New online vegan shop launched

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Great news.

A new online vegan store has launched in the UK.

Veganubi was created by a couple based in Manchester with the aim to make typically ‘hard-to-find’ vegan products more accessible. The store offers over 3,000 vegan products and delivers them nationwide across the UK. The range covers everything from groceries, chocolate & snacks, health & beauty and cleaning products to vegan supplements and protein powders. They even stock vegan marshmallows, Easter eggs, chewing gum and hair colouring products.

With a selection covering over 100 top brands and plans to add new products every week, it’s a fantastic place to both stock up on your vegan staples and treat yourself to some indulgent goodies.

SPECIAL OFFER!

New customers can take advantage of an introductory 20% discount on the whole range with discount code: LAUNCH

Support this new vegan venture and save some money! Click here to shop.

You can follow Veganubi on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Vegan cider from Kent

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I love bringing you news of vegan booze and I especially love bringing you news of vegan cider.

Why do us vegans adore cider so much?

Kent Cider products are split into three ranges and include the core range of single varietal still ciders, their Henderson’s range of naturally flavoured ciders and the forthcoming sparkling cider called Yowler.

You can hassle your local independent retail outlets, restaurants and micro-pubs to stock Kent Ciders. The majority of the cider they produce and sell is delivered by the company directly, so the best way for people who live outside of Kent to try their cider is through the webshop or contacting them directly in the office. They are extremely friendly people!

Visit Kent Cider online and follow them on Facebook and Twitter for special edition cider updates and news of events/appearances.

Yay for vegan cider!

Vegan pop up event

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If you were one of the thousands of people at Hackney Downs Vegan Market this past weekend, you would have seen the fabulous Cafe SoVegan serving up their delicious cuisine.

It’s looking fairly likely that Cafe SoVegan will be back at April’s market but if you can’t wait that long, or you missed out on the market, you are in luck.

Cafe SoVegan is hosting an exquisite pop up event at legendary The Royal Sovereign on Northwold Road between Stoke Newington and Clapton on Monday March 27, 2017.

The food line up for this Moroccan-inspired dining experience sounds stunning:

  • Starter: Harira Soup
  • Main: Mixed platter of Baba ganoush, Seitan Kabab, jewelled cous cous, tomato and roast pepper salad all served with houmous, olives and bread
  • Dessert: M’hanna, a sweet filo pastry and ground almond dish lightly flavoured with rose water

That is one dreamy menu.

When you book your ticket, you get to choose the time you dine on Monday night. Of course you are welcome to relax in the bar with a drink or two before your meal. Cafe SoVegan will let you know when it is your time to dine.

You should book your ticket now for this exclusive food event. Tickets are limited to just a handful for each sitting.

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

Click here to book your ticket now. Just £15 plus small booking fee which is incredible value for a handcrafted three-course vegan meal in London. Enjoy!

Film festival with vegan menu

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Is this a UK first?

The Leeds Queer Film Festival is set to run in the Northern city between March 24 and 26, 2017 at Live Art Bistro and big news for readers of this blog is the food being sold during the three day event.

Every morsel of food sold during Leeds Queer Film Festival 2017 is set to be vegan.

Great news!

Of course the main attraction is the incredible line up of shorts and feature films, including a screening of the phenomenal Academy Award-winning Moonlight, however it is wonderful to see organisers taking a fully inclusive approach to the catering.

The film festival states the following about the vegan food menu:

It’s not just an amazing programme of films this weekend, we’ve also got loads of scrummy food available.

There’s a whole heap of snacks available ALL WEEKEND including samosas, sausage rolls, pizza rolls, cakes, popcorn, sweets and pick & mix.

On SATURDAY we’re gonna be serving up hot meals including Three Bean Chili and Smoked Tofu Stew. On SUNDAY to help you recover from our Queer Dance Party the night before there’s gonna be a brunch with Sausage Buns then later on some delish Homemade Soup.

And, it’s all VEGAN

Live Art Bistro also has a bar serving alcohol, soft drinks, tea and coffee.

