The FGV book arrives early

by

Of course you all know I have a book being released in January 2018, right?

Fat Gay Vegan: Eat, Drink and Live Like You Give a Sh!t is being published by Nourish Books and is available to pre-order via Amazon right now.

But…

If you are super keen to read what I am calling my ‘manifesto for living a compassionate life’ and can’t wait until January, my publisher has made a limited number of copies available for VegfestUK London on October 21 and 22, 2017.

I will have 300 copies of my first ever book to sell from a stall on level three of the VegfestUK venue and I will be on hand for most of the weekend to chat with you about it.

I am also hosting a presentation in the auditorium on the Saturday at 4:00pm to talk about the themes of the book and explain my approach to veganism, how I think we can expand our compassion beyond caring for animals and where I think veganism is heading in the future.

In addition, I will be hosting an informal discussion about the importance of running local vegan markets and offering some tips for anyone interested in starting one on their area on Sunday at 2:00pm.

You can read about my VegfestUK London talks online here.

Hope to see you at the show!

Vegan Xmas treats at Tesco

by

Here is a super short post about something I saw in Tesco today.

If you celebrate Christmas and shop at places such as Tesco, you can pick up this vegan chocolate selection box for yourself or a friend. I saw them in the special ‘seasonal items’ aisle (and not in the free from section) of the Tesco Extra in Osterley, London.

What do you think?

Will this be one of your stocking stuffers this festive season?

New vegan cafe and art space

by

A speciality, sustainably minded vegan coffee shop and arts space on Hackney Road in East London has just opened. It’s called Unripe Banana.

Upstairs they have a coffee shop with a bit of extra seating downstairs and then also downstairs they have an art gallery and events space with artist studios.

On the menu at the moment they have coffee by Origin Coffee Roasters that they pair with nut mylks made by the East London Mylkman. They also have Oatly Barista available as well as cashew and almond.

They told me their plan is to set the bar for vegan speciality coffee and eliminate the idea of dairy free mylks being bad.

They have a selection of different cakes/croissants available and even offer a cheese and tomato filled croissant.

The menu also includes a cheese pesto and rocket toastie, a tofu BLT, smavo marmite and chilli on toast (smavo being smashed avocado) and a spicy chickpea blend with spinach and avocado. There are also different flavours of overnight oats and right now they have carrot cake jars of overnight oats.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ3dOkzHhKu/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZvYb-GHXSO/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZtq7iMHlYA/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZqRTRqnSva/

Unripe Banana is minimal waste and against air miles so they do everything with a ‘think locally’ mind set and avoids plastics wherever possible.

They also have a retail section where they sell UK designed dungarees by Lucy and Yak, their handmade banana mugs and a variety of different items by artists and makers.

Click here to see where exactly Unripe Banana is located thanks to Google Maps (just a few steps from Hackney City Farm on at Unit 7, 268 Hackney Road).

Follow Unripe Banana on Instagram. The café is open 7:30am until 4:00pm Monday through Friday and 9:00am until 4:00pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Cooking class

by

Here is some info about an upcoming vegan cooking class taking place in London.

Join in a celebration of vegan cooking with diverse recipes drawing on Lee Watson’s recent travels around the world. Lee will be cooking a variety of nutritious and tasty dishes at this event in Brixton on Saturday October 21, 2017.

Techniques will be explained clearly and you will receive a bespoke recipe booklet meaning that you’ll have the confidence and resources to try all the dishes at home. Lee will share loads of ideas and tips, and you’ll get to taste all dishes at the end when you enjoy a buffet lunch.

You’ll be shown:

  • Plant-based cheese
  • Raw desserts
  • Simple curry tips
  • The best of tofu and tempeh
  • Ultimate breakfast smoothies
  • Buddha/Poke bowls
  • Wholegrain dishes
  • and much more

A spot at this event costs £40 per person.

Lee will be signing copies of the ‘Peace and Parsnips’ book after the event.

Click here to RSVP to the Facebook event page or click here to book a ticket.

Breaking News: Follow Your Heart news

by

Breaking vegan news is coming thick and fast these days, so it can sometimes feel like we might be reaching a point where it stops being a big deal.

Well, don’t get jaded just yet because this next piece of news is certainly worth getting excited about.

Superstar brand Follow Your Heart from California is launching three of its products across 130 Sainsbury’s locations from Sunday October 8, 2017. Yes, this weekend!

This launch includes the finest vegan mayo product on the planet, Vegenaise. This legendary plant-based mayo just celebrated its 40th anniversary. 40 years old and we just got it listed in a major mainstream UK supermarket.

