London vegan news, reviews & events
A long time ago, I hosted a pop up supper club with a talented food creator named Indira. Do you remember?
The night was a celebration of pies and every attendee was bowled over by her delicious creations.
Time has flown by since that tasty night back in October 2013 but I have some extremely exciting news to make the memories of Indira’s outstanding food come flooding back.
I was racing through Piccadilly Circus Underground station a few days back when my greedy sensibilities got a pleasant shock.
Gorgeous chocolate shop chain Hotel Chocolat now have a mini outlet on the station concourse!
I have written about the many vegan suitable items created and sold by Hotel Chocolat and how over-the-top helpful the workers are when you ask about treats free from animal ingredients. You can read my original blog post here.
The new location inside Piccadilly Circus station is tiny. Check out the photo below and what you see is what you get. It is miniature. The staffer smiling for my shot was excited that I was excited, telling me the store had been opened for the first time ever only half an hour before I snapped the shot.
Buying vegan chocolate on the run in London. I love it!
How did this come around so quickly again?
I am thrilled to announce the 2nd Annual Fat Gay Vegan Christmas Dinner.
This event was incredibly popular in 2013, meaning my event returns for two massive nights at The Gallery Café this December. Tell your friends, book your tickets and get festive.
Out tantalising menu is being fine tuned by Naomi of The Gallery Café, but I can announce that attendees will be treated to the following:
A welcome, warming cup of mulled wine followed by a three course vegan menu
Starter – expertly spiced white winter vegetable soup with crunchy parsnip crisps
Main – succulent vegan roast with all the loved seasonal trimmings
Dessert – a decadent traditional Christmas pudding
Stay tuned for more menu details!
The Gallery Café will be 100% vegan for this event and a selection of vegan wines, ciders and beers will be available for purchase. Your host FGV will be on hand all night to ensure you have a jolly time.
The cost per ticket is £25 plus booking fee. You will need to choose a ticket for either the Thursday or Friday sitting upon ordering. Tickets are non-refundable but of course you can privately sell or pass on your spot.
This event sold out within days of being announced last year, so do be quick if you want to attend.
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Here is some news you don’t hear everyday.
London has a brand new organic grocery store that is completely vegan. Yep. Read it again to make sure.
I am a bit of a fan of the chain of cafes called Le Pain Quotidien. They are not a vegan company but they do have an impressive range of permanent dishes suitable for plant eaters on their menu. I often pop in to my local LPQ for the creamy cashew butter parfait and a vegan muffin.
As you might recall, I recently hosted a vegan baking class at the LPQ location in Borough. It was a runaway success, with the available spaces booking out in record time and attendees singing LPQ‘s praises across social media.
My favourite thing to come out of my partnership with LPQ was the sneak peek they gave me of their tasty-sounding vegan Christmas menu. Yep. That’s right. A London-wide chain of non-vegan cafes has a dedicated three-course dinner for vegans in the month leading up to Christmas.
Check it out below.
Some sad news for the London food scene (and for the animals being cooked, more to the point).
Remember when I wrote about Killer Tomato on Leather Lane? I absolutely raved about the vegan spicy sandwich I devoured and proclaimed it to be the best sandwich in town.
Well, some undesirable news has reached me here in my faux-ivory tower.
UPDATE:
This event has been cancelled due to one of the organisers being seriously injured in an accident.
My thoughts are with them and I hope for the best.
Sean/FGV
Do you like to be inspired? Are you interested in meeting like-minded compassionate people and hearing what inspires them? Would informative presentations followed by a late night party be to your liking?
If the answer is yes, The Sunshine Sessions might be just what you need.
I am thrilled to be invited to speak at the inaugural outing of The Sunshine Sessions. This celebration of positive-thinking and ethical, self-directed people looks set to be a fascinating event.
A range of speakers from a variety of backgrounds and interests including education, personal wellbeing and veganism will deliver passionate talks to a roomful of guests, who will then party the night away after being fed delicious vegan food.
I love the idea of this event. One of the reasons I agreed to take part in The Sunshine Sessions was the inclusive nature of the event and the thoughtful range of speakers. This isn’t a collection of people telling you what you are doing wrong, rather a collection of presenters giving you an insight into the choices that work for them across the professional and personal realms of their lives.
The event will be taking place in Central London at an as-yet-undisclosed location on Friday November 28th, 2014.
An initial information page for The Sunshine Sessions has been launched allowing potential attendees to register their interest. This is where you enter your details to receive information relating to ticket availability and speaker details. Click here to visit now.
I’m looking forward to this event and it would be wonderful to see a lot of vegans in the audience. Keep checking back for more updates.
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One of my favourite snacks is the gorgeous hot and smoky popcorn by Bloom’s, but I have been feeling a bit down recently as the brand seemed to have disappeared from UK stores.
But rest assured fellow popcorn enthusiasts, this tasty treat was just on hiatus as the company repackaged and rebranded.
My favourite flavour is back and better than ever.
I was so delighted to see the brand relaunched, I reached out to Bloom’s and asked if they would like to be included on the giant vegan buffet at my 3rd annual Day of the Dead party taking place this weekend.
Of course they are lovely people and said yes, meaning attendees can look forward to a jumbo bowl of the good stuff as part of the food line up. Smoked Mexican Chili is just the perfect flavoured popcorn for this event!
Tickets for my Day of the Dead party can be purchased here. Click here to read about the event.
You can visit Bloom’s online
As you know, London Vegan Drinks taking place this month is also a celebration for World Vegan Day.
I am expecting to welcome more than 150 vegans and their friends to Kabaret in Wood Green this Saturday November 1st, 2014 from 6pm onwards.
Kabaret is the fabulous 100% vegan bar and cafe co-owned by Louise Wallis, the person who actually founded World Vegan Day. Louise will be behind the bar and doing a few DJ spots, so make sure you congratulate her and show your thanks.
We also have a very special guest who will be chatting with attendees. Vegan legend Colleen Patrick-Goudreau will be mingling throughout the evening and will have a few copies of her books to sell and sign.
And then the food!
Anarkali is the resident chef at Kabaret and she has created a super fun bar snack menu for the night.
Revellers at London Vegan Drinks will be well fed with the following:
Handmade gourmet burgers
– tofu burger and salad on bun (can be gluten free on request)
– garlic sausage burger and salad on bun
7″ pizzas
– classic with tomato, cheese and basil
– spinach and mushroom
– margherita
– Hawaiian
– pepperoni
Extra toppings available for pizzas
Home cooked wedges featuring sweet potatoes and rustic fries
Selection of relishes and sauces
Vegan champagne £30 per bottle
How exciting!
Come along on Saturday night from 6pm. All the details including directions and address can be seen by clicking here.
Just when you thought my vegan Day of the Dead party this weekend couldn’t get any tastier, Cocoafeliz have joined the buffet table.
When I wrote about this vegan chocolate company a while back, it resulted in one of the most popular blog posts in the history of FGV. You can see the original post here.
This company has been the smash hit vegan success of London over the past few months. They make some of the tastiest cruelty-free chocolates around and you can order them online for home delivery.
Perfection.
The fab people behind these delicacies want to treat attendees of my 3rd annual vegan Day of the Dead party. How lovely!
They are sending over 70 individual, handcrafted chocolates for the giant buffet. Flavours will include coffee, strawberry, peanut butter, choc caramel, orange caramel, lavender and kiwi. I hope I am able to show restraint when the delivery arrives.
You can read all about my Mexican party here or order tickets online here.
Please visit the Cocoafeliz online shop to see the entire range available.
You can also follow them on Twitter and like them on Facebook.