French vegan patisserie masterclass in London

by

London, here is your opportunity to take part in a super fancy and super exclusive masterclass led by one of the leading vegan patisserie chefs on the planet.

I’ll show you how to make exquisite plant-based versions of festive French patisserie classics that will wow your guests during the festive season. – Clarisse Flon (specialist vegan patisserie chef, food consultant and photographer)

Grab a ticket and get along to the Made in Hackney kitchen on Saturday December 12, 2019 between 10am and 5:30pm for this rare learning (and eating!) opportunity.

This Masterclass is part of the Made in Hackney ‘VIP Series’, working with experts who are renowned in their field.

The class will include:

  • How to make a show-stopping Pear and Chocolate Genoise Yule log
  • Make an exquisite chocolate cream patissiere and chocolate buttercream
  • Learn to make gorgeous iced sablé Christmas biscuits
  • Rolling and setting techniques
  • Piping skills
  • How to make stunning chocolate décor and caramel shard decorations
  • Learn how to enhance flavours, and how to pair textures and tastes
  • A delicious organic plant based lunch, and take home recipe pack
  • 15% discount in neighbouring wholefoods shop, Food for All

Clarisse Flon is a specialist vegan patisserie chef trained in classic French patisserie. Clarisse has worked in many fine dining establishments around the world while developing plant based versions of her traditional recipes.

She launched The Sunny Spoon in 2013 (a French vegan patisserie bakery featured many times at Hackney Downs Vegan Market) and helped launch Cafe Forty One, a vegan restaurant in La Suite West hotel in Notting Hill. Clarisse now works as a food consultant and photographer, developing vegan options and recipes for businesses.

Fee: £160 (£118 Concession) includes delicious tastings and a recipe pack.

This fee is used to fund the Made in Hackney programme of free courses to vulnerable and low-income community groups. By attending a Made In Hackney masterclass you get a great day of learning AND you’re providing the charity with essential funds for them to continue their work with vulnerable community groups.

Click here to read more and book a ticket.

Fundraiser dinner with Animal Equality in London

by

Hey London!

You can join Animal Equality at their Festive Fundraiser on Tuesday December 3, 2019 for an evening that promises to be packed full of merriment.

Entertainment at the Central London event (near Farringdon) will feature the always inspiring Christopher Sebastian and the hilarious Carl Donnelly. If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to see them in action, then you definitely don’t want to miss this event.

You’ll also hear about the incredible work that Animal Equality has been able to carry out this year thanks to the generosity of their wonderful supporters, as well as enjoy a delicious plant-based, three-course meal and help the charity raise funds through a raffle.

The ticket price also includes a welcome drink and wine with the meal.

Entertainment

Speaker – Christopher Sebastian

Christopher Sebastian is the director of social media for Peace Advocacy Network, he sits on the Advisory Council for Encompass, he is senior editor at Vine Sanctuary Press, he is co-founder of VGN, and he lectures at Columbia University in the Department of Social Work for the graduate course POP: Power, Oppression, and Privilege. He primarily focuses on animal violence and how it influences anti-black racism, queer antagonism and class discrimination throughout the global west.

Comedy – Carl Donnelly

Carl has been nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award twice and has appeared on various TV shows including Mock the Week and Russell Howard’s Good News. He is a regular on the international comedy circuit, performing at pretty much every comedy festival there is!

Animal Equality look forward to seeing you next week. Click here to book tickets.

Extra note: The event space is accessible and Signing can be arranged on request.

7 amazing vegan dishes I recently ate

by

If you have been taking notice of my ramblings lately, you’ll know that I have teamed up with a Seattle-based travel company to launch a brand new vegan cruise company.

Vegan Culinary Cruises is dedicated to luxurious 5-star travel. Everything about the cruises we design is for vegans and vegan-curious people and our adventures are 100% vegan.

The alcohol we serve. The toiletries in the cabins. The shore excursions we organise. And of course the cuisine. It’s all designed to be 100% vegan.

I recently teamed up with our chef Tobias for a week of workshopping our menus and I have to say it was not exactly tough work for me. I got to eat some truly delicious dishes.

