Another online vegan shop for the UK

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Dear UK vegans. You are getting too much choice.

I’ve recently posted about Greenbay of London launching their online shop, as well as Veganubi.

Now Plymouth-based vegan grocery store Ethica has joined the party and you can order plant-based groceries from them for delivery anywhere in the UK.

Just visited this super awesome 100% #vegan grocery shop in Plymouth. Yay for Ethica!

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What I love about the Ethica online shop is the sustainable policy underpinning everything.

Check out the following statement on the Ethica website:

We’re really conscious of making our packing process as eco friendly as possible.

All of our boxes that we send out are re-used. They’ll either be ones we’ve been sent by our suppliers or, when we run out, we buy in used boxes and give them a second life (so no new material or energy has gone into producing them!).

We’ll also never send out any packaging material that isn’t completely biodegradable. All materials are either 100% recycled paper/cardboard or wheat based degradable nuggets (for cushioning). Even our packing tape is made from just paper and starch, so no non-biodegradable acrylics or PVC!

As we’ve just started our online ordering, we’re pretty limited with our post options but as soon as we can we’ll be switching to a carbon neutral courier!

Click here to get shopping now (orders over £50 won’t cost a penny in shipping) and follow Ethica on Facebook and Instagram.

And of course visit the physical shop when you are in Plymouth.

New vegan Italian food spot

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London. The longer I am away, the more vegan food joints start popping up.

Maybe I should never come back?

The latest 100% vegan food outlet to spring up in the UK capital is called Piadina Genuina and the photos on their Instagram account had me hooked at first glance.

Please check out this plant-based amazingness.


Yes. This place looks divine.

But what is piadina? I’ve lifted the following from the Facebook page for Piadina Genuina to give you a better insight. In the words of Antonio:

A piadina is an Italian flat bread which is cooked fresh in front of your eyes on the grill and then filled with any fillings of your choice. I offer a wide selection of vegan choices as this is something I am personally passionate. All of the fillings will be prepared daily, including seasonal vegetables, personal recipes of seitan, sauces and daily specials.
You can create your own Piadina, starting by choosing your favourite dough then choose your filling and enjoy!

Piadina Genuina is located on Wick Road in Hackney (see location here) and I suggest you get along ASAP before there are queues down the block.

This food looks too good to ignore. It might even be the thing to tempt me back from Mexico.

Follow Piadina Genuina on Facebook and Instagram. Visit them online. They are open every day.

Vegan kitchen for hire

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A quick post to share this fab news from my friends at Made in Hackney.

VEGAN KITCHEN TO HIRE – NEW CLIENT SPECIAL OFFER!

Are you a vegan food start-up looking for a 5-star food hygiene rated 100% vegan kitchen to hire? Look no further. Award winning charity Made In Hackney hires out it’s eco-community kitchen to vegan food companies and start-ups – meaning your hire fee helps fund amazing community work as opposed to going to a faceless landlord. The kitchen has three hob islands, a range cooker, domestic cooker, a dehydrator, vitamix and plenty of work surfaces. Freezer and storage space available with additional fees applicable.

Until the end of June 2017 we are offering all NEW CLIENTS an amazing never to be seen again day rate of £60 per day for a trial two month period. This is an amazing deal!  

If you’re interested read more here and contact venue manager Andi on: andi@madeinhackney.org

*Prices after the trial two month period has ended will be negotiated according to frequency of bookings.

Extra note: you can chat with Made in Hackney at this month’s Hackney Downs Vegan Market. Learn about all the great things they do for their community, discover the line up of cooking classes on offer and find out if you can get involved.

Vegan dining on a ferry

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My buddy Barry (who is the founder/owner of More Than Meat) just got in touch with some wonderful news.

Barry sent photos of the gorgeous vegan cuisine he was served while aboard Viking Line, the company that runs ferries from Stockholm to Helsinki.

As part of their Spring and Green menu, Barry was able to order a 3-course set menu that he describes as utterly delicious.

Check out the menu and the food photos below.

If you find yourself in that part of the world, perhaps you want to check out these vegan offerings. Vegan food on a boat!

