London Vegan Events

Superstar vegan brand back as sponsors

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This is the third year in a row I get to make this announcement and I am just as delighted as I was the first time.

Superstar vegan food brand Follow Your Heart is back as proud sponsor of UK Vegan Beer Fest 2018.

The cost of running a series of community-focussed events around the country while keeping all tickets under £10 (early bird tickets under £5 for most dates) can be daunting, but the financial support we receive from Follow Your Heart makes it possible.

Vegan Beer Fest UK events are focussed on creating inclusive spaces where people can celebrate their veganism (or vegan curiosity) with like minded party goers. Events this year include the 6th annual London Vegan Beer Fest, as well as outings in Sheffield, Glasgow and Coventry.

Every single person attending one of our beer events will be handed a durable pint cup to use on the day. The cups are decorated with the event details as well as the Follow Your Heart logo. Once the beer fest is over, attendees can take their cups home to use again and again.

Follow Your Heart makes these showcases of vegan beer and food providers possible and I am extremely grateful of their continued support of our community.

You can see the entire range of Follow Your Heart sauces, cheeses, mayo, dressings, and more online here.

You can follow the brand on Instagram, too!

Order your early bird tickets for UK Vegan Beer Fest now!

Unwaxed fruit in London

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Here is a super short post to let you know that you can now buy unwaxed fruit on a regular basis at Hackney Downs Vegan Market.

Fresh Fruit Box is one of our newest traders and today they launched their colourful unwaxed fruit and vegetable stall at our weekly market in Hackney.

As you might know, a lot of supermarket bought fruit in the Uk is waxed with animal derived ingredients.

Fresh Fruit Box go to a lot of trouble to source unwaxed fruit from Spanish farms, meaning everything they sell is devoid of any animal products.

Visit Hackney Downs Vegan Market next week (March 31) to check out the gorgeous fresh produce selection for yourself and perhaps consider making this your regular shopping spot for fresh fruit and vegetables.

You can follow Fresh Fruit Box on Instagram.

Vegan wings eating competition

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Have you ever felt you would excel at competitive eating but there just haven’t been enough vegan opportunities?

Well, say hello to Biff’s Jack Shack’s 1st Annual Vegan Wings Eating Competition.

National Wing Day is on Thursday 22nd March and not only will Biff’s be offering 50% off all wingz, they’ll be putting on a wingz party at Haunt London featuring the UK’s first vegan wings eating comp.

Actually, unless someone can prove otherwise I’m confident in declaring this the world’s first vegan wings eating competition.

Four challengers will get to eat their way through a bucket of ten of their crispy fried jackfruit wingz, slathered in special hot chipotle sauce.

The champion will get Jack Shack tees and swag for them and their crew, food for two at the Haunt, the coveted GOLDEN BUCKET, and a place in history.

If you want to take the challenge, you must:

👉 1. Follow Biff’s Jack Shack on Instagram
👉 2. Tag two wing-people that you’d bring down with you on the night in this post
👉 3. Tell the wing makers what makes you the ultimate wing fiend in a comment below the Instagram post

If the eating challenge isn’t for you, you should still get along to enjoy cheap wings and support independent vegan business.

Gorgeous pop up event for London

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Do you know Greedy Khao?

If you do, you will understand that this pop up event is not to be missed.

If you are unfamiliar, this March 31 food event is the perfect opportunity to get acquainted.

‘A Plant-Powered Journey through Thailand’ will take diners on a culinary tour from the Southern provinces, famous for seafood and spiciness, through the melting pot of Bangkok, and up to the fresh, zesty North East.

Faai of Greedy Khao says, “North Eastern (Isaan) Thai food has seen increased popularity in recent years, so we want to shed the spotlight on some of Thailand’s other regions, while proving that vegan Thai food can be just as bold, complex, and moreish as its meaty alternative”.

They have the tickets up on Eventbrite (here) so get buying. Don’t miss out!

Exclusive vegan cheese now in London grocery chain

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By now you would have heard all about New Roots.

This Switzerland-made range of vegan cheeses took London by storm when it was previewed at VegfestUK late in 2017 and ever since vegans have been scrambling to get their hands on their products.

The camembert made by New Roots is next level and their other divine cheeses aren’t far behind. It is no wonder people have been hunting all over the capital for this stuff.

Well, the hunt for New Roots just got that little bit easier now that they have signed a deal to be sold in Planet Organic stores around London.

You can get along to the following in store tasting sessions to try some of this cheese glory for yourself and of course buy a few of the flavours:

  • Thursday March 8th – 4pm until 7pm – Islington N1 8LR
  • Friday March 9th – 4pm until 7pm – Devonshire Square EC2M 4AE
  • Saturday March 10th – 11am until 2pm – Torrington Place WC1E 7HJ
  • Saturday March 10th – 4pm until 7pm – Westbourne Grove W2 5SH
  • Sunday March 11th – 11am until 2pm – Wandsworth SW18 4FT
  • Sunday March 11th – 3pm until 6pm – Tottenham Court Road W1 1BJ
  • Thursday March 29th – 12pm until 3pm – TottenhamCourt Road W1 1BJ
  • Saturday March 31st – 2pm until 5pm – Muswell Hill N10 3HS

There are a lot of opportunities to try this cheese, so get along to at least one of these tastings in March.

You can follow New Roots on Instagram and if you can’t make it along to the tastings, shop online with the superstar vegan cheese company.

Vegan International Women’s Day

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Calling all London people.

8th March, 2018 is International Women’s Day and a collective of women-led vegan food businesses are getting together to collaborate on a one-off menu at the Spread Eagle London.


Apart from serving up tasty vegan food, they are giving 100% of all the money made (none of them will take any money to cover costs) to a charity called Working Chance. This charity supports women leaving the criminal justice system, helping them to get back into the workforce and break the poverty and re-offence cycle by pairing them up with employees.

