London vegan news, reviews & events
Are you ready for photographic evidence of another one of my thorough supermarket expeditions?
A few nights back, Josh and I visited the mammoth Tesco Extra in Colney Hatch (North London) and returned home with some fun and tasty vegan products.
See proof below.
A post this week in which I voiced my concern about vegan people opening non-vegan cafes has garnered a lot of attention. The comment thread on Facebook has a life of its own and I think it is evident that this discussion is happening at exactly the right time.
One of the commentators suggested it would be beneficial for me to organise a platform to assist people looking to change their businesses into a completely vegan affair.
OK. I think I can offer some assistance. I don’t have a lot of time but I do take it on board that actions speak louder than words and I genuinely want to help people (and businesses) to go vegan and stay vegan.
What can I do?
I want to hear from people thinking of changing a non-vegan food business into a vegan food business. Once we have made contact, I can offer the following if you want it:
Just because I love to be dramatic, I am calling this the Operation Go Vegan Stay Vegan initiative. It is kind of like a vegan challenge, but for businesses.
Why am I doing this? The main reason is I am working to improve outcomes for non-human animals. Another reason is I wholeheartedly believe now is the right time for vegan business owners to take this step.
As I have mentioned on Facebook, there are 100% vegan cafes in regional Mexico, the West Midlands, Prague, rural USA and even an almost three hour drive into the countryside from my home town of Brisbane, Australia. They are popping up in the most unlikely places and they can succeed!
If you do vegan food and drink well, people will pay for it. Not just vegans, but people in general.
Please get in touch if you think you would like to make your business part of this vegan transition initiative. I am not the most knowledgable person but I am confident I can bring useful ideas together that will help you make this change to your business in the most positive way possible.
If you would like to offer a case study of your own vegan business (especially if you changed it to vegan from non-vegan), please get in touch via sean@fgvpr.co.uk – I will need all the vegan community firepower and ideas I can get.
Please note: I will have to exercise discretion in regards to who I assist and this might be based on my own workload or a host of other reasons. I envision being able to work with one business during a calendar month period. I am predominantly looking to assist UK businesses but will consider offering advice and time to people in other parts of the world but I will not have the same insights to offer.
When I am not sitting in my ivory tower stuffing food into my fat face, I write music reviews for the Louder Than War website.
My latest review details my experiences at the Brixton Academy watching the awesome band Chvrches.
You can read by clicking here.
If you don’t want to read but love good music, I have kindly embedded a music video from the band for your enjoyment.
Paris is famous for a lot of things. The Eiffel Tower. Louvre. Notre-Dame. Arc de Triomphe. I could go on and on and on. The city is packed solid with world-famous landmarks and attractions.
Paris has been referred to as the most visited city on the planet and it is believed the area welcomes in excess of 30 million visitors each year. It is a destination that has been celebrated in countless films, books and songs.
2014 has seen the city come into another kind of renown as veganism has seemingly swept all before it to make Paris one of the must-visit hot spots for compassionate tourists.
This explosion in plant-based eating has been painstakingly documented in the brand new Vegetarian Paris – The complete insider’s guide to the best veggie food in Paris.
Compiled and written by Aurelia d’Andrea, this compact book is the perfect guide for vegan travellers. It contains maps, shopping information, event listings, colour coded vegan listings of almost 20 establishments, dozens of vegetarian and vegan-friendly restaurants and cafes, transport information, accommodation tips and even a handy basic language and phrase guide.
The book is small enough to be taken out for a day of sightseeing and packed with enough useful information to make you glad you did.
You can buy your own copy of Vegetarian Paris online here or read on for a chance to win a copy.
A short and sweet post to share one of my Sainsbury’s finds.
This isn’t a new product but it is new to me.
Nottingham almost got a new vegan cafe today, but pesky and harmful dairy made it on to the menu.
Such a shame.
Today marks to grand opening of a new food provider, The Bluebird Vegetarian Café. This café is operated by Adrian and Kate, two vegans who (according to their website) were able to achieve their dream of opening The Bluebird thanks to the help of family, friends and Freecycle donations.
