London vegan news, reviews & events
If you’re looking for a night of Queer creativity, community, and good vibes, you need to get yourself to Queer Open Mic this Sunday in South London.
I started the open mic about two years ago with my friend Josh as we wanted to create a safe and supportive space for LGBTQ+ performers in London because, let’s be real, not all open mic nights are as welcoming as they should be.
Worshipping celebrity vegans can often be a problematic endeavour.
Holding up and celebrating famous people as vegans has often come back to bite our community in the backside.
Miley was championed as an ethical vegan for years right up until she went on the Joe Rogan podcast to tell the world she was eating animals again.
One of my childhood heroes, Drew Barrymore, also went down a similar route. Drew lived as a vegan for years but over the past decade or more had dipped in and out of plant-based eating sporadically. The superstar does promote a lot of vegan food, but it feels as though the argument for ethical veganism is somewhat diluted by her suggesting it’s cool to chop and change on a whim.
I am not really here to drag ex-vegan celebrities (and I do still love both of the mentioned performers. I mean, Flowers is a fabulous song), rather I’d love to shout out a vegan celebrity I feel more comfortable endorsing.
So take a look at who I bumped into yesterday at legendary vegan fried chicken shop, Temple of Seitan.
Tell Me Where I’m Going (Wrong) podcast is back with episode 31 and this outing is full of complaining.
Complaining about capitalism, greedy landlords, and the disappearing cultural landmarks of London at the hands of rent gouging.
Josh and I chat about how close it is to completely unsustainable for independent businesses to survive in the UK as we mourn the loss of several high profile vegan restaurants.
We also discuss the threat to other cultural landmarks such as The Prince Charles Cinema. How will this erosion of our celebration spaces end?!
Listen or stream the episode via YouTube.
You can also watch or stream the episode via Spotify at the link below.
You know what’s better than a doughnut? A doughnut that everyone can enjoy. That’s exactly what Borough 22 in central London is all about.
Founded by Ryan Panchoo back in 2014, this doughnut brand was born from a mission to create sweet treats that were vegan and free from common allergens, without sacrificing taste. Fast forward a decade, and Ryan’s doughnuts are still made with the same love, care, and commitment to inclusivity.
I’m a little bit late to the game with this one.
Apparently these vegan copies of ice cream bars have been available all January, however I’ve just managed to get my hands on them.
Take a look.
London is an expensive place to eat out. Add hungry children to the mix and it becomes prohibitive for a lot of families.
Thankfully, a favourite vegan restaurant is making it a little bit more affordable this half term holiday period (February 2025) with their offer to feed kids for free!
I’ve resisted for a while, but can I delay it any longer?
Social network X (formerly known as Twitter) has become an unusable heap of steaming nonsense, overflowing with violent videos and fake accounts pushing extreme agendas.
But why am I so reluctant to leave it in the past where it clearly belongs?
Twitter was the first social media account I started under the Fat Gay Vegan name. My memory is a bit hazy (insert joke about B12 deficiency here) but I think my presence on Twitter started in 2010. I was full of hope about making the world a better place by sharing vegan news with likeminded people, while encouraging even more people to explore their compassionate side.
I used the platform to build connections with vegan and social justice activists all over the planet. It was a tool I used to share my thoughts, support independent vegan business, and improve outcomes for animals. The sense of community I experienced through Twitter was affirming and I was able to communicate and promote my vegan events with very little negative experience.
Yes there were trolls as with any online space, however the good outweighed the bad.
But then Elon Musk happened. Let’s talk about the rapid destruction of a once positive and nurturing online community.
Canary Wharf is one of those parts of London that feels like it only exists for people who work there. A sea of suits, glass towers, and the eerie quiet of a place that empties out after office hours.
It’s never really been a destination unless you have a reason to be there and for years, I’ve had precisely zero reasons.
But now, Yummzy has arrived, giving Canary Wharf a rare glimmer of interest for those of us who don’t clock in at a finance firm.
Fifteen years ago when I started this very blog, if you wanted to be social as a vegan in London you had to make it happen yourself. There were no vegan pubs and certainly no high street chains with dedicated plant-based menus.
This wilderness forced me to launch London Vegan Drinks, a monthly gathering where we carved out a space for ourselves in a world that barely acknowledged we existed. London Vegan Potluck was another community-driven event I curated, where people cooked and shared food because there weren’t many places to eat out.
Back then, if you wanted a vegan meal, you might get lucky at Pogo Café in Hackney (if they were open and serving something edible) or a measly number of eateries that weren’t always great. Other than that, it was whatever scraps you could cobble together from independent health food stores and Holland & Barrett. There were no vegan ready meals, hardly any supermarket own-brand plant milks, and certainly no Gregg’s vegan sausage rolls.
Then the independent vegan revolution happened. Slowly at first and then rapidly.
It’s that time of the week again.
My ex-partner Josh and I got together again online to discuss a few pop culture moments and in this episode of Tell Me Where I’m Going (Wrong) podcast, we both get a little bit worked up about Emilia Pérez.
We discuss out collective disbelief at the huge number of Academy Award nominations this film has garnered, as we both feel it is one of the worst movies we have ever seen.
Truly shocking.
There are a few other pop culture moments discussed in the episode such as legendary award show musical performances, as well as Josh’s ongoing fight against his chest infection! Is everyone in the UK seriously unwell, or just everyone I know?
You can watch and/or listen on YouTube:
And click through below to watch or listen via Spotify: