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Are you sick of hearing news from me? Worn out by my digital voice?

Take a vacation from FGV and get busy following London Afro Vegan. Esme is a powerhouse of quality eating experiences, recipe ideas, reviews and general awesomeness.

If you follow her on Instagram you are getting budget vegan tips, top shelf humour, occasional political commentary and gorgeous food photos.

Here are some examples.

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As you can tell from these posts, Esme has a fabulous sense of humour. She also uses her London Afro Vegan platform to let her followers know about upcoming events around the capital.

If you want vegan London news and cooking videos, you can’t go past London Afro Vegan.

Follow Esme on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Visit her blog here.

Animals the focus in Netflix drama

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Check out this interesting trailer below for a brand new Netflix movie.

As you can gather from the highlighted scenes in the trailer, Okja tells the story of a young person befriending an animal that has been created to bring cheap meat to the masses with a lower carbon footprint.

The story arc follows the animal’s human companion as she teams up with some sort of animal liberation gang to liberate the giant pig-like animal from an evil multinational company looking to farm the creature for profit.

It all looks a bit off beat and quirky, but hopefully the content will get a lot of people thinking about how and why we exploit animals on the grand scale we do in 2017.

Let me know if you have watched Okja and how you rate it.

A visit to Wiz Kid in Philadelphia

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You’ve probably already seen FGV’s previous proclamations about Vedge in Philadelphia being the best restaurant on the planet (see here and here)! Well when I heard that the founders Kate Jacoby and Rich Landau had opened a small fast-food outlet in the new Whole Foods on Pennsylvania Avenue in Philly, I knew I had to investigate! Check out my visit to Wiz Kid:

The menu is small but perfect. I of course picked the ‘Wiz Kid Philly’, a cheesesteak-style roll with seitan and mushrooms. Oh, and how could I pass up the fries topped with cheeze wiz?

Kate and Rich must have magic powers! There is nothing of theirs that I have tried which hasn’t tasted exceptional and Wiz Kid was certainly no exception! How do they make food taste this good? What is their secret? I want nothing less than world domination for Kate and Rich!

Check out Wiz Kid’s website to see the full menu and be sure to follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I believe they’re opening a second location in Center City soon!

Queen Picnic now trading in London

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I thought you all needed to know that Queen Picnic is up and running at the Boiler House on Brick Lane every Saturday and Sunday.

What the hell is Queen Picnic I hear you shriek?

Queen Picnic is a food stand selling vegan sandwiches with fillings they make themselves, such as ‘smoked salmon’ carrot, spicy ‘beef’ seitan, jackfruit ‘bacon’ and chickpea of the sea salad. They told me they are continually developing their recipes all the time as they want to make the best tasting sandwiches around.

Queen Picnic is a two-woman 100% vegan workforce and they’re the first to say they are pretty new to the food stall game. But as I have discovered during my years as a prolific food inspector, sometimes the people with not much experience but a lot of enthusiasm can get it very correct.

Check out some of what is happening at Queen Picnic.

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Check out the Queen Picnic website and follow them on Instagram and Twitter.

Amazing vegan venue in Leeds

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Leeds. Your time has finally come.

Cantina has opened at The Old Red Bus Station on Vicar Lane in Leeds city centre and it sounds amazing.

Cantina is now serving up mouthwatering food from Tuesday and Saturday between 5pm and 10pm with the cuisine being produced by culinary specialists Honest Edibles.

The menu is packed solid with hearty sounding food, plus all the beer and wine served at the bar is vegan.

Read more about the gorgeous menu online here.

The Old Red Bus Station is the home of Champion Up North, a multimedia agency working in underground music, arts and culture in the north. The venue is made up of a bar/pub, three room venue for live music and club nights, the Cantina and a number of exhibition spaces.

This is superb news and everyone needs to get to Cantina for vegan food and good times.

Like Cantina on Facebook.

Updated menu and hours Temple of Hackney

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You all adore Temple of Hackney, the vegan fried chicken shop by Temple of Seitan.

So of course you love this quick little snippet of news relating to the shop’s brand new revised menu AND the new opening hours.

Firstly, let’s look at the menu.

A few of the items have been changed ever so slightly and the meal deal has come down in price.

Also, you came here to find out about the new opening hours.

They are posted below for your pleasure.

Yes, you can get your vegan fried chicken quota 7-days a week and until 9pm Monday through Saturday.

Get well into it.

Follow Temple of Seitan on Instagram.

Micro vegan dairy and deli in UK first

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If you haven’t been to Norwich lately, now might be the right time for you to start planning your trip.

Tofurei (pronounced tofu rye) is a fabulous business located in the historic Norwich Lanes District of the East Anglian city. Not only is Tofurei an amazing deli with all manner of treats and drinks, it doubles as a micro soya dairy and supplier of tofu-making ingredients and tools.

Get excited, coming soon ✨

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Yes, there is also soft serve vegan ice cream!

Tofurei make all of their own soya milks freshly on site in their very own micro dairy, meaning you can stop in to buy flavoured or plain milk and milkshakes daily. If you fancy getting involved in tofu and milk making in your own kitchen, the store also sells everything you need including soya beans and coagulants.

The Norwich outlet is as famous for their sandwich and cake offerings as it is for their soya facilities. Check out some these stunning options.

Ohhh my, chickpea tuna and turkey cheese salad

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From frozen to yummy in 10-15 minutes!