As happy as I am for the vegan community of Nottingham to have another location to dine out on plant-based food, I am puzzled as to why a vegan of more than 20 years (Adrian) would open a cafe with dairy on the menu in 2014.
Here is some news worth celebrating.
The Financial Times (yes, the FT!) has reported the UK is about to see the launch of a vegan mayonnaise brand that has exploded in popularity across North America. To add to the excitement, the brand will be exclusively launched in Tesco stores, making it widely available to shoppers all over the country.
Growing up in Australia, I was socialised into believing acts of animal exploitation were normal and a reason to celebrate. Some of my earliest memories are of animals being tortured for sport or food.
I was only a few years old as I stood in my aunty’s suburban kitchen and watched as live crabs were lowered into boiling water. My childhood memories are filled with fishing trips with my father who would press live worms onto the barbs of hooks as a tool to snare fish. Many of these fish were considered too small to warrant taking home, so were returned to the ocean with severe cuts and gashes in their mouths. Bigger sea creatures were left to experience excruciating deaths in the open air before being taken to a kitchen to serve as a meal.
My uncle kept racing dogs. Another uncle used a pump to suck living prawn-like animals from their sand homes. I have relatives who worked themselves into a near-religious frenzy when betting on animal sports. I was taken to a circus by my mother and aunty, where I was encouraged to ride a donkey. The poor creature trembled under my 9 year old weight, as my lanky legs dragged on the ground. Tears come to my eyes as I type these recollections. I feel shame and sorrow.
As a young person with world views still in development, I had no compassionate voices shaping my outlook. I was being conditioned to see animals as an unquestionable source of food, entertainment, clothing and sport.
A particularly perverse example took place in a classroom.
UPDATE:
This event has been cancelled due to one of the organisers being seriously injured in an accident.
My thoughts are with them and I hope for the best.
Sean/FGV
Do you like to be inspired? Are you interested in meeting like-minded compassionate people and hearing what inspires them? Would informative presentations followed by a late night party be to your liking?
If the answer is yes, The Sunshine Sessions might be just what you need.
I am thrilled to be invited to speak at the inaugural outing of The Sunshine Sessions. This celebration of positive-thinking and ethical, self-directed people looks set to be a fascinating event.
A range of speakers from a variety of backgrounds and interests including education, personal wellbeing and veganism will deliver passionate talks to a roomful of guests, who will then party the night away after being fed delicious vegan food.
I love the idea of this event. One of the reasons I agreed to take part in The Sunshine Sessions was the inclusive nature of the event and the thoughtful range of speakers. This isn’t a collection of people telling you what you are doing wrong, rather a collection of presenters giving you an insight into the choices that work for them across the professional and personal realms of their lives.
The event will be taking place in Central London at an as-yet-undisclosed location on Friday November 28th, 2014.
An initial information page for The Sunshine Sessions has been launched allowing potential attendees to register their interest. This is where you enter your details to receive information relating to ticket availability and speaker details. Click here to visit now.
I’m looking forward to this event and it would be wonderful to see a lot of vegans in the audience. Keep checking back for more updates.
Follow The Sunshine Sessions on Instagram
One of the most-read posts on this site was all about fudge.
Remember when I wrote about the fabulous sweet treat company Scoff? Their fudge was a revelation in my life and the home delivery service is both a blessing and a curse.
The sweet masters have expanded their range for the cooler months to include the mouthwatering Toffee Apple fudge. This seasonal flavour will be making an appearance at my 3rd annual vegan Day of the Dead party tomorrow, alongside the new White Chocolate and Raspberry Fudge.
Scoff have very generously jumped on board and I am thrilled to be featuring them on our giant vegan buffet table tomorrow.
If you are quick, there might just be some tickets remaining.
If you can’t make it to my party, you can order your own home delivered vegan fudge and truffles from the Scoff online shop.
You can follow Scoff on Twitter
You can like Scoff on Facebook