You can read more about Viking Line online.

New vegan food truck in Manchester

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Manchester (and the north west) is flying high with vegan developments.

Check out this incredible new vegan food van spotted in Manchester and nearby Cheshire.

The Vegan Food Pod exists thanks to the hard work and culinary skills of Steph. A quick look over some social media posts mentioning the food van will make it clear that Steph is a baked goods genius.

If you see The Vegan Food Pod at an event near you, get along for some truly delicious looking cinnamon scrolls and decadent donuts.

Keep track of the food van by following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Especially hit up Instagram for the fab photos.

New vegan pizza joint for Manchester

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This is all a bit mysterious and details are thin on the ground, but you really should know that a brand new vegan pizza and fast food restaurant is set to open in Manchester.

That’s about the extent of my knowledge. I don’t know the opening date. I don’t know the location.

The restaurant has shared a sample menu on Facebook. Check it out below:

As you can see, it’s as if Fat Gay Vegan himself had a hand in the menu. Pizzas, cheesy fries, curly fries, hot dogs, onion rings and more.

You need to follow Zad’s on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter so you can be the first to know about grand opening details.

Extra note: images used belong to Zad’s and have been used for promotional purposes.

48 hours in New York City

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Earlier this year I was in New York City for just two days and obviously had to eat as much vegan food as possible in that time period. So without further ado, here is a photo-heavy collection of what I ate.

First stop: 100% vegan Champs Diner in Brooklyn where my dining companions and I devoured the following:

Champs Diner – BBQ Tempeh Wings
Champs Diner – Sweet Potato Fries
Champs Diner – Hangover Hashbrowns
Champs Diner – French Toast Slam
Champs Diner – Amazing vegan milkshakes

I love Champs so much. Everything was delicious and I can’t wait to go back to NYC just for them!

Next up was Superiority Burger in the East Village:

Superiority Burger – The famous Superiority Burger. Tasty but tiny.
Superiority Burger – Burnt Broccoli Salad
Superiority Burger – A broccoli rabe side

Overall I wasn’t blown away by Superiority Burger. Everything was tasty but the fact that they aren’t 100% vegan and that they have tiny servings would probably keep me from going back in a hurry. However, they did redeem themselves by having a poster of Divine on the wall:

Superiority Burger – Divine was watching over us!

Still a little peckish, we excitedly remembered that 100% vegan Dunwell Doughnuts now have a location in the East Village just minutes away from Superiority Burger…

Dunwell Doughnuts in the East Village, NYC
Outrageous deliciousness from Dunwell Doughnuts
Dunwell Doughnuts – Choc chip doughnut… out of this world!

Dunwell Doughnuts are amazing and they have locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan so there’s no excuse not to try them. The staff in both locations are lovely and our upon entering the shop and seeing my eyes glaze over at the sight of so much vegan deliciousness, the server correctly summed up the situation as “an embarrassment of donut riches”. How very true!

It could have been the same day or it could have been the next… it’s all a blur. Either way, at some point during my 48 hours in NYC my sister and I decided to head down to Nolita/Chinatown to try the pan-Asian dishes at 100% vegan LuAnne’s Wild Ginger.

LuAnne’s Wild Ginger in NYC
Wild Ginger – Fresh Rolls
Wild Ginger – Crispy Wontons
Wild Ginger – Pad Thai
Wild Ginger – Basil Garlic Eggplant with String Beans

On my final morning in NYC, I was catching the train to Philly from Penn Station. Rather fortuitously 100% vegan The Cinnamon Snail now have a permanent location in The Pennsy, a kind of tricky-to-find food court in the Penn Station/Madison Square Garden complex. FGV has written about The Cinnamon Snail food truck in the past and I was certainly no stranger to their delicious sweet and savoury offerings. Seeing them with a permanent location was very exciting and their amazing array of sweet treats had me drooling.