I’ve picked my top 7 items Tobias and I developed (and my contribution was mostly tasting) for your viewing pleasure. I’d love to know your favourite:

First up in my cavalcade of deliciousness is this stunning omelette. I haven’t eaten a non-vegan omelette in more than 20 years so I can’t place myself as an expert, but this vegan version was incredible. It was so good, we are considering having an omelette bar at breakfast on our upcoming cruises.

Dense and sweet. That’s how I like my brownies and this one didn’t disappoint. The gooey topping was perfect.

If fried spring rolls are on a menu, I order them. I’m so happy Tobias put this starter together for me and the slightly charred bok choy was the perfect accompaniment.

When Tobias told me that he wanted to cook something for me that featured multiple types of beans, I was a bit suspicious. Beans aren’t that exciting, right? I was wrong! This casolette served with crunchy garlic bread and fresh radishes was one of the highlights of the week.

Moussaka is a little bit rare to come across when you eat vegan, so I was thrilled to be served this plate during our menu workshop week.

Here is my favourite dish from the week. Seitan strudel is now the love of my life thanks to this gorgeous creation. The flaky pastry was perfectly matched by the savoury seitan filling. Not shown were some crunchy roasted potatoes in a side bowl. I mean, come on!

I couldn’t possibly end this list without the inclusion of this delicious and decadent Crêpes Suzette. I am a sucker for fancy desserts and this knocked it out of the park. The ice cream you can spot in the photo was caramel flavoured and I fell in love with it.

There you have it. What do you think about these dishes we workshopped for Vegan Culinary Cruises?

You can see both of our 2020 cruises on the VCC website. First up is the LGBT-focused (although all are welcome) cruise on the Mekong through Vietnam and Cambodia in July, followed by a Rhone cruise through the South of France during the first week of November.

We currently have a huge special for early bookers of a US$1,000 discount per person for bookings before January 31, 2020.

Click here for all cruise information.

Follow Vegan Culinary Cruises on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Help vegan Black Cat celebrate 5 years in London

by

Black Cat Hackney is more than a vegan café.

So much more.

It is a place to eat. It is a place to socialise. It is a space in which you can feel supported and celebrated, no matter who you are. It is a supportive space for independent vegan chefs to take risks with pop up events.

Black Cat is one a crucial component of the London vegan scene and an important supporter of local Hackney communities.

The food at the café is sensational and the people keeping it all running are even nice.

I hope you will join me in wishing Black Cat the very best as they celebrate their 5th anniversary. How incredible!

Black Cat is celebrating this huge milestone with an even huger party, including the launch of a new menu at their second location (yes, keep up friends!) kitchen takeover at Roadtrip & The Workshop on Old Street in Hoxton. This venue is a late night hangout with gorgeous cocktails and exciting events.

So much info to give you so let me start with the party aspect.

To celebrate 5 years of being awesome, Black Cat are throwing a fabulous party at their pop up kitchen venue at Roadtrip & The Workshop from 7pm on Wednesday November 27, 2019.

Entry is free with a suggested donation of £8 if you can afford it.

There is a super cool line up of entertainment across the evening including:

  • 7pm Gaea
  • 7:45pm Zek
  • 8:20pm Immigranti
  • 9pm Arboricidio
  • 9:45pm Surya
  • 10:30pm Awate

As part of the celebration, Black Cat is launching a new menu which you can check out below.

Potatoes

  • Chips: freshly fried potatoes, herby parmesan dust 3.50
  • Patatas Bravas: double cooked cubed potatoes with our signature spicy sauce and a dollop of garic mayo 5
  •  Gyro fries: potatoes, shawarma style marinated seitan strips, cheese sauce, halloumi curds 7

Sides

  • House marinated olives: warm olives in lemon, thyme and rosemary marinade 3
  • Bread: buttered sour dough bread 2.50
  • Just Nachos: freshly fried corn tortilla chips seasoned with Cajun salt 6
  • Loaded Nachos: freshly fried tortilla chips, ground chorizo, black beans, sour cream 8.50

