Top ten stories of 2018

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Hi all.

Unless some breaking news of unexpected hugeness comes along in the next few days, the follow list shows the most-read blog posts on fatgayvegan.com over the past 12 months.

Let’s count down the top ten starting from the 10th most read:

10. My exclusive look inside the new Temple of Seitan location in Camden drew big numbers, landing them just on the top ten list. Click here to see original post.

9. Owners of Loaf BnB in Northumberland were attacked by online trolls. My post showcasing the abuse and lending vocal support to the business drew in thousands of readers. Click here to see the original post.

8. You all can’t get enough of Temple of Seitan, can you?! A few days after the post sitting at number 10 on this list, I shared more exclusive photos from inside the Camden location and this time it came in even higher. Click here to see the original post.

7. It is no surprise that my ‘best things to eat in London’ list came in strong in the year’s end. Vegan are ravenous and insatiable! Click here to see the original post.

6. I had a mini meltdown/rant on Instagram a few months ago about non-vegans running vegan events, products, and services simply for profit. This blog where I elaborated on my rantings was extremely popular. Click here to see the original post.

5. Big news this year that almost broke the vegan Internet involved Heinz baked beans. The original flavour are vegan but we were all told by the company that the sugar free version are not?! Click here to see the original post.

4. It’s not uncommon for an old post to hit the top ten in subsequent years, but I was surprised to see this post about vegan mince at Tesco come in at such a high placing when it was originally published in 2014! Click here to see the original post.

3. Another oldie that just won’t quit is the post from 2016 all about why toilet paper is sometimes not vegan. It stirred things up back then and is still keeping them coming back in big numbers. Click here to see the original post.

2. Once again an old post has garnered HUGE numbers. My post from 2017 about LoveSeitan launching a new seitan company in the UK is bizarrely popular. Click here to see the original post.

1 . By far the most read story on this blog during 2018 was this April piece I wrote about why, after decades of being a super fan, I could no longer support pop singer Morrissey. This piece went viral with tens of thousands of viewers from all over the planet. Click here to see the original post.

Thank you for joining me for another year of product talk, community activism, and delicious food photos.

As long as you keep coming back, I’ll be here waiting.

Please follow me on Instagram.

Vegan yoga retreat in Dorset

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My friend (and all-round vegan yoga superstar) Louise Wallis is hosting an amazing yoga retreat in May 2019.

And you wanna get booking because space is limited and these retreats ALWAYS book up super quickly.

Celebrate the May Day Bank Holiday weekend and the first stirrings of summer with 4 days and 3 nights of yoga and delicious vegan food in an idyllic location. Take a dip in the indoor heated pool, walk to the beach, or sit by the campfire (or wood burner) and relish every moment.

Treat yourself to:

  • 4 x days and 3 x nights full-board stay in a beautiful eco-Retreat
  • Exclusive use of the venue & all facilities, including heated pool (see photo below)
  • 8 x Yoga / Meditation / Relaxation classes
  • Delicious vegan meals prepared by the resident Chef (mainly organic, local produce)
  • Complimentary gift bag
  • Free WiFi and parking

The venue

Bonhays Retreat Centre is a magical place. A secluded sanctuary, nestled in Dorset’s rolling hills between Bridport and Lyme Regis, and just 2 miles from Charmouth beach. With its heated pool, comfortable accommodation, valley views, and tranquil location it’s the perfect getaway.

If you are interested in finding out prices, accommodation types, and the yoga schedule for this May 3 – May 6, 2019 retreat, see all the information online now.

UK bowling alleys get vegan food

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In celebration of Veganuary 2019, All Star Lanes is collaborating with Biff’s Jack Shack and creating a one-off menu showcasing Biff’s vegan junk food. Featuring the signature and infamous Crispy Fried Jackfruit, the menu will run across all All Star Lanes’ sites from January 8th- February 3rd.

Dishes will include Biff’s Wingz – formed of jackfruit and an ingenious sugar cane ‘bone’ – which guests can dress up with a selection of sauces. First off is Soyz in the Hood which covers the wingz in a sensationally sticky maple, soy and ginger garlic glaze with red chilli and crispy onions. Another option is the Cheezy Barbie sauce which gives you wingz smothered in a bourbon infused BBQ sauce, beer cheeze and spring onions. Prices vary from 2 wingz for £6 to 4 for £10.

