London vegan news, reviews & events
I don’t plan my eating around religious concerns, unless you consider indiscriminate vegan overeating a religion. My food consumption, like all areas of my life, exists outside organised religion.
But my food atheism certainly doesn’t prohibit me from benefiting from belief systems that instruct devotees to separate their animal products when eating.
Enter Kosher Kingdom of North London.
Mexico City is turning up some vegan surprises, that’s for sure.
I have purchased chocolate soya milk in grocery stores, enjoyed massive jars of tofu/olive paté and let’s not forget about the wonderful vegan cupcakes made right here in Distrito Federal. Oh no, I haven’t been going hungry.
Amongst this cornucopia of hidden vegan delights is one of the loveliest food outlets anywhere in the world. Vegans and vegan-curious, please let me introduce you to Falafelito.
TOPAS bring some of the best vegan meat products in the world to my plate with their Wheaty range. The fact they are market-leaders is non-negotiable and I’ve known it for a long time. If you haven’t tasted their Chorizo sausage, you haven’t lived.
But what I didn’t know about TOPAS is that they produce a small and mouthwatering range of vegan pâtés. I recently discovered the three flavours of pâté made by this vegan company and it is safe to say I will only be growing more familiar with them in the future.
The TOPAS pâté range features paprika, marjoram and mushroom flavours. Most of the ingredients used are organically-sourced and all of the flavours are gluten free.
Time for a quick poll. What consumes the attention of a FGV most?
Choices for answers:
1. Eating vegan food 2. Traveling 3. Morrissey
Well done to the readers who put a circle around all three answers. Let me take you on a little journey as a reward for your astuteness. Hold on as we take in the delights of Rome, Morrissey in concert and vegan gelato.
A few weeks ago I took a trip to a far off place to see Morrissey in concert. It was my first time in Italy and Rome certainly left a huge impression on me. The city was gorgeous of course, but the immense wealth harnessed and displayed by organised religion left a rather sour taste in my mouth.
The remedy for this was to find my way to Gelarmony, a gelato outlet with an entire case of vegan options. From an overwhelming range of flavours, I was able to whittle my choice down to just three plus a healthy dose of vegan soya cream on top.
Do you often fly coach/economy? Then you will be acutely aware of how lousy airline food can be.
Requesting a vegan meal on a plane is even more of minefield. I was once served a lamb curry for my special meal request. Another adventure involved nothing but a few blocks of cheese and water crackers. And of course we all know the anguish of having nothing to eat except a bowl of under-ripe melon. I have enjoyed the occasional vegan meal on a flight and the memory will always be cherished of being served a vegan donut with chocolate soy milk on a United Airlines flight.
I am keen to share my latest experience of vegan flying food with you, but before I do I want to ask a question. What is the best vegan food you have been served inflight? What is the least memorable? What is the most unbelievably bad? I know that is more than one question, but I am just that curious!
Here is the vegan meal I was served on British Airways a week ago on my way to Mexico City. Overall I was impressed by the quality and the thought that had gone into my meal. The vegan dishes were actually vegan as far as I could tell. It was definitely one of the most satisfying vegan meals I have experienced on a flight during the last few years. How does this rate with your experiences?
Para los hispanohablantes hay una versión en español al final de esta página.
I traveled 11 hours by plane to the other side of the world and what did I discover? If you guessed delicious vegan cupcakes, give yourself a pat on the back!
Mexico City is not known internationally as a haven for vegans. Walking through any street market in the metropolis would lead you to believe the concept of plant-based fare is completely unknown. All sorts of dead animals are fried, boiled and seared before your very eyes and it is confronting and often gruesome.
But not all is lost. A new wave of vegan options is taking over Distrito Federal and I am extremely proud to say a dear friend of mine is part of the movement by making sure he offers cruelty-free treats as part of his new baking endeavour.
Whenever I am asked to name my favourite vegan snack (and that happens a lot actually), one name keeps coming up again and again.
Moo Free Chocolates.
Moo Free Chocolates are a constant in my life. Whether I am breaking off a chunk of their amazing caramelised hazelnut bar or sinking my teeth into an award-winning praline, you can be assured barely a week goes by where I haven’t gobbled a gorgeous Moo Free treat.
It’s obvious I’m already a die-hard supporter of this tremendous vegan confectioner, but my dedication has only been further cemented by the release of their new Mini Moos line of chocolates. I have fallen head over heels for these delights.
One thing that is awesome about being a self-confessed, overeating vegan is that I get to support a lot of fabulous independent businesses. And believe me when I giddily-proclaim there are few more fabulous than Cookies And Scream of Camden.
Looking for a vegan alternative to corporate soda but still want a caffeine kick? Your search is over thanks to Club-Mate.
Welcome to Messy Vegetarian Cook. She is a dear friend, an amazing artist and one of the best vegan cooks in London. She wants to tell you all about her enjoyment of the ¡comamos! vegan tapas club organised by yours truly last weekend that featured the gorgeous food stylings of Vegan Peasant Catering and cruelty-free wines supplied by Vegan Wines Online.
Once you have feasted on her words, make sure you take advantage of this very special vegan wine deal: FGV readers simply enter code FGV5 for 5% off all purchases at Vegan Wines Online. Valid until August 31, 2012. Click here to shop.
Got your wine? Good. Take it away, Messy Cook!