New vegan pizza pockets in London

HOLY SHIT!

It is a Hackney Downs Vegan Market exclusive tomorrow Saturday May 12, 2018. Young Vegans are debuting a new Pizza Pie Pocket menu ONLY at our market. Kinda like McDs fritters BUT VEGAN AND FUCKING AWESOME.

Menu:

  • The Barbie: Pan fried chicken pieces with house BBQ sauce and cheese cheesy
  • Red Bianca: Creamy ricotta, broccoli and our family’s signature marinara sauce
  • Willy Wonky: Melty chocolate with peanut butter (warning: messy!)

I’m sure these will be a smash hit, so get used to seeing these on their regular menu in the Camden shop in the near future.

Be one of the first people in London to try at the market. Full details here.

Follow Young Vegans on Instagram.

Mushroom masterclass

There is a mushroom masterclass coming up this Saturday May 12, 2018 at Made in Hackney and if you can afford to attend, it looks like it will be extremely informative and useful.

“We will share our passion and knowledge of cooking and growing gourmet mushrooms, as well as practical tips and recipes, so that you can bring delicious umami flavours to your meals”

Mark Breen, Professional Chef & Cookery Tutor & César Hernán Rizzo Gómez, Urban Grower & Cook

The class will include:

  • How to cook different types of gourmet mushrooms to intensify their unique flavours and textures
  • How to bring out the delicious ‘umami’ flavour of mushrooms
  • How to grow gourmet mushrooms from used coffee grounds
  • How to store your mushrooms correctly to get the best from them
  • Various cooking techniques which will preserve the nutritional properties of mushrooms
  • Tasty ‘tried and tested’ recipes using mushrooms as a starter, a main or a side dish
  • A delicious organic plant based lunch and recipes to take home

César is an urban farmer and accomplished cook. He is the founder of ‘Article Number 25’, an Urban Farming Company aiming to change the food system, which grows different varieties of mushrooms from used coffee grounds and converts unused spaces into farms.

Mark is a professional chef and cookery tutor, working with various cookery schools across the capital. He also runs Seasonal Kitchen, a company offering unique dining experiences and private chef services.

Fee*: £70 (£55** Concession) includes a delicious organic plant based meal

  • This fee is used to fund the programme of free courses to vulnerable and low-income community groups. By attending a Made In Hackney masterclass you get a great day of learning AND you’re providing the charity with essential funds for them to continue their work with vulnerable community groups.

** Concessionary rate available for students, pensioners, unemployed and low waged

Click here to book a spot at this mushroom masterclass now! At the time of posting, their were only 8 spaces remaining.

Vegan Beer Fest shirts

Now this is exciting!

Vegan Beer Fest UK events are coming up soon with dates in London, Coventry, Glasgow and Sheffield across the summer.

Each year we make a t-shirt for punters to buy on the day but in 2018 we have switched things up a bit.

You can now buy a unique t-shirt for each of the cities and you can only buy them online!

Each city has a white text on black as well as a black text on white variety from which to choose.

Even if you can’t make it along to a date, your purchase will help us put these events on and pay our official designer some extra income.

We are partnering with TeeMill to bring ethically responsible shirts to you this year. Each year we were left with many unsold shirts so allowing each customer to order exactly what they want will help us cut down on waste, as well as keeping our production, storage and transportation costs down.

Click here to see all the designs now and ORDER!

Keep looking for more merchandise coming soon.

Order your Vegan Beer Fest UK tickets online now.

Meet the traders

The wonderful people of WinkBall Interviews have made a small collection of videos so you can meet the traders of Hackney Downs Vegan Market.

Check them out below and get all the info on the next market here. It happens every Saturday!

Hackney Downs is HUGE

This is a post to say thank you to all the traders and attendees who made this past Saturday at Hackney Downs Vegan Market such a huge success.

The winter months have been tough work for our traders who have been down there week after week. There was only one week where the ice was too treacherous to go ahead.

Our loyal customers have been wonderful and crucial when it comes to keeping the market vibrant. Even on some of the coldest days, people came from all over the city and even further afield to have fun and support independent business.

This past weekend was like a huge celebration with sunshine and warm, dry weather. Our traders who have been shivering through the cold finally got to enjoy a bright day and some had their busiest trading day ever.

Hackney Downs Vegan Market is more than just somewhere to get good food.

It is a collaborative approach to community and business, taking into consideration how we all need to be more inclusive and aware of diverse needs. Our market does the following:

  • The pitch fees we pay Hackney Downs Studios help keep their vibrant art and creation spaces affordable for resident artists.
  • Our independent traders have started to find a way to turn their passion into a living, with some using our market as a springboard to go onto bigger and better things such as opening their own shops.
  • The market helps keep money in the local community by giving trading space to local people.
  • We are actively challenging oppression by making spaces available for women traders, non-white traders, traders from LGBTQ+ communities, and disabled traders.

When you attend this market, you are making a difference.