The Cinnamon Snail at the Pennsy
The Cinnamon Snail – an incredible array of sweet treats

I had to start with the savoury offerings and I got the incredible Korean BBQ tortilla…

The Cinnamon Snail – Korean BBQ Seitan on a grilled tortilla

… while my dining companion got the Red Curry Grilled Tofu roll:

The Cinnamon Snail – Red Curry Grilled Tofu roll

As expected, everything was incredible and of course I couldn’t leave without two delicious donuts:

The Cinnamon Snail – donuts!

So that was my 48 hours in New York City. What good spots did I miss? Where should check out next time?

New vegan pizza for London

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Hey London, you privileged pack of plant-based consumerists. You have a brand new vegan pizza business launching this weekend!

Little Leaf is launching at the Sunday Upmarket between 10am and 5pm on April 30, 2017. They’ll be serving vegan pizza and cookies for launch day and plan to introduce monthly specials to bring variety to their menu.

Little Leaf Food is a vegan catering business looking to teach people how to be more conscious of what they eat, both for humane and environmental reasons. They collaborate with the Nomadic Community Gardens where they donate their leftover produce to the café so the proceeds go towards the upkeep of the space. They also grow their own produce at the gardens and use this in their recipes. They tell me their aim is to demonstrate the ease of becoming vegan.

So about that food they will be serving this Sunday?

You can pick up a whole pizza for £7 (choose from pesto/zucchini, rosemary/cheese, or tomato sauce/cheese/basil) and cookies for £2 each or 3 for £5.

Welcome to the London vegan food scene, Little Leaf!

You can visit Little Leaf online and follow them on Facebook and Instagram. Their food photos will make you smile.

Click here to see where Sunday Upmarket is located thanks to Google Maps.

Chinese restaurant has vegan menu

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Hey Manchester and Manchester-curious people. Did you know about this non-vegan restaurant specialising in Chinese cuisine that features a separate vegan menu?

Let’s take a closer look!

Sweet Mandarin is a family owned and operated restaurant in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, although an earlier version of the business dates back to 1950.

The big drawcard at Sweet Mandarin for plant-eaters is the rather sizeable vegan menu.

The Sweet Mandarin vegan menu is rammed solid with glorious-sounding starters such as Salt & Pepper Tofu, Hot & Sour Soup and Vegetable Spring Rolls.

The main dishes section presents choices such as Tofu with BBQ Sauce, Hot & Sticky Vegetables, Jungle Green Mixed Vegetable Curry, and Volcano Tofu.

You can also dive into the vegan sides including Sweet Potato Fries and Pak Choy with Garlic.

You can follow Sweet Mandarin on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, but be warned you may encounter photos of meat as this is not a vegan business.

Click here to see the entire vegan menu online.

You can see the exact location of Sweet Mandarin thanks to Google Maps.

Vegan in south east London

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Vegans and vegan-curious of south east London. Get ready.

Two fab-looking vegan happenings are taking place in the Peckham/Nunhead area in an event location called Space at 61.

Space at 61 is available to hire for parties, art galleries and now it seems even vegan pop-up food events. Two vegan events are taking place before the end of April, so let’s get stuck into the details.

Event the first.

Yep. The flyer above says it all but to recap…

This is a two-day takeover by Core of Life featuring smoothie bowls, waffles, breads, cakes, and plenty of drinks.

The takeover is set for Tuesday April 25 and Wednesday April 26, 2017. Food is served between 10am and 4pm both days.

And the next pop-up at Space at 61?

The V Spot is showcasing a new spring menu featuring some of their favourite seasonal British vegetables on Saturday April 29, 2017 between 7pm and 10pm.

The 3-course, all vegan homemade menu is as follows:

Starter-Aparagus & sorrel salad with mustard aioli
Main- Garlic Fried Samphire, Courgetti & Chilli Pasta
Dessert- Rhubarb Cheesecake

There will be a welcome drink served and you are permitted to bring your own beverages for the main meal. The V Spot will have herbal tea and water available.

Tickets are not refundable, but they are transferrable. You can buy them online here.

There you have it. Two reasons to get involved in Peckham/Nunhead.

Click here to see the exact location of Space at 61 thanks to Google Maps. Follow Space at 61 on Facebook to find out more about future vegan events.