Provincial towns you jog round

FGV at a festival

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I’m doing my best to spread the vegan word and my latest collaboration is going to spread it to a lot of people to whom I’ve yet to spread it.

I have been invited by the good people of Bestival to curate a vegan food corner!

What is Bestival?

Bestival is a multi-day festival combining live music, DJ sets, performance, art, visuals, and so much, much more. It is billed as the most colourful show on Earth and it has something for everyone… and then some!

The 2018 outing of Bestival takes place at the stunning Lulworth Estate in Dorset on August 2, 3, 4 and 5.

The musical line up is fantastic with announced acts including Grace Jones, M.I.A., Plan B and London Grammar.

But what about FGV and this vegan food corner?

Each year, Bestival hosts a food tent called Feast Collective and this year they are adding a vegan corner curated and hosted by me! I’m so thrilled to be asked to bring a handful of my favourite vegan food traders together in one spot to make sure no vegan at the festival is left behind.

It will also be a wonderful way for me and the traders to do a spot of sassy vegan outreach to non-vegan festival goers who will be tempted by an amazing line up of succulent things to consume.

If you have always wanted to go to a summer music festival but were worried there would be nothing to eat, Bestival 2018 is for you.

The four-day event is obviously centred around camping (like all good summertime festivals) and there are plenty of options to explore in this regard. I will be on site for most of the festival and would love your company.

Click here to visit the official Bestival website where you can explore entertainment line up, tickets, payment plans (yes!), and all other relevant information.

Extra note: I forgot to mention this earlier but I will also be presenting a talk in the Bestival Literary Tent on one of the days. It will be loosely based on my book Fat Gay Vegan: Eat, Drink and Live Like You Give a Sh!t.

Good times!

You can also follow Bestival on Instagram.

Vegan eatery coming to Doncaster

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Doncaster!

Yes, Doncaster.

If you are unfamiliar with this northern town, Doncaster is situated in Yorkshire just about an hour south of Leeds.

I’ve been to Doncaster a few times in my life and I never remember anything close to a vegan restaurant existing in the town. In fact, I would not have named Doncaster if you asked me to list unlikely locations that would soon have a vegan eatery.

So, I am thoroughly delighted and pleasantly shocked to hear about the soon to launch The Greenhouse Eatery.

The Greenhouse Eatery has been sharing food teasers for a few weeks ahead of their highly anticipated launch night on Valentine’s Day.

The set menu launch dinner taking place on this loved up day has actually sold out for the later sitting, but if you HURRY you can book some spots for the 6:30pm meal. Click here to see this special menu on Facebook.

Before I share some of the glorious food photos from this new vegan eatery, please take a moment to follow The Greenhouse on Instagram and Facebook.

You can see the exact location of The Greenhouse Eatery thanks to Google Maps.

Now, here’s that food.

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Vegan food trike in Sheffield

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This is some fabulous, old school vegan news.

Sheffield has a vegan food trike operating in the city centre, selling stacked burgers featuring potato waffles. Yes. Potato waffles inside your burger bun!

No Meat Today UK commenced trading in December 2017 but I’ve only just heard about it thanks to my Sheffield spy on the ground, Jez (who works at Incredible Nutshell and admins the Sheffield Vegan & Vegetarian Facebook Group and always has the best news for me).

The new burger trike takes me back to when this sort of trading was extremely popular for vegan businesses. Heck, there was even a vegan hot dog trike in my hometown of Australia about a decade ago.

For some reason, the trike gave way to regular street market stalls so I’m thrilled to see No Meat Today bringing it back.

The No Meat Today social media accounts seem to be just warming up so help get things kicking along by following them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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New vegan eatery in Sheffield

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Sheffield marches forward in its mission to become recognised as one of the vegan capitals of the UK.

Say hello to Just Falafs.

Located on Chesterfield Road just a few steps from legendary vegan food provider Make No Bones, the brand new Just Falafs has a gorgeous menu overflowing with irresistible delights.

You can see the exact location of Just Falafs thanks to Google Maps.

The images below show some of the tasty food being served in Sheffield’s newest vegan eatery, as well as the menu which includes falafel, shawarma and omelettes!

Follow Just Falafs on Instagram.

Vegan bar and restaurant in Newcastle

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Try to stop this vegan revolution sweeping the UK and you will not be successful.

The northern city of Newcastle has enjoyed eating at vegetarian restaurant The Bohemian for a while now, but they have even more reason to fall head over heels in love with the place.

The Bohemian is now 100% vegan.

The kitchen serves a whole range of comfort food, with their pizzas getting a lot of attention on social media.

Unlike some pubs that launch vegan food menus but forget about the bar aspect, The Bohemian has also converted their drinks menu to be 100% vegan.

As if all of this isn’t cool enough, there is also a record store INSIDE the restaurant. Yep, you can shop for vinyl after you fill up on tasty food.

Click here to see the exact location of The Bohemian.

Follow The Bohemian on Facebook and Twitter.

Vegan deli in a UK seaside town

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Do you know the location of a town called Leigh-On-Sea?

If you don’t, grab a map and get familiar with this Essex town because you are going to want to be there soon.

The Acorn Veggie Deli of Leigh-On-Sea is a companion eatery to the nearby vegetarian bistro, The Oak Tree.

