The revolution will be veganised

by

I think I am living in the wrong city.

I want vegan junk food. I want vegan comfort food. I want the food to be tasty. I want the food to have flair. I want to eat the food in a super cool setting. I want cake options. I want drinks like shakes and floats.

I got exactly what I wanted in Manchester.

V Revolution is the type of food provider the UK has been screaming out for and of which vegan Londoners are surely gravely jealous. Of course the food is incredible or I wouldn’t be considering moving back to Manchester, but I’ll get to that with photos shortly. Let’s first talk about the fucking coolness of the shop.

Read more

Sweet tooth

by

It’s a determined trickle in London. Slowly, but surely. Vegan food is taking a foothold as more and more compassionate people take chances on creating and selling plant-based foods. One such vendor is vegan baker Giancarlo Roncato.

A trained chef who decided to swap the animal based ingredients out of all his food, Giancarlo can now be found plying his wares on market stalls around London. Josh and I paid a visit to his Chatsworth Road operation a few weekends back and were delighted not only by the choice on offer from Giancarlo, but also the vegan-friendly vibe of the entire market.

So, what does Giancarlo and his Vegan Sweet Tooth bakery offer? Check it out below.

Read more

Three times the fun

by

I love a good burger, me.

Fry it. Stick it in a bun. I want it. Slap some mustard on. Melt some plant-based cheese. I dream of these things.

This love of all things burger forced me into a difficult position a few days back. I was strolling the aisles of Aldi in Leeds (oh, the romance!) when my chubby, queer eyes spotted a vegetarian selection in the frozen food section.

Imagine my delight when I found not one box of vegan burgers, but three. Yep, all three products you see below were labeled suitable for vegans.

Which one did I buy? Scroll down to find out.

Read more

Man v Horse

by

Something popped up in my Twitter timeline this morning that made me feel sad and angry.

There is an annual sporting event in Wales called Man V Horse. This mini marathon is staged through the Welsh countryside and features people attempting to complete the course before riders on horseback.

As I watched the video showcasing the event (see below), of course I was instantly horrified by the use of animals in a sporting event. I am opposed to animals being used for any form of entertainment, especially a cross country race that they most definitely would not enter and run without a human on their back.

Read more

How very

by

Has it been a month already?

My season of free film screenings known as FREE WINONA is coming to an end. I have shown Beetlejuice, Mermaids and Reality Bites. What do all of these films have in common? You are correct if you noticed they all star Winona Ryder.

All of the above films went down a treat but I have certainly saved the best for last.

how very

Read more

Quorn doing vegan

by

MAJOR vegan update for Quorn – available in UK from October 2015 – click here to read more

I find out a lot of information over on Facebook.

Last week Robb posted about Rekorderlig cider not being vegan which led to this post. Wayne is always sharing with me news of vegan food, including the glorious sandwich market stall Killer Tomato. Today I woke to a post on my wall from Sammy all about a tasting session for new vegan Quorn products. That’s right, Quorn are finally rolling out some plant-based options in the UK.

There has been talk for a while of a vegan burger made by the company, but enquiries were always met with a response of ‘no plans as of now to sell it in the UK’.

If you can be in Southampton on Saturday June 21, 2014 and you want to be one of the first people in the UK to try new vegan options from Quorn, it seems you could possibly even be paid for your opinions.

Follow this link to read all about it on the Rice Up Wholefoods website. The link includes details on how to register for the tasting.

If you do go, please pop on over to my Facebook page after the event and tell me all about it. I am so curious!

UPDATE – since posting the above info, I have received a few comments from people suggesting I should not give any exposure to Quorn or it’s parent company Premier Foods. Premier Foods is a huge business that also owns the Cauldron brand (amongst many, many more). It reportedly generated over £800 million revenue last year.

Please comment below with any concerns you have about the ethical concerns associated with buying from such a huge company/a company that makes huge amounts of profit from selling animal products.

ANOTHER UPDATE – As pointed out by a passionate commentator below, Quorn is no longer owned by Premier Foods. It was acquired by Montagu Private Equity. You can view the portfolio of this organisation by clicking here.

 

VBites Cafe

by

I’m not sure if vegan food in the UK really is as lacklustre as I think it is or if the problem is I have eaten in incredible restaurants that have made me hyper-critical, but I am getting grumpy about second rate options in this country.

There are moments of deliciousness and innovation, but overall I find the UK vegan food scene to be desperately in need of a revolution.

Take VBites Brighton as an example.

shop front

Read more