Small plates

  • Grandma’s meatballs: house made sausage meatballs cooked in a rich white wine gravy 6.50
  • Croquettes :  deep fried thick béchamel fritters with leek and mushrooms 5.50
  • Arancini: risotto croquettes with house made marinara and filled with vegan cheese 5.50
  • Dan Dan Cauliflower: crispy battered cauliflower coated in spicy sesame, soy and siracha sauce topped with pickled cucumbers and carrots and crushed peanuts 6
  • House wings  : chicken style seitan tossed in our signature bbq spicy sauce, served with blue cheese sauce
  • Garlic prawns: vegan prawns marinated in a spicy smoked paprika, white wine and chilli flakes. Served with grilled sour dough 7

Burgers and sandwiches ( served in brioche bread and sour dough bread )

  • The roadtrip hot dog: moving mountains sausage, jalapeño jam, house sauerkraut, cheap mustard 8.50
  • The beef style burger: house made beefy patty, horseradish mayo, lettuce, grilled onions, burger sauce, gherkins. Black Cat best seller for the last 5 years, tweaked for the occasion 8.50
  • The Cuban: smokey tempeh, seitan ham, melted cheese, dill pickles, herby mayo in grilled buttered sour dough 8
  • Buttermilk corn crusted chicken style burger: tofu and seitan patty tossed in our very own scotch bonnet spicy sauce, blue cheese, lettuce, beef tomatoes and herby mayo 8.50 
‘Beef’ burger
Leek & mushroom croquettes
Patatas bravas

How tasty does that all sound?!

To wrap up…

Get along to the Black Cat 5th anniversary part at Roadtrip & The Workshop in Hoxton on Wednesday November 27, 2019 from 7pm. You can see the exact location thanks to Google Maps.

Get along anytime after the party in the future to try the gorgeous new menu.

Be sure to visit the original Black Cat location in Hackney. See the exact location thanks to Goole Maps.

And finally, follow Black Cat on Instagram.

Fried chicken restaurants in London launch vegan items

by

Fried chicken chain Chick ’n’ Sours has launched a range of plant-based sandwiches and sides.

The restaurant chain wanted to recreate their K Pop Sandwich in plant-based form and have included all the same flavours in a vegan version. The protein they’re using is seitan.

To emulate the flavours of their K – Pop sandwich, they built up a sandwich on their original bun (which is vegan already) with a vegan Gochujang mayo, the seitan patty (coated in a crunchy coating), chilli vinegar, and a reworked ‘slaw dressing’ to replicate the flavours but without the fish sauce. They top the burger with vegan Sriracha mayo.

The menu also includes plant-based nuggets called No Way Nuggs. These are a different protein using pea and soy that is coated in breadcrumbs. They coating the nuggets in a vegan ginger miso mayo and sprinkle with spring onions, pickled ginger, and sesame.

They can now offer a completely vegan meal on the new menu and have re-engineered versions of their famous sides to make this happen. This set menu includes House Pickles, No Way K-Pop, No Way Ginger Miso Nuggs, Bang Bang Cucumbers, Pickled Watermelon Salad, Fries (without dripping), and plant based Gochujang mayo and vegan Sriracha mayo.

Chick ’n’ Sours now has four branches across London: Haggerston, Seven Dials, Islington and Spitalfields.

You can visit their website and follow them on Instagram.

Please note that Chick ‘n’ Sours is a restaurant that also serves meat and dairy. Their website and social media reflect that fact. If you are looking for a fried chicken experience that is completely vegan, you can dine with Temple of Seitan in Hackney and Camden.

Vegan panettone in Selfridges UK

by

Growing up as an uncultured and unworldly person in Australia, I didn’t know much about fancy foods or even foods that a lot of people consider common.

Heck. I didn’t even try hummus until I moved to the UK in 1998. Can you believe it? That shows how out of touch I was with international and diverse tastes.

Now, of course, I’m running all over the globe and eating all sorts of food.

I even know what panettone is!

And in fab news that I think of lot of people will adore, Selfridges food hall is now selling a spiced pumpkin vegan panettone just in time for the festive season.

I saw this delight at the Selfridges food hall on Oxford Street in London.

If you aren’t able to get into this store, Selfridges is also selling the festive panettone online.

Click here to see it online.

Super cool vegan merch to buy online

by

One of the finest places to eat vegan food on the planet is Make No Bones in Sheffield.

This comfort food hot spot is legendary with local people and is also quickly developing a reputation as a place to visit for people all over the planet.