It’s all CASH ONLY so bring your pennies. The nearest cash point is the Shell garage just 150 yards from the venue along Regent Street.

Make a big effort to support this incredible event if you are in Leeds and have the means to do so.

Click here to see the full list of films showing during the festival.

Follow Leeds Queer Film Festival on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

ASK Italian now has vegan menu

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A huge trend for UK restaurants is the addition of a specialised vegan menu.

Chain restaurants all over the country are rushing to present vegan diners with separate meal choices on a designated menu.

The latest UK chain to join the vegan menu club is ASK Italian. With approximately 120 locations around the UK, there is no shortage of spots to chow down on pizza, pasta and bread.

Check out the vegan ASK Italian menu below.

That’s not too shabby for a non-vegan restaurant chain. I especially love the sound of the roast Charlotte potatoes!

The menu does seem to change slightly between outlets. You can see the menu online and choose your nearest restaurant using a drop down list. This will adapt the menu and prices for your area.

Click here to see the vegan menu online.

Extra info time:

ASK Italian was bought out by a private equity group called Bridgepoint. Interestingly, this private equity group also owns or has invested in Pret a Manger and Zizzi. It just so happens that all of these chains have been extremely active in responding to vegan market trends and demands. This is surely a top-down directive for food companies owned by Bridgepoint, right? It couldn’t be a coincidence that these major restaurant chains owned by one group are all now suddenly super vegan-friendly.

If this isn’t proof of the surge of veganism, I’m not sure what is.

Vegan BBQ cooking class

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I want to give you some info about a fab cooking class happening soon in central London.

My friend Nishma is a kind, compassionate and smart person who runs a vegan business called Shambhu’s. You probably recognise that name because of the hundreds and hundreds of events Nishma has catered around the UK.

Nishma is taking a day away from the festival circuit to share some of her kitchen expertise with a small number of food fanatics.

On Saturday April 1, 2017 between 2:30pm and 5:00pm, you can join Nishma and just 11 other students for an afternoon of vegan BBQ cooking instruction (and eating!) in Islington.

Included for the ticket price of £45:

  • printed recipes for items featured in the class
  • complimentary tea & coffee
  • opportunity to taste dishes
  • opportunity to take away any left over food at end (containers provided)

In this class you’ll learn the following barbecue-friendly dishes:

  • Marinated tofu & vegetable skewers
  • Cassava bites
  • Marinated tofu in potato parcels
  • Spicy vegetable masala toasted sandwiches

This will be booked solid and with only 12 spaces available, it will fill quickly.

Click here to book your spot.

Love Food Central in St Pete, Florida

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Post by:

Following on from my trip to Orlando last month, my next stop was Gulfport in the Tampa Bay area. Looking for something local on HappyCow, I saw that there was a 100% vegan cafe in neighbouring St Pete called Love Food Central so I headed over to check it out.

First up, it’s a really bright, welcoming space with plenty of indoor seating and a couple of outside tables shaded by some trees. 

A friendly staff member welcomed me and I quickly ordered the home-made chai tea and the tempeh reuben sandwich. I had the tea iced and it was perfect for cooling down after a busy morning.

The sandwich came quickly afterwards and I have to stop here and tell you that everything at Love Food Central is not only 100% vegan but also 100% gluten free. I was a bit hesitant in ordering a sandwich because in my experience gluten free vegan bread can leave a lot to be desired. However, I was delighted with this sandwich. The bread itself didn’t taste discernibly different from regular bread and the fillings were spot-on. Chewy, yeasty grilled tempeh combined perfectly with the sharpness of the sauerkraut and the creaminess of the avocado. It even came with a side of chips/crisps!

Having been this impressed with the food and drinks on offer, I couldn’t exactly leave Love Food Central without trying their cashew/coconut based soft-serve could I? Well once again they hit the mark with this dessert… smooth and creamy soft-serve ice-cream served with your choice of toppings. SO. GOOD!

If you’re ever in the Tampa Bay area, be sure to visit Love Food Central. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates and gorgeous photos of their delicious food!

Vegan wine in a box

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The UK is getting there with veganism.