The one-off burger special, ‘El Jackitan’ (£9) combines a jackfruit patty with zesty guacamole, tortilla chips, nacho cheeze, beef tomato, red onion, maple chipotle hot sauce and torn coriander. Add a side to your order with the ‘Dirtbag Melt’ (£) – skinny fries covered in beer cheeze, topped with seitan ‘bacun’ and sweet pickle sprinkles.

The menu will be served across all All Star Lanes’ sites in London (White City, Brick Lane, Holborn, Stratford) and Manchester from 8th January-3rd February 2019.

You can follow Biff’s Jack Shack on Instagram.

My most liked Instagram posts of 2018

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The title says it all.

Below are the most liked posts from my FGV Instagram account during 2018. The most liked is at the bottom of the list.

Enjoy!

Follow me on Instagram.

Vegan eateries in Hampshire UK

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If you often find yourself in or around the Hampshire region of the UK, you need to make time to dine with these two family-owned vegan eateries.

Offbeet have locations in Wickham and New Forest… and the food looks sensational, as does the decor.

Vicky from Offbeet gave me a bit of an insight into what makes them tick:

Here at OFFBEET we offer innovative plant based food and drink in a unique setting. We’re passionate about sourcing the best, ethical and sustainable ingredients and products for our customers; better for us and better for the planet! Our menu is kept local and seasonal, with our organic fruit and veg coming from the vegetable farm we are located on, so we always have new and exciting dishes being developed. We have an onsite cookery school offering intimate classes focusing on practical learning and challenging the status quo of vegan cuisine. Come and check us out.

Before I show you some of these glorious food photos, I want you to know you can follow the eateries on Instagram. The Wickham location is here and the New Forest location here.

How fabulous!

This food looks world class.

You can see the exact location of each restaurant thanks to Google Maps. Click here for Wickham and here for the New Forest.

Click here to find out more information about the Offbeet cooking classes.

Christmas cheese shopping in London

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I’m not wasting your time here. You just need and want the cheesy facts.

We have three days of fantastic vegan Christmas markets coming up this week in London, so that means plenty of opportunities to grab your festive cheese supplies.

Take note of which brands are appearing where and get there EARLY on the day. The cheese always sells out quickly at this time of year:

Friday December 21, 2018 at City Vegan Lunch Market – Christmas Edition on Guildhall Yard in the City of London between 11am and 2:30pm

  • Nutkin – nut based cheeses that are current Venn Street faves
  • I AM NUT OK – gourmet artisan cheese taking the UK by storm
  • Kinda Co. – one of the true vegan cheese superstars of 2018

Saturday December 22, 2018 at the FGV section of Venn Street Market in Clapham between 10am and 4pm

  • Nutkin – nut based cheeses and our resident Venn Street trader

Saturday December 22, 2018 at the FINAL weekend for Hackney Downs Vegan Market between 11am and 4pm

Sunday December 23, 2018 at the FINAL weekend for Hackney Downs Vegan Market between 11am and 4pm

Support these independent cheese traders and make your festive table extra special.

Extra note: the markets will be overflowing with hot food, cakes, drinks, and gift ideas so please make an effort to support these traders on the final weekend before Christmas.

New vegan desserts and spreads

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UK company Norty is making delicious vegan desserts in Bristol before shipping them all over the UK.

And you can order online!

Check out these gorgeous flavours:

The Norty puds come in three flavours: Banoffee, Salted Choc, and Xmas Choc Orange.

You can also pick up some nut butters (Chai Spiced Peanut Butter, Choc Hazelnut Butter, or Salted Caramel Cashew Butter) and drink blends (Hot Chocolate or Turmeric Latte).

Click here to shop online and follow Norty on Instagram.

Extra note: Norty is currently raising funds for expansion via Kickstarter. Click here to see the campaign.

Exclusive Thai pop up supper club in London

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Superstar street food trader Greedy Khao had such a great response to their last supper club, they have just announced another… and you can choose from three dates!

Get all the info on Greedy Khao’s Aharn-Jaan-Deaw below. It sounds truly sensational.

Thai food is often enjoyed in the ‘family-style’ of eating, where a range of mouth-watering dishes are placed in the centre of the dinner table for everyone to share. This is a beautiful way to appreciate food while bonding with loved ones, but it isn’t the only way that Thais eat.

Sometimes Thais enjoy individual dishes, similar to the Western style, whether they are grabbing a bowl from a street food vendor with friends, or simply eating alone. As such, some Thai dishes are designed to be one perfect, complete meal, where all components are carefully selected to complement one another, and the goal is one plateful – or bowlful – of pure culinary satisfaction.

