NYE cruise on the Rhine with FGV

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Here we go again!

I am beyond thrilled to announce my participation with the New Year’s Eve luxury river cruise on the Rhine with Vegan Travel.

Join me and book your cabin for a fun-filled and completely vegan week on one of the most stunning and legendary waterways of Europe.

If you have been reading my online musings for a while, you might know that this will be my fourth NYE cruise with Vegan Travel meaning it has become an annual tradition for me.

But you don’t want to read about my good times of years gone past. You want the facts on the cruise this NYE, right?

NEW YEAR’S CRUISE ON THE RHINE DECEMBER 27, 2018 – JANUARY 2, 2019

If you’re looking to celebrate the holidays and welcome the New Year in incredible style, this all-inclusive cruise is for you. You’ll sail through Switzerland, France, Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium along the legendary Rhine river and pass incredible sights on this unique itinerary. Explore charming old-world villages and Gothic cathedrals as you relax onboard your floating vegan boutique hotel.

So what is included when you join the cruise?

  • 6 nights aboard in your choice of stateroom or suite, all with private bathrooms and fine organic vegan toiletries
  • Ship exclusive to Vegan Travel – the entire ship is vegan for the entire week!
  • Vegan fine dining (full board)
  • All alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks
  • Welcome & Farewell cocktail
  • All taxes, port charges and fees

Every ship I’ve journeyed on with Vegan Travel has been stunning and this year’s vessel looks to be no exception.

The ship has beautiful dining rooms, WiFi, bicycles available for shore use, a fitness centre, and even a 24-hour jacuzzi on the deck!

The itinerary for the cruise is the stuff of dreams. Check out this schedule:

  • DAY 1 – Basel
  • DAY 2 – Strasbourg
  • DAY 3 – Cologne
  • DAY 4 – Amsterdam
  • DAY 5 – Rotterdam
  • DAY 5 – Antwerpen
  • DAY 6 – Antwerpen
  • DAY 6 – Brussels
  • DAY 7 – Brussels

I don’t know what else to tell you. All your meals, all your booze and non-booze drinks, cruising along one of the world’s most fabulous and famous rivers, stunning scenery, a gorgeous cabin, and stops in some of the most historic locations in Europe.

Oh, I almost forgot to add. You also get to hang out with me in the bar!

This NYE cruise is fully booked every year and this year is already about 50% gone. Make your enquiries now and join me for a fabulous cruise!

Click here for all the details and booking.

You can follow Vegan Travel on Instagram and Facebook.

FGV all over London

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In case you have missed the news, Fat Gay Vegan is a London wide concern these days!

I have so much market news and am thrilled to announce that you can now eat and shop in Hackney all weekend long as Hackney Downs Vegan Market becomes a Saturday AND Sunday market.

In addition, I am launching Fat Gay Vegan at Venn Street which is our own weekly Saturday vegan market alongside the traditional Venn Street Market.

This is all kicking off from Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 September, 2018.

You can RSVP to the Facebook events for Hackney Downs Vegan Market and Fat Gay Vegan at Venn Street.

You can see the full trader line up for all markets online here.

Yay for vegan markets! Yay for independent vegan business!

Vegan restaurant gets a new London location

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A short while ago I posted about a new vegan restaurant on Brick Lane called Buffalo.

The food got some great reviews but they shut up shop pretty soon after opening. The location was not suitable for some reason but all is not lost.

I just had word that Buffalo is re-opening in Hackney!

This is what founder Stephen had to say to me:

Buffalo’s re-opening will be early October 2018! We have the lease for 6 months which hopefully will become permanent. The menu is expanding to include our burgers, extended list of homemade sauces and toppings, extra options for fries, and a new tapas menu. We are taking over the space recently used by The Brook Social.

Great news!

You can follow Buffalo on Instagram.

Santoni Cafetería Vegana

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Guest post by:

If you find yourself in Barcelona for a few hours and want to find reasonably-priced, delicious vegan food in a central location then look no further than Santoni Cafetería Vegana. Located just a stone’s throw away from the central Plaza Catalunya, this cute hole-in-the-wall style cafe went 100% vegan last year and their constant stream of customers suggests that they’re doing something right.

The unassuming entrance gives way to a small counter with cakes, croissants, doughnuts and empanadas on display. The person serving was friendly and welcoming and didn’t seem to mind my lingering inability to decide what to order. Eventually I settled on a four cheese pizza, a spinach empanada and a chocolate milkshake. All three items hit the mark with the pizza being the stand-out dish. The crust was perfectly thin but held together well, while the mix of delicious vegan cheeses and tomato sauce was topped with dried oregano.

I also got a ham and cheese empanada and a chocolate-filled doughnut to take away with me and I was equally impressed with these items when I got home later that day. So impressed in fact that I forgot to take pics before devouring them but trust me: they were tasty.

You can like Santoni Cafetería on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/santoni63bcn/

 

New vegan pie cafe in Sheffield

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I like to think I know everything about everything vegan, but one person has me well and truly licked.

Jez (who works at The Incredible Nutshell vegan grocery store) is always ahead of the game when it comes to what’s up with vegan Sheffield.

