Game changers at Temple of Seitan

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Super brief blog post to tell you about TWO very solid reasons why you should visit Temple of Seitan during November.

Reason the first is all about their special of the month. Take a look at this burger.

Vegan egg yolk, anyone?

Temple are magicians when it comes to food and this Brekky Burger is next level conjuring. You can buy it at both Temple of Seitan locations (Hackney and Camden) as well as the FGV section of Venn Street Market each Saturday.

News the second?

Temple is now stocking limited quantities of the best vegan donuts in the UK. Originating from Chester, the filled donuts by The Vegan Food Pod are the best you can buy and it is fabulous that they now have a permanent London home.

You can also find The Vegan Food Pod at the FGV section of Venn Street Market every Saturday.

Yay for tasty food!

Follow Temple of Seitan on Instagram.

Follow The Vegan Food Pod on Instagram.

HUGE Follow Your Heart giveaway

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London. This is HUGE news.

Superstar vegan company Follow Your Heart is teaming up with the original and best vegan market for a super sized vegan food giveaway this Sunday November 4, 2018.

Come along to Hackney Downs Vegan Market from 11am on Sunday and grab some of the finest vegan food products on the planet. FOR FREE!

There will be hundreds of Follow Your Heart products available for absolutely no charge, but you will need to be early to get the best pick.

The company has kindly sent the following:

  • Organic Vegenaise
  • Sriracha Vegenaise
  • Garlic Aioli Vegenaise
  • Pizzeria Blend Shreds
  • Cheddar Shreds
  • Organic Coleslaw Dressing

The products are not just great tasting, they are some of the best on the planet and are produced by one of the most ethical businesses you will ever see.

Hackney Downs Vegan Market Sunday edition traders will also be thrilled to see you, so please take a look at the line up online here and start planning your Sunday shopping and eating (the Saturday version is on as well if you want to make a full weekend of it!).

RSVP and invite friends over on the Facebook event page.

See the full Follow Your Heart range online and be sure to follow the superstar vegan brand on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Christmas party menu at Pho

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Pho, the Vietnamese street food restaurant, have just announced they will be launching a fully vegan Christmas set menu in some of their restaurants.

You can book their vegan set menu, which launches on 26th November, in six of their London restaurants plus Brighton, Cambridge, Guildford, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford and Reading.

The meal itself kicks off with rice crackers (and Christmas crackers!) before guests choose from a variety of their spring and summer roll starters. They also have a great range of mains to choose from, from their classic pho noodles soups to curries and other rice dishes, and wok-fried noodles, all served alongside mounds of lovely greens to share.

Even Pho’s Prosecco is vegan!

Get all the info and book your group reservation online here. The Vegan Christmas menu is available for groups of five or more.

And the Christmas set menu is available here as a PDF.

This sounds like the perfect place to go for office lunches, Xmas get togethers, and absolutely anytime you want tasty vegan food!

In their other restaurants, they will be serving their main menu as normal – which is already over a quarter vegan.

World Vegan Day dinner event in Leeds

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Launched in 2018 as part of the newly refurbished legendary Leeds dive bar Oporto, Knave’s Kitchen has quickly become one of the cities go to places for delicious vegan food with their seitan kebabs, fish finger wraps and ambitious specials bringing eaters of every persuasion to the late-night haunt all hours of the day.

Kanve’s is very special vegan food, indeed.

This week welcomes the first of three gorgeous upcoming events with Knaves. 

The multi-course dinner on November 1st (World Vegan Day to the uninitiated) will feature five Halloween themed vegan dishes and five specially created Oporto cocktails & themed drinks paired with them all for just £31.

There will also be prizes for best fancy dress and spooky decor. Be quick to book now.

Did I mention this was only the first event in a line up?

The second event, taking place on New Years Eve, will be an altogether more fabulous affair.

Vegan bubbly will welcome guests to their table which will be reserved for the evening, their will be the usual Oporto fun with top DJs accompanying a three-course vegan celebration with some extra special surprises all for just £29.95pp. Tickets for that event are available now.

Book for NYE now.

Vegan food opportunity number three from Knave’s?

Knave’s have also unveiled their first ever Christmas menu, which will be served from the 1st of December and features dishes like ‘Christmas Wurst and Parsnip Bacon Bun’ as well as ‘Boozy Shallots, Root Hash and Lambs Lettuce Truffle Crunch’, ‘Peruvian Jack Fruit Ceviche, Corn Croquettes, Sweet Pepper Aji’ and ‘Yorkshire Seitan and Wild Mushroom Wellington, Rosemary Roasties, Mulled Cabbage, Buttered Greens and PROPER Gravy’ alongside lots more tasty options.