Yes, the food is THAT good.

Fans of Make No Bones love the place so much, they demanded merchandise in order to show their dedication in public.

The restaurant has come up with a bunch of super cool merch that you can order online. Check it out.

First up, the apron. How cool will you look as your are cooking up a vegan storm in your own kitchen?

Lay your eyes on this gorgeous tea towel. It works for drying dishes, but it is so pretty I would consider framing one for my kitchen wall. Or sowing two back to back to make a cushion!

What about a t-shirt? Make No Bones has you covered. The avocado wings is on the front, while the back features the name of the restaurant. Style.

Lastly, you can buy a gorgeous Make No Bones pin. Imagine how fine you will look with this snappy little badge on your collar.

All of the above items are available online here.

You can also follow Make No Bones on Instagram.

See the exact location of the Sheffield restaurant thanks to Google Maps.

Vegan rolled ice cream business hits the UK

by

Do you know what rolled ice cream is?

Rolled ice cream (also sometimes known as stir-fried ice cream) is a dessert made on a cold plate. Liquid (sweetened and flavoured) is spread thin on the cold plate and scraped using spatulas.

Once the liquid starts to turn into ice cream, it is scraped into rolls and served.

I recently heard from Cassie who has started a vegan rolled ice cream business called Twisted Tulip in the UK.

Cassie told me:

I started Twisted Tulip in August this year and have been attending vegan markets in the South West so far, but am hoping to attend larger markets and festivals across the country next year. We also have plans to cater weddings, parties, and events. As far as I am aware, I am the only 100% vegan rolled ice cream company in England.

How fab!

I love this idea. Vegan ice cream being made on site at events!

If you would like to keep updated on events where Twisted Tulip will be appearing, follow the company on Facebook and Instagram.

And hire them for your own markets, parties, and celebrations!

Vegan café in Avignon, South of France

by

My recent trip to Avignon was a dream.

We enjoyed gorgeous weather. The city was beautiful. Everything about my visit was perfect.

One component of the trip that added to my enjoyment more than most other aspects was my visit to Theias vegan café.

The food!

I was greatly impressed by the cuisine on offer at Theias. Sure, it was simple stuff but simple stuff done extremely well.

My favourite menu item was the bánh mì which was made with the most gloriously irresistible baguette I have ever experienced. I loved this sandwich so much, I bought an extra to eat an hour later!

The soup, the apple pie, the cheesecake, the quiche… it was all sensational.

There were also tubs of salad available along with vegan coleslaw dressing and mayo.

I truly haven’t been this satisfied with a meal in a long time. I was so happy!

You can see the exact location of the café thanks to Google Maps.

Extra note: Avignon is situated alongside the rive Rhone in the South of France. If you join me on our Vegan Culinary Cruises Provence adventure in November 2020, it would be my pleasure to personally accompany you to Theias for lunch during our stop in Avignon!

Read more about the cruise online here.

Return of Hackney Downs Festive Vegan Market

by

It is back!

The original London vegan market, Hackney Downs Vegan Market, is back for one day only in festive form on Saturday December 14, 2019.

This festive market has become an annual tradition for vegans, the vegan-curious, and our friends from all across London. Our traders help us showcase the best plant-based street food in the capital and there are always plenty of cheeses and gifts, ensuring quality shopping.

Traders on the day include:

Vegan cheese and pantry

  • Kinda Co. – a London favourite when it comes to cheeses, they will be selling cheese boards for your Xmas table
  • New Roots – Vegan Cheese – one of the most innovative vegan cheese companies out there at the moment with spectacular products
  • Vegan Cartel – need vegan bacon? They have it for you in take home packs
  • Plant Based Artisan – the original and the best gourmet vegan honey alternative

Hot food

Cakes

  • Vegan Delice – one of the original Hackney Downs Vegan Market traders and our resident queen of cake

Gifts

Beer

  • All Good Beer – beer to help make your Xmas market experience even better!

Whether you are stocking up for Christmas or just coming along to eat your fill on the day, Hackney Downs Festive Vegan Market is the place to be.

The market will run between 11am and 5pm.

You can see the exact location of the festive market online thanks to Google Maps and be sure to invite your friends using the Facebook event.