New vegan café in Sheffield

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Move over London, step aside Manchester and get ready to be challenged for your vegan crown, Glasgow.

Sheffield is quickly becoming a plant based city to be noticed.

I have already written about vegan grocery store The Incredible Nutshell, as well as Steel City Cakes and Burger Lolz, and now the South Yorkshire city is impressing with the grand opening of Make No Bones.

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How rad is that sign?!

Make No Bones has run a vegan food truck for quite a while, but now has taken the leap into bricks and mortar.

The sample menu on their website lists delicacies such as Tempeh Bacon & Avocado Sub, Ultimate Nachos and Jerk Tofu, Rice & Peas.

Sounds like my kinda place.

I have big plans to get there ASAP but in the meantime please do post glowing reviews in the comments below to inspire me to make the trip. If you get there before me, tell them FGV loves them and is on his way!

Follow Make No Bones on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Vegan hot dogs at Pride

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This news makes me smile… and it makes me hungry.

If you go to Southampton Pride this weekend (Sunday August 28, 2016) you can buy and eat vegan hot dogs.

Even better? The vegan hot dog stand is being run by volunteers who are all vegan and all the proceeds from the stall are being donated to Southampton Pride. 

I’m a bit teary knowing that kindhearted people do things like this. I adore that they are supporting the LGBTQ community without contributing to animal harm.

This is resisting oppression without resorting to another form of oppression!

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I asked Hannah of Hannah Banana Bakery (who is one of the volunteers) what is on the menu and she told me:

We have homemade salsa, mayo, mustard, homemade coleslaw, fried onions, and ketchup. 100% of the money goes to the Pride event as we are all unpaid vegan volunteers on our stall. General event info is on the Pride website. We are on the stall outside “The Stage Door” bar on West Marlands Road all day until we sell out!

People, get along to support this wonderful initiative and eat up!

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Vegan relish

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Here’s a super quick blog post to let you know about a supermarket find that has me grinning.

All of these are #vegan and all are on offer in Waitrose right now.

A photo posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on


How terrific do these look?!

All three bottles were spotted in my local Waitrose and all were on special offer.

Which one would you start with?

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IVJFD 2016 with Black Cat

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As you know, the 3rd annual International Vegan Junk Food Day is taking place on Monday August 29, 2016.

You can read all about this marvellous festival here.

I’m thrilled to announce the first participant in this year’s celebration is Black Cat Café of Hackney.

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The café is opening special hours just for #ivjfd16 (between 4:30pm and 10:00pm) and the menu they have lined up is going to make you drool and the super cheap price is going to make you clap with happiness.

(Read this and book straight away – last year’s International Vegan Junk Food Day booked out solid in record time)

For just £15.50 you get to choose 1 main, 2 sides and 1 dessert if booked in advance via info@blackcatcafe.co.uk (so do it now!).

There are also prices for single items if you fancy dropping in during the special opening hours, but you really should get the meal deal and secure your food.

MAINS (£7.50)

  • The fishless burger: ale nori battered cod, remoulade, tartar sauce, rocket
  • Jack fruit quesadillas: slow cooked jackfruit in rich chilli mole, guacamole, carrot and onion escabeche, melted cheese.
  • Black Cat classic beef style burger: seitan and soya mince patty, cheddar cheese, rasher, beefsteak tomatoes, butter lettuce, house made pickles and basil garlic mayo.
  • Curry hot dogs: tofu sausage, mango chutney, onion relish, wholegrain mustard, curried home made ketchup

SIDES (£3.50)

  • Deli potato salad: new potatoes, gherkins, garden peas, diced carrots, chives, house made herby mayo.
  • Hand cut herby potato wedges: raw garlic, vinegar 
  • Hackney Salad: mixed leaves, olives, tomatoes agave mustard dressing.
  • Crunchy slaw: thinly sliced cabbage, red onions, fresh chilly, coriander, sesame seeds, fresh mint and coriander

Dessert (£4)

  • Ice Cream Boat: chocolate and vanilla ice cream, banana, crushed biscuits, chocolate orange sauce, whipped cream
  • Cake (selection in the fridge)

How about that menu?!

