Vegan food takeover

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It is being reported by multiple outlets today that vegan snack bar manufacturer Natural Balance Foods is being purchased by the people who make another vegan favourite.

Natural Balance are legendary in UK vegan circles for their much-loved Trek and Nakd bars, amongst other snacks.

News reports suggest Belgium’s Lotus Bakeries (yes it’s the speculoos people!) has sealed a deal worth more than £60 million to take control and ownership of the popular UK brand of snack bars.

nakd lotus

It appears each time you buy Lotus biscuits and Nakd/Trek bars, your money will now be heading into the same bank account.

vote vegfest 2015

by CHLOE

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I’ve met thousands of people during my time as FGV and very rarely do they turn out to be as friendly and fabulous as Chloe Coscarelli.

In case you don’t know, Chloe Coscarelli is a superstar vegan chef with an arsenal of plant-based recipes that could turn the head of any carnivore. I adore Chloe’s recipes and was beside myself with glee when I had the pleasure of hosting her family at London Vegan Drinks a few years back.

The latest news out of camp Coscarelli is the recent opening of a 100% vegan restaurant called by CHLOE, situated in the West Village district of Manhattan .

Keep scrolling to read my exclusive interview with Chloe about this exciting business development, her favourite items on her menu and if we can hope to welcome her back to the UK anytime soon.

Chloe Coscarelli 3

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Food to your home

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Some interesting emails wind up in my inbox, but not many as intriguing as the one I just got from this company called Give Kitchen.

Give Kitchen is a brand new business delivering ready to eat vegan meals to your home. Well actually, it is not just delivering vegan meals but rather entire 3-week long eating plans.

It sounds very familiar to the scheme launched by Beyoncé in North America a few months ago. Give Kitchen will deliver everything you need to eat vegan for 22 days. You simply need to heat it up and eat it.

The company sent me the follow photos that show the kind of meals on offer as part of the eating plan.

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Glasgow impresses again

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Honestly, you could eat out every day and night of the week in Glasgow and you wouldn’t run out of vegan options.

I’ve written about The 78 in the past, but check out the latest tasty dishes my group devoured during our recent stop. This fabulous pub/restaurant is definitely something you want to experience.

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Screaming Carrot

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Every town should have a Screaming Carrot.

My recent stop in Nottingham opened my eyes to some marvellous things, not least a workers’ co-op vegan bakery and grocery store named The Screaming Carrot.

Tucked away down a small road in a quiet suburb, The Screaming Carrot is a one-stop shop for all your vegan pantry needs and sweet treats. 

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Buffalo wings and crab cakes

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Slowly. Inch by painstaking inch. London is finally getting vegan food options that are worthy of the international stage. We have been behind cities such as Berlin, Los Angeles, New York and Warsaw for so long but the tide is turning.

As this vegan wave builds, Phil T is riding high on a longboard with two of the best plant based dishes in the city. You just have to try these incredible plates.

I wrote about Phil T a while back when he took over the kitchen of a rock music venue on Holloway Road but this celebrated chef has moved on to another rock and roll pub, this time in Camden.

You can now find Phil T’s Kitchen at Our Black Heart, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it rock and roll venue/specialist beer bar tucked away in a back alley pretending to be a street in the central London neighbourhood of Camden.

The Black Heart Camden
Our Black Heart of Camden

So what is Phil T serving that has got me all in a squirm?

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Vegan comfort

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I’ve found the best vegan nachos in Europe. Tell everyone.

The Auld Hoose is a pub in Edinburgh with a very impressive vegan menu nestled within its non-vegan offerings. You think you’ve had awesome vegan comfort food? Take a look at what our group ordered on a rainy Scottish night, including the biggest and best nachos I’ver ever been served in Europe.

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I idolize you

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This is a massive blog post. Actually, scratch that. It is a MASSIVE blog post.

Get your scrolling finger ready and dive head first into this incredibly interesting interview I recently conducted with the fabulous Marc Massive of the band Massive Ego.

We talk music, Boy George, veganism, fashion, love and more.

This is one of my favourite posts in a long time so I’m sure you’ll love the read, too.

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Thank you, tibits

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Do you all remember when we helped a young person named Alex with a school marketing project involving a collection of his vegan recipes? Sure you do!

Alex went on to have the most successful project in his school and was shortlisted as a finalist in a business competition run in Sheffield.

Flash forward to last night and I met up with Alex and his mum for dinner in London!

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