I really can’t thank you all enough for making this ‘vegan-run event for vegans’ such a rewarding community space. Our message is to stop animal suffering and we try to do it while being kind to humans.

We have also organised Queer Vegan Yoga to take place on the first Saturday of the month inside The Well Garden, the onsite yoga studio. This is body positive yoga led by a queer vegan teacher. We have created this for people who feel locked out of yoga classes for any number of reasons. Click here to see the dates and book.

We have some other exciting developments coming up for the market, so stay tuned. RSVPing to the Hackney Downs Vegan Market Facebook event page is a great way to see news or follow me on my FGV Instagram account.

Extra note: Hackney Downs Vegan Market will not be taking place on Saturday July 14, 2018 due to the site being used for our 6th annual London Vegan Beer Fest. This is a ticketed event so if you would love to be a part of our big party, book early bird tickets online now.

Now, let’s enjoy some photos from last weekend!

Another vegan potluck event

A few weeks ago, a lot of people enjoyed a vegan potluck event in London.

Anna and Amy took over Jaz & Jul’s Chocolate House near Angel for a collaborative food event. A bunch of people shared homemade food and had such a wonderful time, they are doing it all again on May 5, 2018.

This Saturday afternoon food club will run from 4pm until 7pm.

You need to book tickets in order to participate, so click here to book now.

You can also RSVP via the Facebook event.

Share food. Make friends. Get involved!

The return of Queer Vegan Yoga

Queer Vegan Yoga enjoyed a fabulous debut a few weeks ago at The Well Garden located at Hackney Downs Studios, the home of Hackney Downs Vegan Market.

Tatum lead an incredible yoga class that was inclusive, friendly, and welcoming to all.

And now it is back!

You can now book your spot for this affordable and progressive yoga class for dates in May, June, July and August 2018.

The dates and times for the next four months are:

This class is for anyone who feels locked out of yoga classes. It is inclusive. It is for members of LGBT+ communities. It is body positive. We have a queer, vegan teacher.

Enjoy exploring yoga AND the best vegan food market on the same day!

Event for people caring for vegan children

The fab team behind Made in Hackney have organised a very special information evening for people caring for children within a vegan framework.

Trying to bring up a child as a vegan means clashes with family, friends and even strangers can occur.

“Are you sure they are getting enough nutrition?”, “What about calcium?”, “You shouldn’t force your beliefs on your kids.” And so it goes on…

This event is a supportive space to share stories, ask questions, learn from others and get expert advice from a nutritionist about what we need to consider when raising our children vegan.

Vegan families and bringing up vegan children is taking place at 10 Cable Street in central London on Wednesday April 25, 2018.

What has the night got in store?

  • 19:00 Introduction to the evening.
  • 19:05 Talk by Sarah Oboh of NutriLife covering essential nutrition for children
  • 19:25 Demonstration by Juddian Oboh of NutriLife on simple nutritious snacks that can be made to boost your child’s health.
  • 19:45 – 21:15 Panel discussion with Sarah Bentley, NutriLife and Deepa Devlukia of GirlBoyFoodBaby on family issues, nurseries, parties, social things and educate kids about changes
  • 21:15-21:30 Networking

All profits from this event will be donated to Made in Hackney.

Click here to book your ticket.

Yorkshire brewery headed to London

London Vegan Beer Fest is coming back for a sixth year in a row and we have lots of lovely surprises planned for Saturday July 14, 2018.

All the news will roll out over the next few months, but the first big announcement is all about Brass Castle.

Superstar vegan brewery Brass Castle of Yorkshire is returning for a second year in a row to run a huge, indoor beer hall at the London event.

They will be once again taking over the Hackney Showroom with a multi-tap bar while we have some exclusive food traders in the back alley.

Add to this our outdoor beer and street food market and London Vegan Beer fest is going to be a HUGE day out.

Early bird tickets are already on sale and are almost 20% gone. Buy here.

Follow Brass Castle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Pop up supper club event in London

Here is some news you can eat.

A handful of our regular traders from Hackney Downs Vegan Market have joined forces to bring you a gorgeous-sounding pop up food event.

You will want to book tickets for this right now.

This vegan cheese dining event sounds too good to be true.

Get along to The Grand Howl cafe in E9 on April 19, 2018 to explore four artisan vegan cheese brands, talk with the makers, and enjoy a full French cuisine dinner followed by French pâtisserie.

The night will commence with appetisers based on the I AM NUT OK cashew spreads, followed by a plate of Mushroom Bourguignon and Potato Dauphinois using the stunning cheeses of Black Arts Vegan and Nutkin.

Diners will then be served a platter highlighting the stunning cheeses of Kinda Co. before the dinner is finished off with pâtisserie items by The Sunny Spoon.

Throughout the night you will be able to chat with the makers and hear all about their brands, products and personal journeys.

Of course their cheeses will be available for purchase as well.

Click here to book your spot now.