The menu is fabulous:

  • ARRIVAL – glass of prosecco/Old Blue Last beer – The Spread Eagle
  • STARTER – chorizo and purple potato tacos with pickled chiles, avocado salsa verde, and lime – I Will Kill Again x Club Mexicana
  • MAIN – jackfruit jelfrezi torta with pink onions, pickled chiles, and sour cream raita, served with tortilla chips and salsa – Spice Box x Club Mexicana
  • PUDDING – warm chocolate chile mud pie with vanilla ice cream – Young Vegans x Club Mexicana

Click here to book your table on the Spread Eagle website for anytime after 6pm on March 8th and be part of their big ‘fuck you’ to patriarchy and big businesses cashing in on women and veganism. Don’t be fooled by other markets and pop ups trying to ride the promo wave of International Women’s Day.

Follow Club Mexicana, Spice Box, I Will Kill Again, The Spread Eagle, and Young Vegans on Instagram.

If you would like to support Working Chance charity but cannot attend this event, please consider donating online.

Incredible 5-course event

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Join Itis for an evening of vegan food and Caribbean party vibes on Friday March 23, 2018 in SE15.

The food experts will be serving a gourmet 5-course meal, created by their own executive chef. The Caribbean-inspired menu will include the region’s flavours combined with their chef’s own personal twist. They’ll have island music and drinks going all night.

THE FOOD

  • Trini-Style Corn Soup: A traditional street food made with split peas, pieces of corn, coconut milk and fresh herbs and spices
  • Pholourie: Fried, spiced dough balls served with a tamarind sauce
  • Salad: Mixed leaves, rocket, beetroot, cherry tomatoes and carrots served with a fruity vinaigrette
  • Jerk Shrimp Pasta: Linguini tossed in our homemade mild jerk-cream sauce, with red and green peppers, corn, onions and mushroom topped with vegan jumbo shrimp
  • Dessert: Oreo base cheesecake with fruit coulis

THE DRINKS

A glass of Caribbean Rum Punch and a non-alcoholic glass of homemade sorrel juice will be served. They will also have a bar serving Caribbean cocktails and drinks for you to purchase additional drinks from on the night if you wish

Itis always make a huge impression when they trade at Hackney Downs Vegan Market so I feel confident in saying you don’t want to miss this 5-course extravaganza taking place in southeast London.

Click here NOW to buy tickets.

Follow Itis on Instagram and Facebook.

A vegan potluck returns

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If you are new around these parts, you might not remember that I used to run a vegan potluck.

London Vegan Potluck was a wonderful community event where people shared homemade vegan food, socialised with new friends, and perhaps got some cooking inspiration.

It was a fun, low cost and informal way for people to celebrate their veganism in a time before weekly markets and vegan nights.

London Vegan Potluck ran every month for four years and then I got overworked. We had to bring it to an end and London has mostly been devoid of vegan potlucks ever since.

But there is a new one on the horizon by some people named Anna and Amy.

Check out this info about the one-time-only vegan potluck in London:

The Nourishing Vegan Club is inspired by a love of food, passion for wellness & desire to bring like minded people together. So on Saturday 17th March we’re holding a vegan potluck afternoon at Jaz & Jul’s (a.k.a chocolate heaven) in London.

Bring a homemade vegan dish/cake, come with an appetite and be prepared to feast! Tickets are £5 (or £8 without bringing a dish) and spaces are limited so grab yours while they’re fresh out the oven!
Please message one of us to secure your place 🙂

Jaz & Jul’s is located on Chapel Market, close to Angel Underground Station.

You can RSVP and get all the necessary details over on the Facebook event page.

Three food items not to be missed

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I rarely focus on individual food items at Hackney Downs Vegan Market when it comes to my blog, but this week (Saturday February 24, 2018) it is a different situation.

There are three things I feel you MUST know about.

Number one is the Spanish omelette by La Buenaventura. I can’t get my head around how they make something so amazing but they do and you should buy it.

They sell these incredible packaged omelettes for you to take home alongside their stunning vegan chorizo.

Thing number two? Fudge!

London Maker Chocolate is relatively new to our market but they are making waves with their treats and more waves are expected this week due to refined sugar free fudge topped with raw chocolate.

I don’t know about you, but I need this right about NOW!

Finally, reason number three why you should definitely not miss Hackney Downs Vegan Market this week.

Get an eyeful of this pie!

Young Vegans are famous for innovative and irresistible savoury pies but I think they have outdone themselves this week.

Say hello to their Meatball Marinara and Cheese Pie. This is a market exclusive and will be in limited numbers. I’m actually a little teary and emotional over this one.

See the full trader line up (and other details) for Hackney Downs Vegan Market online here.

Gorgeous vegan pop up for London

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London. I’m here to warn you to move quickly.

Denai of Dee’s Table always does amazingly well whenever she appears, so this one night only pop up supper club is going to have them rushing in.

Denai’s take on modern Jamaican cuisine is delicious and this menu for her Ultimate Vegan Ribs Feast taking place at 10 Cable Street on February 23, 2018 is the stuff of dreams.

What’s on the menu?

  • Jackfruit Ribs
  • Ginger Beer BBQ Sauce
  • Mac & Cheese with Thyme Bread Crumb
  • Smokey Homemade BBQ Beans
  • Roasted Squash Hominy Cornbread
  • Whole roasted potatoes
  • Corn on the cob
  • And Salads

Dessert to share:

  • Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pizookie
  • Vanilla Ice Cream
  • Salted Caramel Sauce

This is a Friday night in London and the food is stunning, so click here to book your spot NOW!

You can follow Dee’s Table on Instagram.