Email Black Cat Café right this second to secure your meal for International Vegan Junk Food Day 2016. Be sure to use #ivjfd16 across social media to share your good time eating adventures on August 29, 2016.

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Goodie bag review

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The huge opening of GreenBay Supermarket has passed us by but I wanted to go back and say a BIG thank you to the sponsors who made the fantastic goodie bags possible for the invited guests of the sneak preview.

Click on the video below to see the contents of the bag.

A video posted by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on


Amazing! What’s your favourite item?

Lots of love and thanks to Vegan Life Magazine, Moo Free Chocolates, Pudology, Sheese, Coconut Collaborative, Rebel Kitchen Mylks and Fry’s Family Foods.

Good times and yay for sponsors!

Buy all the above and a whole lot more at GreenBay in West London.

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Kebabs with FGV

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You’ve heard all about the incredible vegan döner kebabs being served up by What The Pitta in Shoreditch, you’ve drooled over the countless Instagram posts flooding your phone and you’ve made a promise to yourself to get to this brand new food venture ASAP.

Well, friends. The time has come.

Monday-Deal

Join food lover extraordinaire Fat Gay Vegan (that’s me!) for a night of kebabs and socialising as he celebrates the launch of What The Pitta with a Monday night party that will be the talk of the town.

Between 6pm and 9pm on Monday August 22, 2016, What The Pitta will be launching an exclusive Monday night meal deal.

For just £9 you will get:

– a döner kebab

– a cold drink

– a piece of baklava

I’m not sure where else in London you are going to get a deal like this. We are even paying the booking fee for you. All you pay is £9 for a wrap, a drink and a sweet when you book online.

Amazing value, indeed!

This launch event is strictly ticketed only and space is limited to 100. Book your ticket now and we will see you on Monday. Fat Gay Vegan will be on hand across the three hours of the event to check you in and hand you a meal deal token. Swap the token at What The Pitta for food, drink and sweets then join the party.

BOOK YOUR TICKET NOW FOR JUST £9!

Once you have your online ticket, you can drop in anytime between 6pm and 9pm on Monday August 22, 2016. Stay for as long as you like, or grab your food and run. It’s up to you!

Follow What The Pitta on Instagram.

Click here to RSVP to the Facebook event and invite friends.

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Buy vegan beer online

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If you are a vegan in the UK and you’ve been to a vegan event, chances are you know about Pitfield Brewery.

Pitfield is a company that is everywhere in the vegan scene.

Whether they are running the exclusive bar at VegfestUK London or driving long distances to serve at small vegan events around the country, Pitfield staff are well known to us plant consumers who enjoy a tipple.

But now you don’t have to wait for Pitfield to roll their kegs into your town as you can shop for beer via their brand new online shop!

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All of your favourites are available and you get a discount when you buy 6 bottles. Get one of everything!

Click here to shop online now.

Extra note: Pitfield head brewer Andy is running the beer bar at Manchester Vegan Beer Fest in September, so you can expect quite a bit of their good stuff as well as plenty of local beers. Click here to buy tickets.

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Copenhagen 2016

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Post by:

joe panel

You know, I’ve got no excuse to go on holiday to Copenhagen again. There are so many new vegan places in Berlin that I’ve failed to tell you about (though that will soon be rectified, I promise!), yet here I am trotting off to Denmark again.

Anyway, the good news is that since my last visit a year ago, Copenhagen’s vegan selection has improved considerably. In addition to seeing more vegan options in non-vegan places, there are a few new all-vegan restaurants too (and they’re not of the faddy health food variety that dominated previously). Here’s the low-down on two of them.

I think our favourite new place was Souls. Located on a quiet but pretty square in the residential area of Østerbro, Souls is a real step up for vegan fare in Denmark.

