London vegan news, reviews & events
My buddy Joe constantly sends photos of all the fab vegan food he has been spotting since he moved to Berlin. I can hardly take it!
I had only just calmed down from my latest rant about the lack of decadent vegan ice cream in the UK when the following photos crash landed in my inbox.
Thanks, Joe. You really know how to make a fat, gay vegan envious.
The Vegan Ice Cream Wars continue. Night and day I search for worthy contenders but new developments are few and far between in the UK.
We live in somewhat of a vegan ice cream wasteland. We are still waiting for the big breakthrough that will spread decadent tubs of gourmet vegan iced confection across the country.
But it isn’t all doom and gloom, as I found out yesterday.
Hot weather means cool treats and they don’t often come cooler than these fabulous push up pops by Oko Bay.
We have a casualty.
The Vegan Ice Cream Wars are a brutal battleground and certainly not for those with a nervous disposition. It is a cruel world where creating a product that people enjoy is not enough. The prohibitive cost behind producing, promoting and distributing would make most people not want to get out of bed.
Darrelle and Phil of Razzle Dazzle Ices were brave enough to get out of bed. For the last three years, they have been creating their range of vegan ice creams and tirelessly promoting the products at vegan festivals all over the country.
Razzle Dazzle Ices even came along to my giant bowling fundraiser for Sea Shepherd back in January 2013 and shared their popular treats with attendees.
But the sad news has arrived via a Facebook announcement posted by Phil:
Finally. Oh, finally.
The Vegan Ice Cream Wars just got serious. Yes, we have enjoyed slurping away at chocolate, vanilla and other plain favours in the UK for years but what we desperately needed was someone to add a bit of excitement to proceedings.
Get the job done, Bessant & Drury’s.
I was waddling through Waitrose today when the familiar B&D packaging caught my eye as I passed the frozen food section. I almost passed without incident until I did a double take when I saw a magical word.
Swirl.
Yep, you got it. Vegan frozen dessert containing luscious fruit swirls all throughout. Mango swirls or coconut and raspberry swirl. Oh my!
The first photo shows the two flavours being considered while the second shows the fortunate flavour that made it back to my freezer. The raspberry is rich, decadent and lovely. I can’t wait to get back for the mango.
Good job, Bessant & Drury’s. You are winning the UK league of the Vegan Ice Cream Wars.
Click here for more tales from the frontlines of the Vegan Ice cream Wars.
The Vegan Ice Cream Wars have left many casualties throughout a long and tumultuous history. Sadly, the FGV himself (that’s me!) is the latest in a long line of the fallen.
I should learn restraint, but I don’t have an off switch when presented with a full tub of chocolate ice cream. I keep eating until there is nothing.
Yi is the newish kid on the block when it comes to dairy free dessert and I was keen to get my chubby paws around a tub. The container I purchased in Whole Foods Market was a substantial price and came with the warning usually associated with the ingredient xylitol. You know, too much will result in frequent trips to the toilet.
My Vegan Ice Cream Wars feature is only sporadically updated due to the lack of diversity in the UK vegan ice cream market. We need more variety.
It is this lack of choice that is forcing me to include gelato in this category. However, the gelato flavours at Oddono’s Italian ice cream parlours are not going to make it appear as if I have stretched the category too wide.
Oddono’s is a company with half a dozen locations scattered around central London and almost-central London. They make all their vegan and non-vegan desserts on site and you can even peek into the preparation areas at some of the locations to see the magic in action.
It feels like a very long time since we delved into one of the most popular features on this blog. I am deeply sorry it has taken me this long to get back around to celebrating vegan ice cream. I’ll never leave it so long again.
Two new frozen dessert brands sprung up unexpectedly, but I wouldn’t say I fell in love with both of them. Let’s crack on with a new instalment of the vegan ice cream wars. Ding ding!
As I enjoy a short stay in the glorious city of San Francisco, I am proving beyond a shadow of a doubt why I possess the name Fat Gay Vegan.
Here is a super quick post highlighting the vegan snacks that have kept me company during my first few days in the USA. You will notice the lighting is terrible. Obviously I am photographing these snacks on the bed in a dimly-lit hotel room. Is there any other way to overeat in solitude?
Enjoy the photos and if you are a food importer in the UK, I want all of these available by the time I get back.