Better late than never! Here is the full list of participating stores. Sainsbury’s Store List

Alongside the iconic vegan mayo, Sainsbury’s stores will also be stocking the Vegan Honey Mustard Salad Dressing and the Organic Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing.

You can send your love to Follow Your Heart via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Congratulate them on this giant leap forward and let them know how happy you are to have them in the UK with more accessibility.

Don’t forget that you can also buy Follow Your Heart products from local independent health food stores. Do that when you can, people! Support local business.

Yay for the growth of veganism and vegan mayo.

 

Best vegan restaurant in London

by

It has taken a long time but we finally have a world class vegan eatery in London thanks to Wulf & Lamb.

Of course we already had delicious food and ground-breaking food businesses for vegans, but we have never really had the complete package of outstanding food, gorgeous decor and full vegan alcohol menus.

Now we do.

My experience of walking into Wulf & Lamb near Sloane Square last night was as close to spirutual as a non-believer like me is going to get.

I was blown away by the stunning interior and more than amused when the server told me that even the furniture was vegan. Josh and I took time to order at the bar before heading upstairs to the gorgeously decorated dining space.

Every dish delivered to my table was outstanding or exceptional. The mac n cheese, seitan burger and raw cheesecakes were all standouts that I could easily consume every day. The chilli with rice? I’m getting gay married to it.

Take a look at some of the cuisine that was consumed at our table.

Whether you are looking for grab-and-go deli style food, cakes and juices or a finer dining experience with a full bar, Wulf & Lamb is the stuff of vegan dreams.

Click here to see the exact location thanks to Google Maps.

Visit the Wulf & Lamb website to see the menu, including breakfast specialties.

Follow Wulf & Lamb on Instagram.

New vegan recipe collection

by

I don’t sing the praises of many cook books but this latest vegan title from celebrity chef Hugh Fearnely-Whittingstall is worth noticing.

I admit I don’t know a lot about Hugh but some people have told me he made his name in part by cooking a lot of animals.

He now seems to be on a mission to get people to eat a lot of veg (although he is not vegan himself) and Much More Veg is his plan being put into action.

The recipes are gorgeous and the photos even more so.

If you are due a gift anytime soon, I would point the person doing the buying in the direction of this book.

Buy one get one free

by

Super quick piece of valuable information for you.

Spice Box is a fab vegan street food trader that has just announced a permanent residence at the KERB run Camden Market re-launch on October 6, 2017.

To celebrate their new home, Spice Box have announced a very special deal. Between October 7 and 13, 2017 they are offering ‘buy one get one free’ on their combo boxes.

Savings!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZavRF1Dyb-/

You can follow Spice Box on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to stay updated with all of their Camden adventures.

Don’t forget to grab those savings!

Fabulous vegan Chinese pop up

by

Listen to me. You need to book a ticket for this event as soon as you finish reading.

The tickets are going to fly out.

Mao Chow is a vegan pop specialising in vegan food that they bill as inauthentic American Chinese.

Their next event is taking place in Dalston on October 15, 2017 and the menu looks like the stuff of dreams.

Check it out below.

Every single item on that amazing menu is vegan and it sounds delightful.

Tickets are £30 plus booking fee and you need to buy them online here.

If this sells out before you get a chance to book, you can follow Mao Chow on Instagram for news of future events.

Get booking!

Vegan pub in Liverpool

by

I’m not sure I know a more magical combination of two words than ‘vegan pub’.

A few readers have been getting in touch lately to let me know about a vegan pub in Liverpool, so I reached out to the owner of The Caledonia to get a bit of background information to share with you.

Here is what pub owner Laura King had to say:

I’m the licensee/owner of the pub and kitchen manager. I’m also on team vegan! I’ve had the pub seven and a half years and last summer I decided to close the kitchen for a year off. I decided that when we relaunched the menu would be vegan comfort/junk foods and that is how CVK was born.
I decided to make the whole pub vegan too, because, why not?! It seemed silly not to. Over this last summer our team has been busy working through everything we sell to ensure that our entire offer was vegan. We use a lot of local businesses, particularly for real ale and craft beers so we contacted all of them to see if they could accommodate us and most could! The response has been amazing and support from the community (vegan peeps & the pub’s regulars) has been overwhelming. I’m so pleased to be able to do something like this in Liverpool. We’re also incredibly dog friendly and currently we’re in the running for Dog Buddy’s “Dog Friendly Pub Awards”. We also have GF & Kids menus.

I adore this pub already and can’t wait to visit in the future.

You can see the full vegan food menu for The Caledonia on their website. See the exact location of the pub online thanks to Google Maps.

Now, let’s look at some food.