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Two tasty gluten free options today! Craaaazy carrot cake and a charming chocolate orange torte

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Such satisfaction! Look at all the fresh milkshakes beckoning you

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Yes, this shop front in Norwich really does have it all. Vegan meats, cheeses, fresh milk, fresh tofu sold by weight, sandwiches and cakes.

You can visit the Tofurei website and follow the shop on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Gorgeous vegan cake in London

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In case you have forgotten, Vx is the super rad vegan grocery shop and boutique in King’s Cross.

Situated just a few minutes on foot from bustling King’s Cross station, Vx has been keeping vegan London stocked up with cheese, meats, shoes, t-shirts, groceries and accessories for years.

It’s been a while since I’ve reported on the happenings over at this old school vegan location so I thought I would drop on over to the Vx Instagram account to grab some cake photos to share with you all.

Check out all the glory they have been serving over the past few days.

Rainbow cake 😍

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Cherry choc ring donuts and Coffee custard mini donuts. #vegan

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Peanut butter coffee eclairs today at Vx! We are here today until 6.30pm 😬 #vegan

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It looks like Vx is the place to be for delicious sugary treats.

Get along to support this independent vegan business and stock up on all your vegan needs and, of course, cake.

Follow Vx on Instagram.

See exactly where the store is located thanks to Google Maps.

Club Mexicana on the move

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Superstar vegan street food purveyors Club Mexicana are on the move and FGV (that’s me) has the scoop.

One of the most popular cuisine traders in London is opening a new vegan food stall at food court Dinerama in Shoreditch on Thursday 25th May, 2017.

This is what Club Mexicana had to say when I asked for more details:

We’ve attached the new menu we’re launching – it’s our most innovative and exciting street food menu YET! We’re of course serving a great range of tacos, including our famous Baja To-fish (voted one of London’s top ten tacos by Time Out), Carne Asada (marinated and grilled seitan that squares up to any meaty version head on!) and our new fancy Jackfruit Tinga with pumpkin seed puree. But that’s not all. Due to its massive popularity at Pamela, we’ll be serving our Chick’n Wings, and on the back of huge demand at the FGV market, we’re putting on our Beer Battered Cheeze Fries too. But even that’s not all! Lunchtimes will see us serving up fat, juicy Jackfruit and Fried Chick’n toasted sandwiches.

Club Mexicana told me the London street food has always been a predominantly meaty scene and previously, if you went to Dinerama as a vegan, you went home hungry. But now they’ll be there from Thursday to Sunday each week from midday until late happily feeding vegans and vegan-curious alike!

Shoreditch already had fabulous vegan options and now that it has Club Mexicana in the Dinerama food court, it’s next level. Click here to see the exact location of Dinerama thanks to Google Maps.

Follow Club Mexicana on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

London Vegan Beer Fest is back

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Spread across three amazing spaces, London Vegan Beer Fest 2017 is set to be one of the biggest and best showcases of vegan beer and street food that east London has ever witnessed.

If you already know you wanna buy tickets without reading anything else, click here.

So what is going on in Hackney on Saturday July 15, 2017?

(All of the Vegan Beer Fest UK artwork and design is done exclusively by the incredibly talented Ricardo Sánchez. See his portfolio online here and get in touch if you wanna hit him up for some work)

Space 1: the inside Beer Hall will feature an exclusive beer bar run by superstar brewery Brass Castle (Facebook | Twitter). Travelling all the way from Yorkshire to make our event extra special, this 100% vegan brewery will be showcasing their award winning brews as well as other favourites from around the UK.

Space 2: the outside Beer Market will be an exciting mix of beer and street food stalls, with participating breweries from all over London and further afield. Keep an eye out for exclusive street food trucks and trailers in this section, too.

Space 3: the exclusive Beer & Wine Café is the place to head if you are looking for special sit down meal. The café will also be the spot for our 100% vegan exclusive wine bar, as well as somewhere else to grab a beer or two on site.

This is the biggest London Vegan Beer Fest has ever gone and we are thrilled to be taking over the space best known for being the home of the wildly successful Hackney Downs Vegan Market which regularly draws attendees numbering in the thousands. We’re delighted to partner with Hackney Showroom, Hackney Downs Studios and Autumn Yard for this huge event.

What To Eat?

There will be lots of delicious vegan street food on the day. Full details coming soon but we have some knockout names and you will have a LOT of choice. Burgers, fish & chips, donuts and so much more.

What To Drink?

The beer list is being planned right now and it’s going to be MASSIVE! Details coming soon! There will also be an exclusive wine bar, as well as cider and soft drinks for sale.

What else do you need to know?

Tickets for this event are priced as follows:

Early bird tickets (limited number available): £5 (plus booking fee)
Pre-sale second release tickets: £7 (plus booking fee)
On the day door sales (subject to availability): £9

Food and drink is not included in the ticket price and all tickets are NON-REFUNDABLE. Only ticket holders will be permitted to buy and consume food or drink (including non-alcohol drinks). No outside food or drink permitted.

Your ticket price includes a collectable plastic pint cup that you use all day and then take home with you!

London Vegan Beer Fest is dog-friendly (in outdoor spaces) and family-friendly. Invite friends via the Facebook event page.

London Vegan Beer Fest is not a place to deliberately make people feel bad about stuff. You cannot be at this event if you intend to use sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist and ageist language or behaviour. The organisers reserve the right to deny or revoke entry to the event and will take great delight in doing so if you act like an anti-social person.

Immense gratitude to Follow Your Heart for sponsoring this event.