Re:Store is a packaging-free shop in Hackney where customers bring their own containers (or grab a spare one in store) to refill, to reduce use of unnecessary plastic!
The low waste store is located at Hackney Downs Studios, the place where we used to do Hackney Downs Vegan Market.
Customers can refill store cupboard and household essentials as well as some special treats.
Re:Store works with small, local producers and companies such as Kompassion Kombucha brewed in Hackney Wick and the’artyvegan fresh tofu made just across the road.
The store also has an exciting new addition in the form of a candle refill station from small business Every Origin. You can bring an old candle or jar and get it refilled with a new delicious smelling candle, with three options to choose from.
If you want to check out Re:Store AND have a fab night out, get along on Friday October 13, 2019 as Hackney Downs Studios celebrate the last night market of the year.
This version of the Night Market has been turned vegan by me and will include a bunch of vegan food traders plus Re:Store will be open until 9pm for all your refill needs, plus they’re adding some new vegan goodies so come along and be the first to try them!
Click here to read about the Vegan Night Market and be sure to follow Re:Store on Instagram.
On 18 September, 2019, a line-up of vegan comedians take to the stage in a vegan venue to raise money for international development charity, Child.org.
The Funny Thing About Vegans at Karamel in North London will see Carl Donnelly, Chris Stokes and Adele Cliff give up their time and talent in support of Child.org’s evidence-based projects to improve the lives of children in some of the world’s poorest communities.
This all-vegan line-up in an always all-vegan venue is believed to be the first of its kind in London.
The event is organised by Robb Masters, a participant of Child.org-affiliated “Charity Fast-Track 2019” (a year-long training course on all aspects of the charity sector) and organiser of London Vegan Meetup (a free social group for vegan and the vegan-curious, and the current home of FGV-founded London Vegan Drinks). This is his second fundraiser for Child.org, after he and a group of friends embarked on the “Sukuma Wiki Challenge” earlier in the year – spending a week eating just five plant-based ingredients.
Tickets for The Funny Thing About Vegans are £10 online here, or £15 on the door.
Who are the comedians on the night?
Carl Donnelly has twice been nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award, won a variety of other awards, appeared on a selection of TV shows (Mock The Week, Russell Howard’s Good News, etc.) and travelled the world performing at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, The Melbourne International Comedy Festival, The New Zealand Comedy Festival, and pretty much every other comedy festival there is. He is co-host of the Two Vegan Idiots and Babysitting Trevor podcasts.
Chris Stokes is an award- winning comedian who “was a comedian, then a van driver and now I’m a comedian again”. He has supported Milton Jones on UK tours (Milton Jones is Out There, and Milton Jones and the Temple of Daft) as well as appearing on BBC Three, Dave, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5Live – and performing at an Annual General Meeting of The Vegan Society. Chris has been described by The New Statesman as “One impressive comic”, and the British Comedy Guide as “Laid back, disarming and very funny”.
Adele Cliff’s jokes have been featured in The Top 10 Jokes Of The Fringe for four years running (2016-2019). With regular appearances on the BBC, Funny Women describes Adele Cliff as “consistently intelligent, witty, and (most importantly) very funny!”, while The Huffington Post called her a “must-see” act.
Book your tickets for The Funny Thing About Vegansonline now.
Pea Shoot is teaming up with Made in Hackney to bring you an evening of feasting, drinking and merriment.
Get involved with this fab event for a hearty meal, clothes swapping, and games in order to raise funds for Made in Hackney’s vital work.
Made in Hackney is a community kitchen that teaches nutritious, plant-based cooking to London communities and promotes sustainable and local food practices.
If you want to show your support and eat some delicious food, grab a ticket and join the party on September 11, 2019.
Your ticket gets you three hearty vegan courses, including a decadent dessert and a festive aperitif, all cooked up by the Pea Shoot chefs.
Expect colourful and creative dishes, celebrating seasonal British fruits and vegetables using the freshest ingredients from local farms.