We have a pretty good selection of vegan-identified groceries in mainstream supermarkets, we have vegan festivals all over the country and we have vegan stores in dozens of towns.

And now we have vegan wine in a bag in a box.

Oh yes.

Daniele of The VegWays has taken on the major job of importing vegan organic wine from Italy into the UK. I have fond memories of drinking wine from boxes in Australia, so it is fab to see I now have the option again as a vegan in 2017.

Take a look at these.

The wines are available in red, white, and rosé with a 3 litre, 5 litre, and 10 litre option.

Daniele is currently looking for restaurants, cafés and retail outlets to serve these wines. They would also be perfect for pop up vegan restaurants or street food traders permitted to sell alcohol. Of course it would be wonderful for non-vegan restaurants and businesses to take these on too, so we all know we have a drink when joining friends for a night out.

If you are interested in buying your own supply for your house or perhaps a large celebration, you can contact Daniele via the contact page of their website for personal sales as well as wholesale.

Tell your favourite eatery about these wines. Order your own. Enjoy wine from a bag in a box!

Follow The VegWays on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Vegan fish and chip shop now open

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We’ve had a vegan cupcake bakery and a vegan fried chicken shop, so it’s about time the UK got its very own vegan fish and chip shop.

Say hello to Matter Fastfood.

If you are reading this from outside the UK, you might not be familiar with the term ‘chippy’. Chippy is a colloquialism for chip ship, a fast food outlet serving fish, chips, battered sausages, and all manner of comfort food delights.

The clever and compassionate people of Matter have made the population of Bristol incredibly happy by opening their vegan version of the much-loved chippy.

Check out how they describe their business:

We offer the healthiest fast food possible, everything from our vegan take on chip shop right through to super salad bowls and wraps. Imagine pie, chips & peas, vegan fried cheeken (a take on fried chicken), gluten-free battered sausage with chips, or the much-loved tofish and chips. We have kebab wraps, homemade sauces such as chilli, sweet & sour, gravy, curry sauce, garlic mayo all made without salt, oil or MSG. We have plans to develop the menu to include other classic takeout wok dishes and pizza. Our desserts range from pineapple/banana/apple fritters through to high-end raw vegan cheesecakes and homemade super chocolate. Tasty, affordable, nutritious and satisfying, our dishes are aimed at everyone (not just vegans).

Sounds fab. But how does it look?

See for yourself.

Not sure when I have time to get to Bristol this year, but this is as good a reason as any to make the effort.

You should follow Matter on Facebook.

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

Extra note: these photos were used with permission of the owner, so do not steal them.

Win vegan Easter Eggs

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You all love a competition, right?

My friends at Moo Free Chocolates have given me three of their delicious vegan Easters Eggs to give to one of my Twitter followers.

Moo Free make some of my favourite chocolate on the planet, including the bar with caramelised hazelnut fragments. And the one with the vegan honeycomb. And the one with cranberries. And the one…. well, you get the idea. I adore all of their stuff.

So, what do you get if you win this competition?

There is the Original with buttons, the Bunnycomb with buttons, and the Orange with buttons.

You can find these eggs in supermarkets, health food stores and Holland & Barrett outlets around the UK.

Now for the competition.

  1. Draw a celebrity in Easter Egg form (yes, really!). Pick your favourite celebrity and draw a picture of what they would look like as an Easter Egg
  2. Tag @fatgayvegan and @moofreechoccies (and your chosen celebrity if you wish)
  3. Use #WinWithFGV in your tweet
  4. Make sure you attach your picture to your tweet!
  5. Enter as many different drawings/illustrations as you want

One winner will be picked by me following the competition closing at midnight Friday March 24, 2017 GMT. I will be in touch with the winner to grab their postal address, which I will pass onto the company as they will be sending your prize of three eggs. The prize can only be mailed within the UK. If you are outside the UK, please feel free to join in the fun. We could always mail the prize to your friend in the UK.

Follow Moo Free on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. This is not a requirement of the competition, it just would be a nice thing to do!

Get going and be creative. Be eggcellent. Be Moo Free.

Don’t already follow me on Twitter? Get busy!