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.
It’s Tuesday. Don’t pretend you have anything interesting on. Luckily for you and your early week malady, I have news that will inspire you to leave behind EastEnders as you scuttle into the London night.
There is an incredibly inexpensive vegan supper club taking place in Dalston.
Here is the lowdown.
Vortex Downstairs Café is hosting a pop-up vegan night with guest chef Kate Abildgaard. Kate usually works at the Wild Food Café in Covent Garden but has decided to showcase her food preparation skills slightly further afield for one night only.
Wanna know what is on the vegan menu for tonight?
Courgette Cannelloni with tomato jam, amaranth and fresh pesto
Butternut squash and beetroot melanzane with spring greens and salsa schiaparelli
Sweet avocado mousse on crunchy coconut and cashews with raspberry coulis and delicate caramel.
The pop up dining event runs from 7pm and you will need to phone 020 7923 9532 to make a booking. Oh, I almost forgot about price.
The three course vegan meal will set you back only £12. Yes. You are reading correctly.
Support vegan events. Eat cheaply. Get out of the house!
Chips. Fries. Pommes frites. Papas fritas. Frieten. Whatever name you give to it, sliced potato cooked in scalding oil and dusted with salt is my favourite food of all time. I can’t get enough of it. No seriously, I cannot get enough of it in London.
I need your help.
Where can I buy freshly cooked chips that are vegan in the capital? I don’t want fries that have been reconstituted with lard. I am not interested in thick cut chips that have been fried in the same oil as fish. Please don’t tell me about potato that is covered in chicken-flavoured salt as soon as it comes out of the basket.
I need more vegan chips in my life.
Here are some photos of my favourite chips and fries in the UK. I will be eternally grateful to anyone who can point me in the direction of any London cafes, shops, restaurants or market stalls that will do right by me and potato.
Can you remember a time when finding vegan cake in London was a struggle? Now it seems you can’t walk down the street without tripping over a piece of dairy-free sponge or accidentally eating half a dozen cupcakes. OK, that last one might be just me… and you can take out ‘accidentally’.
It seems the more cake vendors we get in the capital, the more up-and-coming bakers are inspired to get in on the act. It’s a fabulous win/win situation for fat, gay vegans and other cake aficionados.
The latest cake maker to catch my attention is the super friendly Kirsty of Garden of Vegan. Kirsty is a home baker turned business person looking to impress London with her cruelty-free cakes. She generously hand delivered a bag of her goods for me to sample and asked me to let you all know about her new business.
Here is what Kirsty had to say about getting your hands on some vegan cake:
“We began as wholesale but in an ideal world we want people to order directly from us. We are working on an online order form, but at the moment if people want to order they just email us at gofvegan@gmail.com or contact us via Facebook or Twitter and they can request a menu. Once they decide on what they want, they send us an email, we send them an invoice and they can pay on delivery.”
Kirsty also assured me she is proactively searching for cafes to sell her cakes. If you are a cafe owner or have a local hangout that could benefit from vegan cake, get in touch with Garden of Vegan.
Wow. It is over. My mammoth month-long Friday night supper club event known as Around the World with FGV has come to an end.
What a food adventure!
We started with the gorgeously plated Caribbean cuisine of Vegan Peasant, moved on to the hearty Brazilian fare of Essential Vegan, were in awe of the technical skills of The Vegan Ronin during the Japanese dinner and finished up with the mouth watering delights of Thai street food made by The Messy Vegetarian Cook.
Kip of The Messy Vegetarian Cook had a tough act to follow being the last of four world class food designers, but of course she pulled out all the stops for a decadent Thai meal that had everyone asking for more.
Check out the photos below to see the stunning line up of Thai delights and make sure you follow Kip on Twitter to see what she has planned next or to book her services.
Starters – Miang Takrai (bite sized citrussy lemongrass parcels of minced coriander, aromatic mint, toasted sesame and fresh coconut, served with a tangy sweet dressing in wild pepper leaves) and Laab Hed Tao Hoo (cooked salad of spicy sour minced tofu and mushroom dressed with fresh herbs and lime)
Main – Kanom Jeen (coils of thin noodles served with two choices of coconut based sauce: nam ya (thick and spicy) and/or nam prik (rich and sweet), accompanied by an array of side dishes including fresh Thai herbs, vegetables, and condiments)
Desserts – Floating Lotus/Bua Loi (sticky rice balls in warm pandan infused sweet coconut milk and sticky rice with caramelised freshly grated coconut)
Every now and then I like to throw out the following question: who serves the best vegan breakfast in London?
I do my best to bring you all you need to know about vegan eating in the UK capital, but it is nice when you give a little back. Please tell me where I should go in London for a cooked breakfast.
