This part of the world is often the punchline of jokes thrown around by smug southerners, but I for one have a special affinity with the northern region. My favourite book when I was a young child (with a fey manner) was the resplendent and camp A Woman of Substance, written by Yorkshire’s very own Barbara Taylor Bradford. I would read it alone in my room in a sort of secret lockdown, hidden for fear of being interrupted. I wanted nothing to come between me and the sheer outrageousness of the pages.
Flash forward several decades and I am not a multi-millionaire business tycoon as promised by Barbara, but Yorkshire is still a part of the world that keeps giving me delight.
However, this time around it isn’t the written word its inhabitants have gifted me. It is delicious vegan beer.
There is nothing more tragic and upsetting than a vacation coming to an end.
You know that sinking feeling, right? Having to pack and keep busy on your last day of holidays, with a mammoth flight hanging over your head. There isn’t enough time to go sightseeing and it is heartbreaking as you pile everything into a suitcase that has been doing nothing but gather dust for a month or so.
These feelings of depression are still sitting with me even after a fortnight back in London. I miss the weather, culture, people and friends of Mexico CIty… and the gay bars serving cold beer.
The only upside of having to get on that plane for 10 hours and be spirited away from my favourite city was the airline remembering my vegan meal and the meal being rather acceptable.
I am a bad vegan. In all of my time in London, I have never made the effort to drag my ample frame to Manna in Primrose Hill.
What? You don’t know what Manna is?! It’s a good thing my friend Julie Hamill took a recent excursion to this world-famous vegan restaurant and has dropped by to tell you all about it. You would have been waiting an awfully-long time if you were depending on me getting there.
Visit Julie online to read some of here fabulous Morrissey-related interviews and of course follow her on Twitter where she runs the weekly MozArmy quiz… that’s right, a weekly Twitter quiz about Morrissey.
The London Vegan Potluck stormed back into the capital this week and the food was on another level of awesome. New vegan dessert champions Pudology were on board as sponsors to add to the enjoyment.
Because I was too busy eating on the night, my dear friend Cookie Von Stir has kindly dropped in to show you what you missed.
There is one thing I have discovered during my chubby, queer life. If we do not shop at (and support) independent vegan businesses, they will disappear.
Business life is tough enough for small businesses and even harder for the vegan variety. You have got to be extra resilient when you are cruelty-free. You sell to a niche market (admittedly getting larger) and you often have all sorts of accusations and prejudices fired your way, some sadly even from within the vegan community.
One of the true champions of the do-it-yourself vegan scene is the decadently-delicious Ms. Cupcake of Brixton. This one-of-a-kind compassionate bakery pumps out glorious sugary treats and has gotten to the point where it is today through the sheer grit, determination and ferocious hard work of founder/owner/Chief Cupcaker Mellissa Morgan.
Ms Cupcake during the grand opening of the Brixton bakery
In just a few years, Mellissa has moved from humble beginnings selling her homemade wares at London markets to owning her own bakery that employs multiple staff members. Mellissa is a huge contributor to local animal charities and her surrounding communtiy. She has time and time again proven herself as an award-winning business person and highly-decorated baker.
But like every hardworking, independent business owner, Mellissa sometimes needs the help of her supporters and the broader community to get over hurdles as they present themselves. Namely financial hurdles.
The next stage in development for the Ms. Cupcake bakery is to offer frozen goods such as pre-packaged vegan ice cream, cheesecakes and their own frozen creations. The problem with frozen food however is that is requires a freezer to be stored in…. and there isn’t a freezer in Ms. Cupcake.
This is where you come in.
Ms. Cupcake is taking the fan-funded route to raise enough money to make the much-needed purchase. Mellissa is asking for donations from supporters in order to get her freezer and is even offering incentives to people willing to help out.
For a £5 donation you get a kiss from Ms. Cupcake herself. £10 will get you a cupcake and a kiss. Or you could splash out and show your commitment to helping small business with a £50 donation and be rewarded with a kiss, a cupcake, a tub of vegan ice cream AND a £10 voucher to spend at the shop!
