully:

Email Louise Wallis bookings@karamelrestaurant.com attaching the following:

  • Your CV (maximum 2 sides of A4) including two referees (please give their name, address, telephone number, email address)
  • 1-side of A4 outlining your reason(s) for applying, and your relevant experience of (cooking/catering, customer service and collaborative team-working

www.karamelrestaurant.com

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Day of the Dead menu

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This is my favourite event that I put together.

Every year around this time I am filled with such excitement as I start putting together the finer details for my vegan Day of the Dead dinner party.

Not only is it fun devising a menu filled with delicious Mexican treats, it is also an opportunity to get dressed up and spend time with some of my best friends on the planet.

As you might know, Julio (of Sean y Julio fame) makes the journey every year to be with us for this event and for the past few years has been joined by his partner Carlos. Julio and Carlos are extremely special people to me and it a true joy to have them join me in London once a year.

Yes, yes. Whatever. I have friends. You wanna hear about the menu, right?

This year’s Day of the Dead dinner is getting supercharged thanks to the help of Mexican food ingredient specialists Cool Chile Co.

Our multi-course extravaganza will be decadent and packed solid with world class ingredients thanks to Cool Chile. Did you know they have a giant tortilla machine here in London? You should really get over to their website to check out the huge range of quality ingredients they have on offer. From no-fuss bean kits to blue corn tortillas, Cool Chile will have you cooking flawless Mexican cuisine in no time.

Wanna see the menu?

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Once again we have kept the menu completely gluten free.

I’m so pleased to be introducing the mushroom pie for this event, while also keeping much loved favourites from some of our earlier menus such as the flautas.

The 2016 version of this event takes place on Tuesday November 1. We have a sitting at 5pm for early birds and an 8pm sitting for those who cannot get away from work until a bit later. Book here.

It is a sit down dinner, you are welcome to bring your own vegan alcohol and of course you are encouraged to dress up if the mood takes you.

The 5th annual vegan Day of the Dead dinner is being hosted inside Black Cat Café in Hackney and I thank them profusely for their hospitality.

Gather your loved ones, book tickets now and I’ll see you all on November 1, 2016 for a night (and a meal) to remember. This event sells out every year, so please be quick to avoid disappointment.

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Eat well with Ms Cupcake

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There appears to be a new tradition for Ms. Cupcake when it comes to attending VegfestUK London.

Of course the superstar bakery piles tables high with sugary delights and treats, but the Brixton-based business also makes it a priority these days to turnout a decent showing of savoury comfort food.

As the huge Vegfest rolls back into town this weekend (Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 October, 2016), the Ms. Cupcake team will be serving up these three delicious dishes.

ms-cupcake-collage

Let’s discuss what you can see.

Top of the picture shows the drool-worthy fully loaded nachos, bottom left is a stunning bowl of mac ‘n’ cheese with toppings, while the final panel highlights the decadent sloppy Joe with creamy cheese sauce.

Wowsers!

You will find the savoury catering food shown above on stand CAT6 while all your favourite sweet Ms. Cupcake stuff (along with some new surprises) will be on stand WE5.

Happy eating!

Get all your VegfestUK London information online. It is going to be a big show this year!

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London vegan café burgled

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Horrible news but we can help.

Universally-adored Black Cat Café of Hackney was broken into last night and burgled. Followers of the vegan eatery were startled this morning when the café posted the following photo to social media.

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I don’t need to say how upset all of the Black Cat co-op members are following this incident. They pour their heart and souls into making the café not just one of the best vegan places to eat on the planet, but also a vital hub that supports their community.

They give opportunities to independent chefs. They sell vegan groceries. They allow space for a veg box scheme for local residents. They raise money for charities. Heck, they even let me host my annual Day of the Dead dinner in their space.

To put it simply, London is a better city thanks to Black Cat and their tireless commitment to doing better for animals and people.

To show them how much we love and support them, I have set up a JustGiving page in order to help get them back on their feet as soon as possible.

Some of the expenses they could use our help with include:

  • repairing front door
  • replacing stolen cash
  • replacing or repairing stolen till system
  • covering lost revenue due to the café being closed on the busiest day of the week

As you can see, this is going to be a very expensive ordeal for Black Cat. Yes, some of the expenses might be covered by insurance but as we all know this can take a long time to be sorted.

This is about taking action now. We need to get this money to Black Cat as soon as possible. We want them to feel supported by their community, just as they have supported us for years.

Please give what you can and help the campaign by sharing widely.