This event is a showcase of some of chef and co-owner Faai’s all-time favourite aharn-jaan-daew. Each dish is deeply connected to a special time or place in Faai’s life, from her childhood, to moving to London four years ago, to her life in the UK capital today.

Vegan fried egg

View the menu below:

APPETISER
Satay Khun-Ying | สะเต๊ะคุณหญิง
Khun-Ying’s Satay Skewers with Peanut Sauce and Aa-jaad Relish

Faai’s grandmother, Khun-Ying Uraiwan, was very picky when it came to her Satay platter. Everything had to be right – succulent and well-marinated meat, rich and moreish peanut sauce, a side of perfectly balanced sweet & sour aa-jaad relish, and of course some warm, toasted bread. Yes, Thais eat their Satay with bread, and that’s exactly how they are serving theirs.

MAIN
KAA-MOO MANTOU | ขาหมูหมั่นโถว
Stewed ‘Pork Knuckle’ with Mantou

An homage to Faai’s memory of the first time she had this combo – at the seaside town of Hua Hin with her best friend Pat and her parents. Five-spiced stewed ‘pork knuckle’ with pickled mustard greens, Chinese broccoli, and chilli & vinegar dip. Served alongside a fluffy Chinese steamed bun.

KHAO-MUN-GAI | ข้าวมันไก่
Thai-style Hainanese ‘Chicken’ Rice

This is a true street food favourite, and exists in various forms throughout South-East Asia. It’s also the first dish that Faai cooked for her whole family, impressing and surprising them in equal measure! Tender ‘skin-on chick’n’ with ginger and garlic infused jasmine rice, and traditional fermented bean dip.

PAD-KAPRAO NUERSUB KAI-DAO | ผัดกะเพราเนื้อสับไข่ดาว
Spicy Stir-fry with Thai Holy Basil, topped with ‘Fried Egg’

Dubbed ‘Aharn Sin Kid’ (lit. ‘food that requires no thought’) by Thais – this dish is a true crowd pleaser & the nation’s favourite. There has been endless debate amongst Thais whether a Pad-Kaprao should have added veggies or not. Greedy Khao side with the Traditional approach – no unnecessary fillers, only beautiful Thai Holy Basil. Topped with their famous and much-anticipated sunny-side up ‘egg’.

DESSERT
WOON-MAPRAO-ONN | วุ้นมะพร้าวอ่อน
Young Coconut Jelly

Faai’s mum Skowrat loves everything floral, and food is no exception. She shared her creations and they were so jaw-dropping that they just had to share it on this menu! Cool and refreshing young coconut jelly, filled with handcrafted flowers made from coconut cream. Light, delicate – an exquisite way to end a flavour-packed meal.

Young coconut jelly

This is the Thai food of a true Thai foodie, and Greedy Khao can’t wait to share it with you.

Greedy Khao’s Aharn-Jaan-Deaw is taking place at 10 Cable Street on Thursday January 31 2018, and Friday 1 and Saturday 2 February 2018.

Click here to buy tickets and follow Greedy Khao on Instagram.

Extra note: Greedy Khao are celebrating reaching 10k Instagram followers by giving away a pair of tickets to this event. Get over to their Instagram account for details.

Hackney Downs Vegan Market is ending

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Well, all things shall pass.

It is with a mixture of fondness, a little sadness, and a big sense of achievement that I announce the ending of the legendary Hackney Downs Vegan Market.

What started as a special Christmas market collaboration with Eat Work Art at Hackney Downs Studios quickly became the biggest regular food event in the UK.

Hackney Downs Vegan Market has played such an important part in changing the face of veganism in London, across the UK, and even throughout the world. It has inspired countless copycats and made big business take notice of vegan consumers in a way that very little had done before it.

Our community market was featured by the BBC (web, radio, TV) and countless blogs, newspapers, podcasts, magazines, style guides, and social media platforms.

The market has been a special place where we have given a huge stage to businesses owned or co-owned by women, people of colour, disabled people, and LGBTQ+ people. Josh and I have been committed to redressing disadvantage and oppression via the safe space of our market.

Many of our traders used the funds earned at Hackney Downs Vegan Market to go onto bigger and better things. Those early months of the market with record breaking attendances helped independent businesses such as Temple of Seitan and Young Vegans funnel much-needed funds into new shop premises.

The market helped support the financial stability of our vegan scene. It brought in tens of thousands of pounds to the pockets of independent business owners across its lifespan. We made this possible by charging the lowest pitch fees of any vegan market. We worked hard for little return so our traders could earn a living, not feel exploited.