The recently opened deli features a huge line up of tasty and nutritious vegan menu items, as well as take home deli and grocery products. You can eat AND shop in the same place.

Check out some of the photos below and be sure to follow The Acorn Veggie Deli on Instagram.

Oh yeah, if you are not familiar with the area you can click here to see the exact location of the deli thanks to Google Maps.

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Family owned vegan café in York

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If you read my ramblings around these parts often, you will know that I love to sing the praises of independent vegan businesses.

I believe it is crucial that we not only use our consumer choices to help reduce harm to animals, we also need to spend our money (when we can) with independently owned vegan businesses in our local areas.

Instead of our money being swept away by multi-national corporations with little or no interest in our neighbourhoods, the money we spend with independents is then put back into the community.

These business owners buy local as well. Their families spend local. The money stays in the town, city, and region.

With all of that said (again), I want to tell you about a fabulous vegan café in the northern England city of York.

True Story is a family-owned vegan café serving up tasty, nutritious vegan food to their community. The café has a stunning view of the Minster and is even available for private hire and functions.

Follow True Story on Instagram and Facebook, then check out the photos below.

Support independent local business. Eat here when you are in York.

Vegan store near Wolverhampton

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You know how I am always going on about supporting independent vegan stores?

Well, here is an insight into one such business and I think it gives you a great feel for the love, dedication and commitment independent business people put into vegan grocery stores.

Scott from Friendly Foods just outside Wolverhampton dropped into my inbox to share the following info about the business he runs with Sara.

Listen up:

The store opened in July 2016, initially just at weekends as Sara was still working full time in her job (25 years in the NHS) as a Clinical Psychologist. The intention was to move full-time which duly happened in September ’16. The origins of the store have various inspirations. Sara and Scott went vegan in the late 80s as students and animal rights activists. Kids, work, hassles duly arrived and our veganism lapsed back to vegetarian. We have 3 opinionated kids (Becca – 22, Gregor – 18 and Issy – 16). All made their own decisions to go vegan as teenagers and we were both back in the fold inspired by their example. The idea for opening a store was cemented by a combination of our visits to the annual vegan fest that is the West Midlands Vegan Festival (in Wolves) and Sara just being sick and fed up of Tory induced madness in the health services she managed. Opening the store was all a bit off the cuff but just felt so right and we were lucky to be in a position to give it a go.

Their story continues:

The store is located about 5 miles from the centre of Wolverhampton on the A454 which is the main road between Wolverhampton and Bridgnorth. The store is on a retail park site called “The Garden Village” next to one of the 3 garden centres on the A454 with plentiful free car parking and a local (number 9) bus service. The idea simply is to be a one stop shop for people to find vegan groceries and the growth since September ’16 has been a delightful surprise. The simple ethos is to be a welcoming space for anyone – be they vegan, vegan curious or transitioning – and to make it easier for them to follow a compassionate lifestyle. More of a sanctuary than a shop.

How about moving forward for Friendly Foods?

We are now in bigger unit (since November ’16) and things are going so well we are now even starting to outgrow this larger unit. The range of stock continues to grow week by week and we stock a wide range of the popular vegan brands (Sgaia Mheats, Love Seitan, Wheaty, Vegusto, Bute Island, Violife, Oatly, Ombar, Vego, Anandas, Eat Real, Ten Acre etc etc), the mega One Planet Pizza and vegan essentials like Vital Wheat Gluten, Nutloaf mixes, nuts, pulses, beans, yeast flakes and jackfruit. We also make a point of stocking the more difficult to find artisan vegan products like Tyne Chease, Naturally Vegan Food Company cheezes, Cool Jerk Vegan Pies, Left Field Kombucha, Little Vegan Cookie as well as locally sourced products (like Butterbelle nut butters).

How about opening hours?

The store is open 6 days a week. Wednesday is the only day we are closed. Running the store is a real family effort. Becca helps a bit on social media and Sara’s mum and step dad (Susu and Mikey who are now vegan converts!) are the friendly faces serving in the shop on Sun, Mon and Tues. The other days are covered by Sara and Scott.

You can follow Friendly Foods on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Visit their website here.

Stunning vegan cuisine in Sheffield

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There is not a lot I can say here except HOT DAMN.

Check out my recent eating adventures at Make No Bones Sheffield.

There really is nothing else like this in the UK. The food is outstanding.

Visit Make No Bones at your earliest convenience and follow them on Instagram.

Sustainable Christmas

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You can attend Brighton’s first ethical, sustainable, plastic-free, plant-based Christmas Market, to enjoy a Christmas that doesn’t cost the earth.

Good news, huh?

Conscious Christmas Market is taking place on Saturday December 16, 2017 and some details include:

❄︎ Gifts, Clothing, Art, Food, Drinks ❄︎

❄︎ Opens at 10:30 to 5:00pm, £2 entry ❄︎

❄︎ Pay-as-you-feel plant-based buffet from The Real Junk Food Project Brighton ❄︎

❄︎ Hot mulled festive drinks from Old Tree Brewery ❄︎

❄︎ Helpful information on how you can have an ethical and sustainable Christmas ❄︎

Remember to take your reusable shopping bags and containers!

You can RSVP and get address details on the Facebook event page.