I have set the target at £1,000 but any extra money raised over the target will be given to Black Cat to help them with any other expenses related to improving the space. When £1,000 is reached, Josh and I will pay Black Cat with our own money in order to get it to them urgently. We will claim this cash back from the JustGiving funds once the campaign is over, while donating any extra to the café.

Click here to donate now.

Yoga and Vegan Fest

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Do you enjoy yoga? Are you vegan?

Yes and yes? Then this is the event you have been waiting for.

Tomorrow (Saturday October 15, 2016) is the day you can join a whole bunch of likeminded people at the Kingston Yoga and Vegan Fest.

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The entry price is just £3 and that includes participation in any and all of the yoga sessions being held across the day. That is superb value. Take your own yoga mat, of course.

There is also a huge line up of talks and demos, plus multiple food stands and traders all selling vegan stuff.

You can get more information from the Facebook event page or the official website.

Anyone going?!

Extra note: my pal Alternative Chef Steph will be at this show with her Ponga food stand, selling handmade vegan cheeses that you do not want to miss. Stunning!

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SW9 vegan brunch

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Have you all heard of a vegetarian eatery in south London called Cafe Van Gogh?

The owner reached out to me a few days ago because he thought some of you might be interested to know about the vegan brunch options the cafe serves (as well as ALL dinner options being vegan).

This looks pretty tasty! Check it out:

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You can see sticky toffee pudding, courgetti, mezze platter, pancakes, jerk plantain and more.

Tasty!

It can be a bit tough to find vegan food in that part of London (Van Gogh is a short walk from Oval Underground Station) so be sure to keep this place in mind.

You can like Cafe Van Gogh on Facebook and click here to see where the cafe is located according to Google Maps.

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Vegan pizza in West London

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If you love vegan pizza, it’s a good time to be alive.

Plant-based versions of this hot meal are popping up everywhere around London from chain restaurants to independent cafés, with the latest version appearing in Fulham.

Picky Wops is a brand new non-vegan pizza joint at 347 North End Road, just a two-minute walk from vegan supermarket GreenBay.

The big thrill about dining with Picky Wops is you get to choose your base. The restaurant hand mix their own specialty flour combinations before kneading and baking to perfection.

After the multiple vegan choices you have for your base, the restaurant currently offers you one vegan choice although they welcome you to mix and match vegetables as you see fit.

The vegan cheese being used is Violife so you know you get a good melt.

Check out some photos from my trip to Picky Wops below, including my delicious burned wheat black base and the fab Paula from GreenBay who just happened to be dining next to me.

base burned kamut paula pizza-2 pizzas

I’m looking forward to the vegan options expanding in the near future but in the meantime this place is still one of the finest places to eat vegan pizza in London.

You can like Picky Wop on Facebook and follow on Instagram.

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Indian cooking class this weekend!

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If you want to learn how to cook gorgeous, mouthwatering vegan Indian food, I’m sure your first point of call in London should be Nishma Shah.

This Saturday (September 24, 2016) you can join Nishma for a wonderful culinary adventure as she teaches you the ins and outs of Indian home cooking.

shambhu-panel

The following is lifted from the event description:

This is a prime opportunity to learn some authentic Indian home cookery, from Shambhu’s chef Nishma Shah. Nishma is of Indian heritage, has been immersed in Indian culture all her life and is proud of it, and importantly loves making and teaching delicious plant-based Indian food.

The class price is £40 and includes refreshments, food tasting and even a container of leftovers (if you all don’t eat everything there and then).

The class is limited to 12 people and can be booked online here.

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ANOTHER London café turns vegan

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The plat based news keeps rolling in at breakneck speed.

Salad Pride is a café and eatery situated in Neal’s Yard, slap bang in the middle of the Covent Garden district of central London.

They recently announced via their social media they are now 100% plant based!

Check out the Instagram announcement below:


How cool!

Get over to the Salad Pride website to check out their menu. Follow them on Instagram and Twitter, and of course like them on Facebook.

Click here to see their location on Google Maps.

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Café in London turns vegan

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I don’t know a lot about Love and Scandal in Waterloo, but I do know the central London café is turning into a 100% vegan establishment.

Big news, right?!

Check out the post below that recently appeared on their Instagram account.


It looks as though you can drop in from Monday September 12, 2016 and everything will be plant based.

This is top news for lots of reasons. Obviously the most important yay! is for compassion and animals, but also yay! for something vegan near Waterloo station.

Follow Love and Scandal on Instagram and Twitter.

Click here to see where Love and Scandal is located.

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