Get behind this fundraising drive if you want to support a local business and help keep them away from nasty bank loans. Get behind it if you want to help a vegan business grow. Get behind it if you want to help Mellissa to be able to keep employing a large number of staff. In the long run, your donation will ultimately help Mellissa carry on with all of her charitable and community interactions that she is loved for.
And finally…. get behind this campaign if the thought of cupcakes topped with ice cream makes you do a happy dance.
Isn’t the word ‘flapjack’ a bizarre thing? Where on Earth does it come from? I would love to know the etymology of the word flapjack. Answers on the back of a Morrissey postcard, please.
While I sit back and wait for the mountains of mail adorned with pictures of the Mancunian poet, I might as well inform you of a delicious vegan flapjack I discovered on a recent food expedition.
This guest post was written by Rachel Cousins from hungryhouse, the UK’s leading online takeaway platform that features restaurants across the country including Glasgow, Birmingham and Nottingham. I’ve used this service in the past to order from the vegan menu at The Grove Cafe in Leeds.
Rachel gives a fantastic overview of the recent Vegan & Vegetarian Summer Festival in Berlin. It sounds like a lot of fun and only increases my desire to visit this city.
In some parts of the world, it can be a struggle to be a vegan.
If you are located a long distance from a major city, plant-based foods and cruelty-free supplies can be difficult to track down let alone finding a vegan social event in your neighbourhood. London spoils me for choice, but I never forget what it was like to live in smaller, less vegan-friendly locations. Heck… I was even situated (for a short period) in Rockhampton, Australia. If you care to investigate, I believe you will discover Rockhampton is considered the beef capital of Australia.
For isolated vegans, the light at the end of the lonesome tunnel often takes the form of a local vegan/veggie support group. Likeminded individuals get together to share advice, recipes, food, friendship and interests. Your local support group can often be the only time your choice to be cruelty-free is taken seriously.
There are a huge number of veggie/vegan support groups all over the UK but as Leeds is close to my heart, I would like to focus on the Northern city for a moment… specifically the Leeds Vegetarians and Vegans group.
Following on from the wildly-popular posts about airline food (one by me and one by my friend The Vegan Butcher), I put out an open call for readers to submit their own stories of vegan food served in the air.
A few people have sent in anecdotes relating to the animal-free food they have been served inflight. I have posted some below for your reading pleasure.
Please get in touch if you would like to see your food in the sky experience posted on Fat Gay Vegan. We are going to start up a nifty collection of vegan airline food stories at this rate! I especially encourage you to send photos with your reviews. Seat belt sign has been switched on. I hear the food trolley rattling down the aisle…
Pop-up Vegan Pizza Party is set to take London by storm on Saturday September 29, 2012. Be prepared for an evening of delicious dining on mouthwatering pizza, vegan cupcakes by award-winning bakery Ms. Cupcake and socialising in the centre of the vibrant and buzzing Brixton Market.
The evening will feature a huge selection of 16″ vegan masterpieces created by the talented purveyors of takeaway, Village Pizza. You will be treated to such tantalising flavours as Hickory Chicken, Spaniard and Tikka Surprise. These pizzas are huge and not to be missed if you are a serious vegan pizza lover.
But the eating won’t stop there!
Every ticket holder at the Pop-up Vegan Pizza Party will also get to choose a vegan cupcake from the glorious selection on offer in the Ms. Cupcake bakery. That’s correct… a whole lot of pizza AND a vegan cupcake of your very own.
The night will run from 8pm and the pizza will be served at specially-arranged tables inside Brixton Market. You will be enjoying your scrumptious feast as a Saturday night in the heart of Brixton comes alive all around you. Non-alcoholic refreshments will be on sale via Ms. Cupcake and there are currenty whispers of a vegan beer sponsor looking to keep revellers hydrated, too.
If a few hours of vegan pizza and cupcakes sounds like your idea of a good time, act quickly. £20 tickets (+ booking fees) to this feast are strictly limited. Click here to buy.