Below is a photo of a recent plate I enjoyed at The Gallery Cafe in Bethnal Green (the setting for my upcoming Mexican supper club). Is this the best vegan fry up in London?
I was perusing the free from aisle in my local Waitrose today when I saw the following product withdrawal sign.
If you are having trouble reading the sign, it states the dairy free chocolate covered raisins by the Fabulous FreeFrom Factory have been recalled due to a few batches showing positive results for milk.
I phoned the distributor, VBites, and was told they had been instructed by the manufacturer to recall the products.
This led me to phone the manufacturer, Winning Ways Fine Foods. I spoke with the wonderfully-helpful Deborah who gave me all the information I asked for (and some I didn’t).
Dairy free chocolate raisins
Deborah explained how a batch of the product had tested positive for trace amounts of casein, a protein found in dairy milk. The quantity was 12.6 parts per million, an almost undetectable level. But because the company is so fiercely protective of their dairy free claims, they ordered an instant recall of the positive batch and two subsequent batches to be on the safe side.
The batches recalled have the Best Before Dates of End Jan 2015, End Feb 2015 and End March 2015. Deborah stated that even though the risk of allergic reaction is incredibly low, the company decided to take drastic measures by recalling all stock that had the slightest chance of containing traces.
Deborah told me that she, along with her colleagues, has been devastated by this recall. The company can only surmise that their dark chocolate that is certified as completely dairy free was melted in or stored in a container that had previously been used to hold chocolate with traces of dairy.
The company is asking anyone with the product featuring the above mentioned best before dates to return them for a refund.
I do feel sorry for Winning Ways Fine Foods as I know how detrimental to a professional reputation a recall can be, especially when the products in question are marketed at the free from sector.
I commend Deborah and her colleagues for the decisive and prompt action they have taken to ensure the tainted product was recalled as quickly as possible. They are assuring all customers that they are doing all they can to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
Rest assured vegans and dairy avoiders. The Fabulous FreeFrom Factory dairy free chocolate covered raisins are once again suitable for cruelty-free eaters and the dietary sensitive and we should support wonderful and thoughtful companies like Winning Ways. Rejoice!
Fat Gay Vegan (that’s me!), in conjunction with The Gallery Cafe of Bethnal Green, brings you a unique take on Mexican cuisine to east London.
The tastes, sights and sounds of Mexico City are coming to London for one night only. This special event is inspired by street food of the Mexican capital and the menu has been designed by me based on my love of the city.
**Ingredients are supplied in part by Cool Chile Co. Follow them on Twitter where they will be giving away a pair of tickets to this event**
The Gallery Cafe will be closed to the public as we dish up mouthwatering Mexican fare, play visuals on the large screen and pump up some Mexican pop music.
The menu for the evening will include:
Welcome cocktail and snacks (non-alcoholic version of cocktail available)
Esquites(street style bowls of succulent corn kernels cooked in a savoury both and topped with mayo, chile and lime)
Soft tacos(warm corn tortillas with a hearty, spiced filling topped with fresh avocado and herbs – served with mixed rice)
Churros(hot sweetened piped doughnuts coated in cinnamon and sugar served with dipping chocolate)
This is set to be a mammoth social event filled with food and fun. Gather your best amigos and get your tickets now.
Please note: tickets are sold on a non-refundable basis although you are permitted to sell your ticket forward in the event you can no longer attend.
Ticket price includes one cocktail on arrival. Extra beer, wine, cider, soft drinks, juices and hot drinks will be sold by The Gallery Cafe.
Out of all the food outlets I have written about over the years, the following is close to being the best value for money in London. Oh, it also serves incredibly delicious food.
Walking inside the Boiler House of Brick Lane on a weekend day is like stumbling across the key to eternal happiness. Not only will you find the gorgeous cakes of Essential Vegan (see here), you will also be faced with two Ethiopian food stalls that are 100% vegan. How awesome is that?
The following recommendation is for Yemama Gojjo, although everyone tells me the other Ethiopian food stall is just as delicious.
Check it out below. The photos are guaranteed to make you hotfoot it to this weekend food court as soon as possible and with a plate of food costing approximately £5, it is one of the best value meals in the city.
I am writing this post just half a day away from the final Friday night of my month-long Around the World with FGV series. Tonight my guests will be marvelling at Thai street food creations, but before we look forward we need to look back.
Following is a selection of photos from the vegan Japanese dinner crafted by Jhenn of The Vegan Ronin. Talk about handcrafted with love!Jhenn put just as much attention into the wonderful background stories she told for each dish as she did for making the food. It was highly entertaining and informative.
Follow Jhenn on Twitter to keep track of her diverse range of food events and do yourself a massive favour by buying some of her home made seitan. It’s lovely.
Click here for more tales from the frontlines of the Vegan Ice cream Wars.
