New vegan café for Southampton

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If you go to Southampton often or you happen to be based there all the time, you have now got a new reason to smile.

Say hello to the soon to open Café Thrive. Yes, it’s all vegan!

With an opening just weeks away (or maybe days by the time you read this), Café Thrive is going to be a very welcome addition to the Southampton vegan food scene with a location just off Queensway below Houndwell and Hogslands Parks. Actually, click here to see the exact location.

The menu for Café Thrive is absolutely stiunning and is packed solid with all day breakfasts, sandwiches, burger meals, stone baked pizza, Sunday roast dinners and milkshakes. They even have a separate menu for children!

Prepare yourself before you click here to view the menu online. You are not going to cope. (Warning: menu loads as PDF)

Let’s have a sneaky look at some of the food they have been posting on social media.

Our waffles come with a scoop of #dairyfree Ice Cream and your choice of toppings. Pictured: Chocolate sauce & banana.

A post shared by Cafe Thrive Southampton (@cafethrivesouthampton) on

Introducing another 2 of our Vegan Milkshakes: Matcha Green Tea, and Biscoff Caramel Biscuit.

A post shared by Cafe Thrive Southampton (@cafethrivesouthampton) on

Introducing two of our vegan sundaes, chocolate brownie and banoffee fudge. 🙂

A post shared by Cafe Thrive Southampton (@cafethrivesouthampton) on

Love pizza? So do we! And we have lots of toppings to choose from to create your perfect pizza!

A post shared by Cafe Thrive Southampton (@cafethrivesouthampton) on


Yes. It all looks amazing.

You need to follow Café Thrive on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay updated on exact opening times.

Yay for vegan Southampton!

Vegan food truck destroyed by fire

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Here is some terrible news about an independent vegan business and some good news on how you can help.

A few days ago the Homegrown Smoker food truck in Portland, Oregon was completely destroyed by fire. As the business stated on their fundraising page, they have been working toward opening their first bricks and mortar location after trading for years from the truck.

The truck is a write off and the jobs of the 9 people employed by Homegrown Smoker are on the line.

We need to rally as an international vegan community and get the money together to help Homegrown Smoker get back on their feet. The business needs cash fast to stay on track with the permanent location plans and to keep their employees in the fold.

After 8 years of putting everything they have into creating delicious food for their neighbourhood, it is our duty to give something back if we can afford it.

Please the campaign widely and let this photo of their gorgeous vegan food be your incentive to help them.

Click here to donate to the fundraising campaign and follow Homegrown Smoker on Facebook and Instagram.

New vegan burger bar for London

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London. You are on a roll.

A brand new vegan burger business is set to open on July 1, 2017 (this Saturday!) in Camden Market and the food sounds and looks lovely.

VBurger is the brainchild of north Londoners Reuven Cohen and Amir Wayman, who have teamed up with chef Yossi Edri to open their first vegan burger bar in Camden Market.

The pair state that this is only the first of several VBurger outlets they plan to open, so it definitely feels as though London has some special to look forward to.

The menu being launched in Camden includes a beetroot burger, a falafel burger and a seitan cutlet burger. You can dress your burger up with vegan cheese or avocado and make a complete meal with skin-on fries, sweet potato wedges, coleslaw and decadent brownies.

Even better news involves the menu expanding some time after opening to include another five burgers.

This is fabulous news for vegan Londoners. We get a fast food burger joint from this Saturday and it looks like it is going to be a big deal. Get along 7 days a week between 10am and 7pm.

Follow VBurger on Facebook and Instagram.

New menu at Burger Lols

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You all know about the amazing vegan burger joint in Sheffield, right?

Burger Lols has been keeping people happy for a while in the South Yorkshire city and has amassed quite a number of fans and regular customers. Each one of these loving customers is going to be thrilled to see the new updated menu just released.

Check it out.

The menu sounds super exciting and the gluten free diners amongst you will no doubt be happy to see the specially created section.

Get along to Burger Lols as soon as you can and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Extra note: Tickets are on sale now for the first ever Sheffield Vegan Beer Fest. Click here to buy early bird tickets for just £4 plus small fee. Burger Lols will be the perfect place to head for a recovery meal the day after.

Superstar vegan meats in London

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This is HUGE news for Sgaia Vegan Meats.

The superstar food company has impressed people all over the UK (and the world with shipments heading to New Zealand recently) so it was only a matter of time before a big name store wanted in on the action.

Whole Foods Market stores around the UK are now stocking the Scotland-based vegan meat range. This is huge news for a completely independent vegan business that started so small just a little while ago.

If you are in London, the news gets better for you this weekend.

Sgaia will be at Whole Foods Market Piccadilly Circus all weekend handing out samples. You can visit them on Saturday (June 24) or Sunday (June 25) between midday and 3pm and 4pm until 7pm and try some of their plant based Mheats.