This latest piece of news from the ‘Jez Express’ is extremely welcome:

The Burger Garden has been taken over by the owners The Plant & Steel City Cakes. They opened 3.14 The Vegan Pi Company on Friday just gone. I’ve supplied pictures of the ‘chicken’ & stuffing pie I had as well as the shop front. (see below)

In other Jez-sourced news:

There’s a vegan bookshop & cafe opening further down Abbeydale Rd from 3.14 Pi soon called Red Haus and a completely vegan gluten-free bakery opening the end of October called Pearl Bakery.

It’s all happening in Sheffield, people!

Money raised for Isla Urbana

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With Vegan Beer Fest UK events a distant memory for 2018, it is time to count the money we raised for Mexico City water charity Isla Urbana.

At each vegan beer event, we host a karaoke space where we encourage people to have fun AND donate spare coins to our cause.

And what is our cause?

We donate all money raised from these charioke (get it?) sessions to Isla Urbana, a charity working hard to bring water security to households, schools, and businesses in Mexico City and other locations around the country.

Mexico faces a water crisis. In large parts of the country, including the Valley of Mexico, the situation is critical. The World Bank and CONAGUA, project important water shortages by 2030, seriously affecting access for millions of people. Even today, there are more than 250 thousand people in Mexico City without a connection to the mains network.

Ironically, while the city suffers from increasing scarcity, every year thousands of millions of litres of rainwater are washed down the drain or allowed to cause serious flood. This water should be used!

Isla Urbana are tackling this problem head on by installing rainwater harvesting systems, bringing usable water to people in need.

Our collection drive at the recent Vegan Beer Fest UK events raised the following amounts:

  • London £180
  • Coventry £145
  • Glasgow £130
  • Sheffield £115

We threw in a few extra pound to take the final amount donated to £600.

It is a real thrill for me that our vegan events in the UK can do a little bit of good for Mexico.

If you would like to donate to the wonderful charity that is Isla Urbana, you can do so online right now.

BREAKING NEWS: New vegan pizza hits the UK

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BREAKING NEWS

Oumph! are launching their plant-based frozen Italian Style pizza in 179 Tesco stores in the UK from September 16, 2018.

The Oumph! Italian Style pizza is inspired by Italy with semi-dried tomatoes, rocket, thyme and garlic seasoned Oumph!, and organic plant-based cheese. The pizza base is hand-stretched and baked in a wood-fired brick oven.

“At Food for Progress we believe in mouth-watering food that is kinder to the environment”, says Anna-Kajsa Lidell, Co-founder & Head of Progress Strategy. “With our pizza we hope to reach new consumer groups beyond the core vegan and vegetarian fan base”.

Lidell continues:

“There is an increasing demand for plant-based options. With all due respect to slow-cooking, often we just don’t have time to cook. This is when we need good, fast food that tastes great – like the Oumph! pizza!”

The Oumph! Italian Style pizza is already a huge success in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. In some stores the success was unexpected and the pizza sold out within a couple of days!

Preparing the Oumph! pizza will be simple. Place the frozen pizza directly from the freezer (unwrapped) on a baking tray in the middle of a preheated oven (Electric 220 °C/Hot Air 200 °C/Gas Mark 6) for 7-9 minutes. Done!

The Oumph! Italian Style Pizza is launched in 179 Tesco stores from 16th of September, where you’ll find it in the freezer section. The 400 g pizza costs £3.99.

Also on 16th of September, Tesco will launch the Oumph! Salty & Smoky, alongside current Oumph! products in Tesco’s frozen section; Pulled Oumph!, Oumph! Kebab Spiced and Oumph! The Chunk. RSP £3.49 per pack (280 g).

Oumph! Salty & Smoky – With its salty, smoky and slightly sweet taste Oumph! Salty & Smoky is a perfect partner for brunch, served with American pancakes, or in a bagel. Try it with a full English breakfast, or in an Oumph! ‘O.L.T.’

You can follow Oumph! on Instagram.

Vegan placard in new Culture Club music video

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Super brief news item.

Culture Club has released a new music video for their Let Somebody Love You single and there is an interesting vegan aside in the clip.

In one scene, a group of people can been seen gathering around the band as they hold signs featuring slogans and affirmations.

One placard reads ‘Only vegans are pretty’.

I’m not sure how or why this happened. I know that Boy George eats a mostly plant-based diet but I don’t know if anyone in the band identifies as vegan.

Vegan stuff is everywhere. From high street restaurants, to mainstream media, and now even to a Culture Club music video!

Watch the video below or click here if it isn’t loading.

FGV linked businesses up for vegan awards

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I feel like a proud parent!

The annual VegFestUK Awards are open for voting and it is fantastic to see so many of the traders from Hackney Downs Vegan Market being shortlisted within the categories.

These businesses work tirelessly to bring veganism to a wider audience and a lot of them are at the forefront of product development in their field.

Check out the friends of FGV and Hackney Downs Vegan Market who have grabbed a nomination:

It is so heartwarming to see all of these traders recognised in the nominations. Some of them still trade with us regularly and I’m sure the rest of our Hackney Downs Vegan Market family wish them all the best in the voting.

That cheese category is going to be a tough vote!

Click here to vote online in all the categories.