We made global headlines with our record breaking attendances and we forced the city to rapidly recognise the power of the vegan shopper.

In turn, this was our undoing. Ian from Clarkshaws Brewing called it the ‘winner’s curse’.

Veganism is absolutely everywhere and people don’t have to travel for at least an hour on the Overground followed by a 10-15 minute walk in the cold in order to get inventive and tasty vegan food anymore.

It is now on their own doorsteps and to a large extent they have us to thank for that. We showed London how immensely in-demand vegan food was and the city took notice. Vegan food is simply in every nook and crevice of the capital, therefore our attendance figures at Hackney Downs have suffered. Many of our past food traders will now deliver to your door at the touch of an app, making the idea of going to an outdoor market less appealing for people.

Of course it makes me sad to see the market end due to lower attendance but as an activist wanting to see veganism spread far and wide, I have to be secretly happy.

I cannot sufficiently express my gratitude to our regular traders enough. It is impossible in this space to tell you about the countless ups and downs these people went through. Winter at the market is particularly brutal and the World Cup last year almost broke us completely.

These traders spend days preparing food and goods for the weekend, not knowing how many people will show up. Street trading is notoriously unpredictable but people like Chanel of Vegan Delice, Davina and Michelle of Cafe SoVegan, and Ian and Lucy of Clarkshaws always gave it their all in all types of weather.

They didn’t do it just to make money. They tirelessly supported the market because they understood it helped build social capital. It was a home away from home for many of our traders and an adored place to visit for our customers. They did it because they believed it made the world a better place.

They are my idols.

Eternal thanks to Adam of Eat Work Art (who has since moved on to another role) and his replacement Rosie for taking us under their wing and giving our traders a home for two years. Our market manager Robertas is nothing short of a hero and has built stalls and battled extreme weather to make sure everything ran smoothly. When he couldn’t be there, he made sure his friends Laurynas and Nerijus filled in and now they are also part of the market’s legacy and family.

And thank you to all of our customers who have braved the elements and made the market a world-famous foodie destination.

Together, we all did this amazing thing to improve outcomes for animals and our community. We made a difference.

We really, truly did.

Please visit the final ever weekends for Hackney Downs Vegan Market and make sure our traders go out like they started… with a bang!

Final dates for the market are Sat 15 and Sun 16 December as well as Sat 22 and Sun 23 December, 2018. The weekend of December 22 and 23 will be our Christmas market, so don’t miss out.

All details for the market can be seen online here. Get along to these final weekends and be a part of history.

Extra note: the FGV section at Venn Street Market is set to continue every Saturday in Clapham and don’t miss our one-day-only Xmas lunch market at Guildhall in the City of London on Friday December 21, 2018. Details here.

Taste award-winning Oumph meat alternative for free

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This weekend at Hackney Downs Vegan Market is your chance to try the award winning meat alternative by superstar brand Oumph!… for free!

Oumph!, a favourite in Sweden and the Nordic countries, is made from soya beans and organic herb and spice mixes. It’s plant-based and free from gluten and dairy… and it is taking the UK by storm.

Oumph! is versatile and easy to cook. It’s suitable to grill, boil, sauté, deep-fry or even heat over an open BBQ. In addition, it’s high in protein and fibre and a source of iron and folic acid, as well has having a low climate impact.

And no animals were harmed to bring it to your table!

Oumph! is absolutely delicious so it comes as no surprise that the brand has been busy sweeping all the awards in 2018, including:

• Oumph! Kebab Spiced – awarded ‘Best Food Product of the Year’, Food Matters Live.

Oumph! The Chunk – awarded Gold ‘Food For Food Service’, FreeFrom Eating Out Awards.

• Pulled Oumph! – awarded Bronze in ‘Ready Meals’ category, FreeFrom Food Awards 2018.

• Oumph! The Chunk – awarded Silver in the ‘Food Innovation’ category, FreeFrom Food Awards 2018.

If you are curious to see what all the fuss is about, get along to Hackney Downs Vegan Market to taste the incredible Pulled Oumph! for free.

Pulled Oumph!

On Saturday December 15 and Sunday December 16, 2018, you can try hot samples of this groundbreaking products served on crunchy corn chips with pickled onion.

Truly sensational.

Pulled Oumph! on crunchy corn chips with pickled onion

Oumph! is a part of Food for Progress. Food for Progress is a Swedish food company producing tasty, nutritious and climate-friendly food that everyone on the planet can eat. 

Check out the full Oumph! range in the UK online here and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

You can see the full trader line up for Hackney Downs Vegan Market online here.