Get along and celebrate with this very deserving vegan business.

Follow Sgaia on Instagram.

Make vegan esquites – recipe

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A simple recipe for a Mexican favourite. Esquites couldn’t be easier or tastier.

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen or fresh sweetcorn 1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup diced white onion
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried epazote*

To garnish:

Chile powder
Vegan mayonnaise
Coriander/Cilantro
Diced white onion
Fresh lime

Instructions:

  • ​Place corn, stock, onion, oregano and epazote in a medium saucepan
  • Simmer for approximately 10 minutes
  • Serve in small bowls, ensuring each bowl has plenty of stock
  • Garnish according to taste. In Mexico, people sometimes add cheese and cream so you could experiment with vegan versions of these.

*This herb is common in Mexico but may not be easy to find outside North America. Try online or specialty shops.

Recipe and photo remain property of Sean O’Callaghan and may not be reproduced without permission. © fatgayvegan.com

New vegan cafe for London

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If you have been to many vegan events around London, you will undoubtedly know Vegan Sweet Tooth. This bakery business has been pleasing their fans for many years at street markets and their offerings always look stunning.

The big news for Vegan Sweet Tooth is their residency in south London for the entire summer!

The baking superstars have a semi-permanent location in a glorious garden setting behind the Earl Ferrers pub in Streatham. BIG YES to vegan bakeries in pubs!

Vegan Sweet Tooth is selling all of their much loved cakes as well as hot savoury food.

The hours you can pop along are each Wednesday until Friday between 10am and 5pm, plus weekends until 7pm. You can click here to see the exact location thanks to Google Maps.

Support independent vegan business this summer!

You should also follow Vegan Sweet Tooth on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

New vegan bar and kitchen

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Excitement!

There is a brand new vegan venue opening TOMORROW (Friday June 23, 2017) in the Scottish capital and it’s called Harmonium Bar and Kitchen. This is so very exciting.

Glasgow has long been considered the more vegan-friendly when it comes to Scottish cities, but Harmonium in Edinburgh is set to shake things up.

Brought to you by the team behind such legendary Glasgow hotspots like Mono, Stereo, The Flying Duck, The Old Hairdresser’s and The 78, Harmonium is set to inject a whole lot of vegan tastiness and vibrancy into the Edinburgh neighbourhood of Leith.

Check out the happy team and the gorgeous work being done on the interiors.


It should also be noted that the head chef of Mono in Glasgow is in charge of this new Edinburgh endeavour so you know food and flavours are going to be world class. Comfort food is the name of the game with exciting and nutritious dishes also taking up a lot of the menu.

Get along as soon as you can to be a part of this new vegan location.

Follow Harmonium on Instagram and like the Facebook page.

Vegan get together with Fry’s

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You all know about Fry’s when it comes to amazing frozen vegan meat replacements in UK supermarkets and online stores. If you don’t, you should visit their website to get acquainted.

Now you are up to speed, you need to know about this big vegan event the superstar food brand is hosting in London at the end of July 2017.

Check out this event.

The Fry’s AGM is a showcase of food, activist information and international speakers. Money from ticket sales is being donated to the campaign by Animals Asia to care for bears rescued from bile farms.

My buddy Carl Donnelly is a stand up comedian who just happens to be vegan and he is the MC for this day long event taking place.

Speakers on the day include:

  • Tom Kuehnel from Grown Green
  • Heather Russell – dietitian from The Vegan Society
  • Tammy Fry of Fry’s

Food is included in the ticket price and it looks superb. The legendary Cook Daily will be providing a special Fry’s lunch bowl for the event and Bexfest is providing her pots for breakfast.

You can click here to book your ticket.

Monthly vegan event in Manchester

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How about getting yourself to Manchester (or if you are already there, get yourself out your front door) for this monthly vegan food and beer event. It sounds fab.

Presented by Chorlton Brewing Company, this market takes place on the first Saturday of each month with the next instalment happening July 1, 2017.

There will be food by V Rev Vegan Diner (best vegan junk food in the UK!), Nicely Kitchen (cakes!) and Jammin’ Jally’s Vegan Delicacies (aged vegan cheese!). To wash down all that great food, Chorlton Brewing Company be pouring two taps of their beer (all vegan!) as well as making their one-of-a-kind sour beer smoothies.

The is all happening at Chorlton Brewery, 69 North Western Street, M12 6DX, around a ten minute walk from Piccadilly station. The event is at an actual brewery with some outdoor seating. Click here to see it on Google Maps.

Dogs (and cats, ferrets and any of your other furry mates) are welcome!

Good times, Manchester.

You can RSVP and invite friends over on the Facebook event page.