This is a win-win situation. Great food and fun for you, plus you raise funds for one of London’s most crucial organisations.
VegFestUK London is back in a big way for another huge year in West London.
VegFestUK has long been the best vegan lifestyle show in the UK and really one of the best on the planet.
You get to see and taste all the latest plant-based products, watch exciting cooking demonstrations, meet independent business owners, listen to fascinating talks, meet friends new and old, eat delicious food, drink tasty drinks, and SO MUCH MORE.
Get along on October 26 and 27, 2019 at Olympia, London.
Need another reason to go? How about cheap tickets?
Buy-one-get-one-free tickets for VegFestUK London are available online only until August 31.
In other news, I will be there on site all weekend running the stall for my new Vegan Culinary Cruises venture and hosting some social sessions. More details will be coming soon!
Also expect cocktails, beer and wine (all vegan too!) to be flowing, brought to you by All Good Beer and El Garito.
On the night, you’ll also be able to explore on-site zero waste emporium Re:Store for environmentally friendly and sustainably sourced goodies, as they’re extending their opening hours just for the event. Bring your refillable containers!
You will also be able to visit the resident shops of Hackney Downs Vegan Market including Low Company record store, The London Loom, and The Well Garden and expect a vegan cheese tasting at Re:Store.
So much fun.
The Facebook event already has over 1,500 RSVPs so we expect this to be a big night. RSVP to the event now and invite friends.
The final Hackney Downs Studios night market of the year is taking place on Friday Septmeber 13, 2019 between 6pm and 11pm.
Click here to see the exact location thanks to Google Maps.
Made in Hackney is a community kitchen running ongoing vegan cooking and food preparation classes.
You knew that, right?
One upcoming class I thought you all would be interested in is the Sourdough Bread Making Masterclass.
Date and Time – Saturday 14th September 2019 – 12:00pm – 5:00pm
Cost – £89 (£71 concession available) inclusive of VAT
The Event
“Bread makes itself, by your kindness, with your help, with imagination running through you, with dough under hand, you are bread-making itself, which is why bread making is so fulfilling and rewarding” – Edward Espe Brown, The Tassajara Bread Book.
“I’ll show you how to successfully bake your own delicious, nutritious loaves at home” Becca Dye, wholefood chef & baker.
This masterclass will include:
What is sourdough and how does it work?
Health benefits, costs, and how to choose your flour
How to create and maintain a sourdough starter, and fun ways to use excess levain
How to use bakers percentages and create and tweak your own formulas
Seeds, spices, soakers; working with flavoured doughs
Learn how to mix, fold, shape and bake a variety of doughs
Q&A session, sourdough 101 and trouble-shooting
A delicious organic plant based lunch, your own starter, recipes and bread to take home
Becca is a wholefood chef and baker, who has worked in top bakeries across Berlin and London, and currently bakes at social enterprise Better Health Bakery in Haggerston. Becca has a particular love for wholegrain baking, and utilising ancient varieties of wheat and freshly milled flour.
Fee: £89 (£71 Concession*) inclusive of VAT, includes a delicious organic plant based lunch.
This fee is used to fund programmes 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 to continue their work with vulnerable community groups.
Concessionary rate available for students, pensioners, unemployed and low waged.
Click here to book your spot for the Sourdough Bread Making Class.
Click here to see other upcoming Made in Hackney masterclasses.
London, you had better not sleep on this incredible food event.
It is sensational.
Anri of Fussy Chilesaurus was always a crowd favourite at my market and her delicious vegan take on Japanese cuisine is legendary. She once had a queue of dozens and dozens of people on a bizarrely warm day at Guildhall market because word had spread among the diners about how fantastic her food was that day.
So you need to take advantage of the fact that Anri will be cooking and serving her exquisite menu as a pop up at Tottenham Social Pop Ups at Craving Coffee this week.
Held at a community hall in Queensbury, north-west London.
Open to children aged 8 to 14 years.