We had two sandwiches, and they were not only huge but incredibly tasty too. Photographed here you can see a “Soulful BBQ” which includes grilled mushrooms and tofu, and the Kidney Bean which includes something like Mexican-style refried beans and guacamole, among other ingredients. One sandwich (or “sanger” in their Australian parlance) is plenty of food for one person, but you can order some sweet potato fries now, if you have room.

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They also have a (US-style) pancake brunch, which we never made it to, much to our regret!

We also visited Café N which has a wide range of food available. They have some tasty croissants (the best vegan croissants I’ve had, maybe) and enjoyable sandwiches and sides, as well as full-plate meals (and the portions are generous here, too). You can see a big sandwich crammed full of mushrooms and tofu, with some chunky fries and home-made mayonnaise dip artfully blurred in the background.

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My only complaint about Café N is that they stop taking orders at 9pm, but their website doesn’t mention this (just says they close at 10pm). Come on guys, it’s easy to put that information on there! The staff were very friendly and directed us to another restaurant that had some so-so vegan options, but it was still disappointing, especially as we could have got there earlier if we’d known.

Anyway, those are my latest recommendations for Copenhagen. I hope the city continues to expand for vegans… maybe one day it will catch up to Berlin!

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Listen to this

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Here is a musical interlude to break up your dreary day. Or to add extra value to your already awesome day. You pick!

Glasgow Vegan Beer Fest is just over a week away so I’m thrilled to finally be able to announce some news I was holding under my hat.

Attendees at the 12pm – 5pm daytime session will have the pleasure of not one but two live musical sets by irresistible Scottish band The Swizzle Sisters.

I adore the sound of this folk country band and the fact they are all animal lovers just makes it a sweeter deal to have them on board for the event (Patti and Paula are both longtime vegans while Maggie is veggie – our job is to turn her on the day!).

Have a listen to one of my favourite songs by the band.

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You can like The Swizzle Sisters on Facebook. A limited quantity of the band’s CDs will be sold on the day at the merch stand.

Buy cheap advance tickets for Glasgow Vegan Beer Fest online now for just £4 plus small booking fee.

Read about the special Mono food menu for the event here.

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Best vegan burger in London

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Got plans for eating out over the next few days? Now you do!

I know I have a big mouth with opinion-making skills to match, but please don’t think this is an example of me trying to oversell something.

What you are about to see really is (in my FGV opinion) the best vegan burger currently available in London.

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Decadent, sloppy, juicy and exquisite burger goodness right there.

Now for the surprising part?

The best vegan burger in London is made and sold by a non-vegan food provider.

Arancini Brothers is a food business based around arancini. You know. Little savoury, crunchy rice balls. These irresistible balls have been perfected by the company over years and have grown to become some of the most loved items at street markets and events around London.

In addition to a mobile food truck, Arancini Brothers currently have three permanent restaurant locations. I was invited to dine at the Kentish Town outlet while the other two are placed in Old Street and Dalston.

The menu at the restaurant features a handful of vegan items alongside the non-vegan food, with a small broccoli outline indicating which items are plant-based.

Owner Dave was keen for me to try the specialty Vegan Burger. Rude to say no, right?

This burger blew me away. The gorgeous arancini have been crafted into a burger sized patty, placed inside a fresh bun, doused in onion jam and slathered with aubergine tomato sauce.

Three word review? To die for.

My tray also featured a side serving of arancini (which I could eat all day quite happily thank you very much) and a basket of fries seasoned beyond perfection.

I’m desperate to get back for the morning menu which includes a Vegan Recovery wrap that sounds truly spectacular. There is a vegan salad box that looks intriguing and mushroom/zucchini risotto balls that I MUST try soon.

In both the Kentish Town and Dalston (next to FED By Water) outlets, all of the vegan options are cooked separately from the non-vegan food, with dedicated plant-based fryers used in the kitchen.

Unfortunately, the Old Street location has room for just one fryer so vegan items go in with the non-vegan. If vegan food touching non-vegan food is not your thing, stick to Kentish Town and Dalston.

You can visit the Arancini Brothers website for more details such as locations, opening hours and the full menu.

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