Knave’s Kitchen head chef Sam Thomas said, “All the tinsel, trees and brandy-soaked puddings in the world couldn’t come close to getting me as excited for the festive season as this menu. It’s got it all: spicy deep seasonal punch, delicious nutritious wild ingredients and enough cheesy crass pomp to fill a French fromagerie four times over. At the same time as being Yorkshire as f*ck and holding true to the real Knave’s Kitchen Junk Food vibes”.

Tickets for Knave’s Kitchen events as well as Christmas bookings are available from their website.

Coffee shop, cafe, and cocktail bar all-in-one

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Hey, London.

There is a new vegan cafe on Brick Lane called Beanuts.

Beanuts is unique to the UK in that all the fresh plant milks on site (16 kinds of milk rotating daily!) are made in-house and the menu is based around them as well as the milk by-products.

They have polish rye soup, mezze platters, sweet bites, and awesome cocktails (including vegan white Russian and whisky sour).

The freshly-made milks are squeezed from:

Grains – barley, oat, spelt, rice
Legumes – lupin, pea, peanut
Nuts – almond, cashew, hazelnut, walnut pistachio
Seeds – pumpkin, chia, sunflower, sesame, quinoa, hemp, flax

Beanuts will also sort you out with amazing breakfasts, a great lunchtime selection of delicious sharing platters, cakes, smoothies, and fabulous vegan cocktails or warmers for these cold evenings.

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

You can follow Beanuts on Instagram.

New vegan pizza in West London

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West London, it is your turn to be excited.

Good Belly is three friends who make delicious vegan pizza and they are delivering on the west side of town!

Launching a month ago, they are currently delivery-only around and nearby the W8 part of London and are hoping to be available in more areas soon. They’re available to order through Deliveroo (and UberEats from next week) between Thursday until Sunday.

Their best-sellers are the Truffle Mac (ft. homemade truffle mac and cheese), Buffalo Soldier (ft. homemade buffalo cauliflower), and Crazy Rich Asian BBQ (ft. homemade BBQ jackfruit). They also do House Ranch, Truffle Mayo and Kimchi Mayo!

You can see the full menu online here.

You can follow Good Belly on Instagram.

Vegan retreat in Thailand

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My buddy Jo has joined us with a guest review of a special vegan retreat in Thailand!

Thanks, Jo:

If the thought of staying on a ‘retreat’ conjures up images of bland food and generally going without, then AMAYEN Sanctuary certainly challenges that misconception. This fully vegan retreat in Northern Thailand is all about rest and relaxation but it is also very much about good, tasty vegan food.

Situated about 45 mins drive from Chiang Mai airport/Chiang Mai city centre, with pick-up and drop-off provided, AMAYEN Sanctuary is nestled between lush green paddy fields in the countryside.

A major plus for me was the idyllic setting: a river bounding the retreat on one side, providing a calming soundtrack to my stay, and the backdrop of mountains and paddy fields on the other side. It’s a great place for watching wildlife, from birds and dragon flies fluttering past to the tiny squirrels jumping from tree to tree within the retreat.  The accommodation feels luxurious and great care is taken to ensure that guests enjoy their time there.

The activities included in the retreat packages are yoga sessions, mindful breathing, mediation and massages (traditional Thai or aromatherapy), all optional of course. There’s a salt water swimming pool and push bikes for those feeling more energetic and a fully stocked library for those wanting to take things more slowly. There are daily excursions to waterfalls and coffee houses. The local coffee is so good, I bought some at a local roastery to take home.

My favourite activity though was the visit to the organic garden, across a small bridge, to gather herbs and vegetables for a Thai cookery lesson given by co-owner and chef, Lin. We made three dishes: fresh spring rolls, green Thai curry (with three different types of aubergine) and bananas in coconut.

All of the meals at AMAYEN Sanctuary were outstanding and left me with a contented full belly thanks to the generous portions. Each meal had a little surprise element, whether that be in the beautiful presentation or the flavours. Most of the meals served were traditional Thai or Chinese but there was also scrambled tofu on toast, enchiladas, and even bread pudding (with a Thai twist). Apparently some people lose weight when they stay. I have no idea how!

Visit the AMAYEN Sanctuary website here to see all the details.

For anyone wanting to extend their stay, Chiang Mai has a number of vegan eateries including Good Souls Kitchen, various branches of Vegan Heaven, and Reform Kafé.

London now has a vegan bottomless brunch

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Buffalo, the new vegan diner in London Fields (yes, Hackney!), is launching the Buffalo Bottomless Brunch this Saturday October 27, 2018 from midday.