Not restricted to children from a particular borough
Your child can be enrolled for all five sessions or for individual sessions of your choice
Now in their sixth year of running this unique and special series of hands-on cooking classes, Shambhu’s chef Nishma Shah will expertly guide and inspire young students as they produce delicious healthy meals. They will be applying culinary styles from around the world, using wholesome plant-based ingredients together with various natural flavour-enhancing and healing spices and condiments.
These are very much hands-on cooking classes and are always a fun, fulfilling, and educational summer-holiday activity for children.
They are also an excellent opportunity for children to learn and practise food prep and cooking skills, gain knowledge on relevant topics such as nutrition, spices, flavour-pairing, and discover how to minimise food waste.
For all the finer details including prices, click here.
Have you been missing Hackney Downs Vegan Market ever since we wrapped it up earlier this year?
Well, dry your tears because we are coming back in mini form for one night only… and the food line up is set to be legendary.
Thursday July 4, 2019 marks the tenth anniversary of the Open Studios celebration at Hackney Downs Studios and as part of their mammoth party they have asked me to return with my favourite traders for the evening.
From 6pm you will be able to feast heartily on the following:
Arancini Brothers will be there with their famous food truck selling their even more famous loaded arancini balls. This is some of the finest food in the city and will be difficult to turn down if you are there on the night.
Bar Dei Baci have built up a huge and loving following of customers and it’s not a surprise why. Their deep fried pizzas are the stuff of dreams.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwOjQXTA0No/
I am so deeply proud of Let’s Do Temaki and the growth they’ve shown since debuting at the original Hackney Downs Vegan Market. Maki rolls and sushi burritos from Temaki are second to none.
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByKsbFKJ4SN/
The 100% plant-based cuisine by Oh My Gulay! is spectacular. Filipino recipes done vegan and done better than most food you will ever taste. I promise.
Vegan Delice was the reigning sugar queen of the original Hackney Downs Vegan Market so it makes sense to have Chanel back for our special night. Expect the usual decadent treats from one of the best vegan bakers on the planet.
If the food isn’t enough to get you down there, certainly all the other fun stuff happening on the night will do it.
The Open Studios event will allow you to meet and network with over 300 inspiring creatives, as you discover their spaces and check out their incredible work. Take a tour of our collaborative spaces Palmspace and Heartspace to meet the makers & artists behind them for a chance to purchase original works of art, craft and design.
Expect exhibitions and talks curated by residents as well as taster classes & workshops, exclusive sample sales and art showcase at Public Gallery. Enjoy live music, food, drinks and dancing at our after party.
In addition, Venetia Falconer will be bringing you an insight into the world of sustainability with an exclusive talk and Q&A at low waster shop Re:Store as part of the Open Studios programme.
Venetia Falconer has long been an advocate of reducing plastic usage and promotes mindful consumption, and has been featured in Vogue as one of the ‘Top Eco Influencers To Follow’.
Book your tickets NOW for this sensational vegan pop up event featuring the flavours of Mauritius.
Vegan Mauritian Supper Club is taking place at Black Cat Café in Hackney on Tuesday July 30, 2019 from 7pm.
This is a meal you do not want to miss. Chef Khaleed is ready to feed you some of the finest plant-based cuisine in the capital.
Khaleed says of the night:
In Mauritius, we have a phrase we say ‘La case Mama’ which means Mother’s House. My food will be proper home cooked food and hopefully you will not be leaving hungry. Please feel free to ask for seconds!
The menu? Check it out below:
Starters: vegetable samosa and gateaux piment (chilli cakes, crushed split peas) served with a tomato and coriander chutney
Mains: tomato curry, butter bean curry, chow chow curry, aubergine and potatoe curry served with rice and ti puri (fried roti)
Dessert: tarte bannan (banana tart) served with vegan vanilla ice cream
Black Cat will be selling their drinks at this event.
Click here to book your tickets before they are all gone and be sure to follow Mauritian Vegan Supper Club on Instagram.
