London vegan news, reviews & events
Josh is busy sunning himself in Florida, leaving me to fight for my very existence as snow sweeps across London. I am calling last night’s light dusting Snowmaggedon in an attempt to make him feel guilty for abandoning me for the sunshine.
Of course, Josh cares not. In fact, he is creating further hardship by emailing photos of vegan food he is seeing, buying and eating.
Check out this chiller display in a nearby grocery store. All that Tofurky boggles the mind.
The online vegan community has been buzzing with news of IKEA readying a vegan meatball for roll out (ahem) in their store cafeterias.
News of the furniture and home wares megastore considering a plant-based meatball broke in July 2014, so the following statement released by the company’s PR firm has been a while in the making.
Louise Bangee, IKEA UK Food Manager, said:
Is this a world first?
I picked up a packet of sweets today, flipped it over and saw the words ‘suitable for vegetarians/vegans’. Great!
I could have stopped there and bought the packet of wickedly wild watermelon candy sticks but being the fussy vegan I am, I scanned the ingredients list.
First red flag? Beeswax. Second? Gelatine.
London, you have new vegan food options and they look incredible.
On the Holloway Road sits a live music venue called 12 Bar Club. This venue hosts live music and any given day will find punters enjoying indie, alt-country, punk, folk and rock ‘n’ roll bands.
This is all well and good but I promised you talk of vegan food, right?
Phil T’s at the 12 Bar is the new name for the kitchen inside this north London location. The menu reads like a gourmet rundown of British comfort food and every course has a vegan option. No, I don’t mean you have to ask for salad. Phil T and his team will serve you straight up, wholesome vegan comfort food and you can order it from the menu without having to freak out or nervously explain plant-based eating to your server.
Check out the feast Fran of Vx recently enjoyed in the restaurant. (Thanks for the pics, Fran!)
Here is a game for us to play.
Is this the most inexpensive product you have ever seen with a vegan label?
This jar carries the Sainsbury’s ‘vegan’ label on the reverse. I want to know if you have seen a product cheaper that is also labelled vegan.
Answers in the comments below. This will be fun!
Let’s get cheap.
Please note: the product needs to be labelled vegan for it to count.
Oh, yes. Vegan chip shop curry sauce in a jar thanks to Sainsbury’s.
I’m from Brisbane, Australia so it is understandable that I have never eaten chips with curry sauce. We were too busy experiencing homophobic bullying at the hands of a corrupt police force to hunt out such exotic food stuffs. (Kinda joking. Google ‘corrupt Queensland police’ if you enjoy that sort of thing. But pack a lunch, it will be a long read).
Due to my mundane food experiences as an oppressed queer teenager, I don’t know too much about the chip shop curry sauce phenomenon.
Is it a thing all over the UK or just in certain parts? Is it delicious? Or horrendous?
Extra note: this jar carries the Sainsbury’s vegan label and the photo originally appeared on my Instagram account which you can see here.
I think every vegan in the UK knows Pizza Express now offers a vegan, cheeseless pizza so I won’t go on about it for too long.
I popped into a nearby outlet (there are over 400 in the UK) to try the Pianta, the only pizza purposively made vegan by Pizza Express. The base is topped with spinach, chestnut mushrooms, pine kernels and artichokes, with a jumbo portion of fresh rocket piled on for good measure.
As all the doughs made by Pizza Express are vegan, I also indulged in a plate of dough balls with olive oil for dipping. I suggest stressing to your server how important it is the dough balls are brought to your table without the garlic butter.
My food was tasty and convenient.
You can click here to read all about the Pizza Express considerations for vegans, including the fact they permit you to bring in your own vegan cheese for the kitchen to add to your order.
What do you think? Do you eat with Pizza Express often?
I don’t have a lot to say about this quote from recently-celebrated recipe blogger and cookbook author Ella Woodward:
Actually, I have a few things to say.
Ella. My veganism is not fired by a desire to make people feel bad or judged. My veganism is a lifelong commitment to improving outcomes for non-human animals. My choice to not eat meat, dairy, eggs or honey has nothing to do with wanting to feel superior and everything to do with a desire to reduce harm.
It is incredibly disappointing to see you use your newly-acquired platform to take a swipe at compassionate people.
You are quoted in your Telegraph interview as saying “I’m not sitting here judging anyone” when the opposite is clearly true.
You are sitting in judgement of tens of thousands of vegan people who have pre-ordered your book, along with many of your non-vegan readers who have been considering transitioning to a full time plant-based diet (and possibly lifestyle) thanks to your inspirational recipes.
My hope is one day soon your world view broadens to include compassion for animals and also the people making everyday decisions to save them. Selling recipes based on your own personal wellbeing success story is not the only positivity your situation could bring to the planet.
Don’t sell your legacy short with out-dated stereotypes of judgemental vegans. It makes you appear close-minded, ill-informed and divisive.
I included my favourite urban area on the planet in recent my top ten list of cities for vegans. I absolutely adore Mexico City, which is quickly becoming one of the hottest destinations for compassionate eaters.
I awoke this morning to a dreary London day, so the last thing I needed was a reminder of what I’m missing on the other side of the world.
Cue my pal, Kay.
Kay is currently working in Mexico City and making me extremely jealous with food photos, including shots of this vegan taquería called Por Siempre.
For anyone not familiar with Mexican street food, a taquería is a food stand serving tacos with freshly cooked fillings and sauces. I don’t think I could even hazard a guess as to how many taquerías there are in the Mexican capital.
Of course the overwhelming majority of taquerías in Mexico City serve mounds of horrendous meat, but Por Siempre is the glorious exception. It is a vegan taco stand!
Por Siempre is just one more reason why Mexico City is a must-visit destination for vegan travellers. Check out the photos sent by Kay and ‘like’ the vegan taco stand on Facebook.
It looks like it is doing a roaring trade!