For £25 diners will receive the Buffalo Breakfast of Champions and unlimited mimosas and beers.

The Champions Breakfast includes vegan sausages, scrambled tofu, smoky seitan bacon, mixed beans, avocado and fresh, locally-sourced sourdough.

And if for some reason you need drink choices other than bottomless mimosas, for an additional £10 you can enjoy unlimited margaritas and Bloody Marys!

Brunch tables are available from midday for two hour slots. Email info@buffalodiner.co.uk to reserve or simply send an Instagram message.

Extra news: Buffalo Vegan Diner is just a 30-minute walk from Hackney Downs Vegan Market, so take a leisurely stroll over to visit us after your bottomless brunch.

Itis have a pop up vegan supper club in South London

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You know all about Itis Eats, right? And you love and adore them, right?

Itis is a much-loved vegan street food trader that serves regularly at Hackney Downs Vegan Market and they put on very special supper clubs that you do not want to miss.

They have a Vegan Soul Food supper club coming up on Thursday November 1, 2018 at Space @ 61 in Peckham. They’ll be serving mac ‘n’ cheese, collard greens, mushroom ‘ribs’, fried chickn and loads of the soul food classics.

They’re bringing you an indulgent evening with hearty food inspired by Africa, the Caribbean and the USA. This is a rare chance to enjoy soul food classics done vegan.

Go with your takeaway containers – you’ll struggle to finish this feast!

THE FOOD:

They’ll be serving each of you up a mixed platter containing:

  • Mac n Cheese
  • Collard Greens
  • Mushroom Ribs
  • Fried Chickn
  • Potato Salad
  • Corn Bread
  • BBQ Baked Beans
  • Corn on the Cob

Plus if you have space after all of that, they’ll be serving a delicious dessert.

All food by Itis is always 100% vegan!

Click here to book your spot before it sells out and follow Itis Eats on Instagram.

And don’t forget to catch up with Itis at Hackney Downs Vegan Market every Saturday and Sunday. Details here.

New permanent location for London favourite

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Biff’s Jack Shack to Open at Boxpark Shoreditch for World Vegan Day

SOFT LAUNCH FREE BURGER GIVEAWAY: 20 free burgers given out each day from Monday 29 Oct – Friday 2 Nov

Launching in time for World Vegan Day on 1st November, Biff’s Jack Shack is bringing its all-vegan menu of jackfruit-based fast food to Boxpark in Shoreditch. Started by partners Biff Burrows and Christa Bloom as a reaction against the sad, uninspired bean burger options they suffered in many restaurants, Biff’s is out to change the conversation about what plant-based food can be – with a side of neon and the odd 80s reference.

After hugely successful 10-month run with a pop up at Haunt in Stoke Newington, the Boxpark opening will be Biff’s first permanent home. The menu is centred around Biff’s unique Crispy Fried Jackfruit: young green jackfruit is braised in a secret spice mix and triple-dipped in golden panko to create indulgent burgers and wings.

Old favourites such as ‘The Father Jack’ – named as Time Out’s favourite vegan burger – and ‘The Samuel Hell Jackson’, topped with maple chipotle hot sauce will be on the menu at Boxpark, alongside brand-new creations. Best of the new dishes is Biff’s biggest most indulgent burger yet, the ‘Jack Bauer Tower of Power’, a double jackfruit patty with deep fried vegan cheese, potato rosti, bacun jam, vegan aioli, served in a toasted brioche bun.

Crispy jackfruit wings come complete with a sugarcane ‘bone’, topped in a range of Biff’s house-made sauces including bourbon-infused sticky BBQ; miso mayo; cinnamon sweet chilli; and blue cheeze.

The Boxpark Shack menu also features a section of ‘Filthy Fries’ including London’s first vegan poutine – fries topped with vegan cheese curds, porcini mushroom, seitan bacon, and gravy. Elsewhere, there’s a jackfruit, brisket chilli bowl; hush puppies (crispy cornbread served with whipped maple butter; and desserts such as the Mug Cake Bar, hot fresh and gooey chocolate cake. Brunch burgers will also be available on the weekend.

All Biff’s packaging is fully compostable and recyclable and there are no single-use plastic drinks on the menu. In an effort to reduce waste further, all customers that bring in their own appropriate food containers will receive a discount of 50p from their order.

You can visit the Biff’s Jack Shack online and follow them on Instagram.

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

Opening hours: Sunday – Wednesday 12pm-8pm; Thursday – Saturday 12pm – 10pm