London vegan news, reviews & events
I love a tasty ‘one night only’ food event. How delightful to know the food experience you are part of will never be replicated in quite the same way ever again.
This is one of the reasons I run my special events and also why I think you need to know about this event put on by some talented chefs.
I host a few big parties each year and my Day of the Dead extravaganza is certainly one of my favourites. Lots of candy, a vegan feast and a chance to wear one of my Mexican wrestling masks all night… what’s not to adore?
Get ready to party your socks off as Day of the Dead takes over London on November 2nd, 2014 from 3pm. For the third year in a row, I am asking you to celebrate with me as I show you why I love this festival so deeply.
This year’s party is set to be the biggest and best yet as I team up with brand new vegan venue Kabaret of Wood Green. This huge venue allows our party to explode in size and what we have lined up for entertainment is sure to thrill.
Need some reasons why you should book a ticket?
This is going to be a party to be remembered. I am thrilled to be helping vegan London take part in a celebration that has roots all over the world.
Below is the buffet menu.
Tickets are available for £25 (plus booking fee) and are non-refundable, although you are welcome to sell on or gift to a friend in the instance you can’t attend. This price is only for pre-purchased tickets and the cost will rise on the door if we have space.
The party is all ages and a specially-priced ticket for children under the age of 18 costs £18 plus booking fee. All attendees under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Anyone wanting to buy and consume alcohol will be required to prove they are of legal drinking age.
Ticket price includes vegan buffet and activities, but not drinks. You will be required to pay for your own drinks at the bar. The bar takes card payments.
I am proud to announce a collaborative event between Fat Gay Vegan (that’s me) and the exquisite Le Pain Quotidien.
The age old traditions of eating well and enjoying life have been at the heart of Le Pain Quotidien since the start of their business. As my readers and event attendees know well, this outlook on life is one I wholeheartedly share. Anything non-vegans can have, vegans can have just as good if not better.
In a celebration of our shared love of quality ingredients and good eating, FGV and LPQ bring you a hands on baking event on Thursday October 23rd, 2014 from 6pm called The Art of Vegan Baking.
This exclusive food crafting session is limited to only 12 spaces and is set to be more than a regular baking class.
Guests will be welcomed by Fat Gay Vegan to the gorgeous LPQ Borough, just a few minutes walk from London Bridge Underground station. The entry price of £27 includes:
As if I wasn’t losing my mind enough over these things, I got word that more of the best vegan candy in the world is heading to the UK.
My mate Joe in Berlin sent the following photo and I am beside my chubby self with excitement.
You will notice these goodies are made by the producers of the aforementioned No No’s which you can buy currently via Vegan Tuck Box.
Rudy in Vx has let me know he will be stocking all three products very shortly, so keep pestering him on Twitter to find out when they land in London.
Anyone else as excited as me?
Big vegan food announcements don’t come along often enough for my liking and when they do, they rarely have anything to do with one of my events.
Here is some glorious news, London. I am giggling with excitement.
Here is your chance to make a difference for a vegan or vegan-friendly company.
There is this thing going on at the moment called the Urban Food Awards. It is an initiative to bring attention and recognition to small business traders making a go of a food business in London.
What is interesting for all of us reading this is the inclusion of some wonderful vegan and vegan-friendly enterprises in this year’s nominations. Check them out.
Somebody call my therapist. This was my second raw meal in a month and I’m a bit frightened by how much I enjoyed the experience.
Have you been to Nama in Notting Hill?
You know we are only a week away from one of the biggest (the biggest?) vegan events anywhere, right? Approximately ten thousand vegans, vegan friendlies and curious carnivores will descend upon London Olympia for VegfestUK on September 27 and 28, 2014
This show is the result of the tireless dedication shown by organiser Tim Barford who is a rare breed in the vegan community. He works himself ragged getting these monumental shows together and reaches countless people every year with a compassionate message. His shows have been staged for over ten years and he rallies against adversity and financial hardship to put together events packed with information, education, entertainment and food.
It would be wonderful to see how many non-human animals have been saved directly by the influence of these shows. I would imagine the number would be emotionally overwhelming.
Following are some reasons I think you will love this year’s event at London Olympia:
You can buy tickets online now and download the programme here. Make sure you follow VegfestUK on Twitter and don’t forget to give Tim a shout out online to thank him for his dedication to improving outcomes for animals.
There are some fabulously exciting things happening for vegans in London and most of them are pop up ventures. What’s behind this drive to sell food in temporary locations?
London is surely one of the most expensive cities in the world for real estate. It was announced this week that the average house price in London is £514 000 while the average house price in central London is £1.6 million. The increase in property prices in London over the past year has been at a rate of 19%. This is staggering.
The cost of renting commercial space in Camden Stables Market is upwards of £1000 a week. You can see why vegan start ups can only afford to run temporary events and pop ups are the new trend of getting food to the masses. Vegan businesses cannot get permanent premises unless they have a hell of a lot of money behind them.
Get up and get out of the house this weekend and support a vegan pop up venture. Show the people making cruelty free food for the masses that you care.
You might very well start with the brand new Club Mexicana pop up in east London. The taco masters have set up temporary shop in The Convenience, an inventive and quirky cafe near Chatsworth Road with a roof terrace for dining.
The Club Mexicana pop up runs from 6pm Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and from 4pm on Sundays. See the current menu below but be warned it will be rotating so not everything will be available every night. Rumour has it they are working on a Mexican seitan burger and that chocodilla on the menu sounds fabulous.
The pop up will run until October 12. Follow Club Mexicana on Twitter.
Just over a week ago I visited the Specialty & Fine Food Fair held in London Olympia and I am now only getting around to sharing photos of some of the fabulous vegan products I encountered.
I have included social media links for each company, so please feel free to reach out to them and let them know how keen you are to see their products in stores. Some of the products are even available to order online so make sure you do some investigating.
Here we go.