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.

Vegan salon in Hackney

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Hey friends.

Did you know about the vegan hair salon and barber in Hackney Central?

As I noted when I originally shared this photo on my Instagram account, Whip is located directly across from the Temple of Seitan shop on Morning Lane.

Everything the salon uses is vegan including colours, treatments, and shampoos. To get a cheeky look inside the salon, check out my original post on Instagram and click through the images.

You can follow Whip on Instagram.

Yay for vegan hairdressers!

BREAKING NEWS: Hackney Downs in vegan world first

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This news is too exciting to keep to myself any longer.

I am thrilled to announce that Hackney Downs Vegan Market is set to become the world’s first full weekend vegan market.

Yes, that’s right. The market will be trading on Sunday as well as Saturday each week!

Hackney Downs Vegan Market has become known for being the friendliest market in London.

Starting as a one-off Festive market a couple of years ago, the market then experienced runaway success as a monthly market and enjoyed attendee numbers in the thousands. The crowd numbers were so good that we had to make the market a weekly event in order to control crowds.

The demand was certainly there so Hackney Downs Vegan Market became the first weekly vegan market in the UK.

Located at Hackney Downs Studios E8, the market has become well known as a destination for the best vegan street food in London. Many of our traders have used the market to springboard into bigger business ventures and we are proud to support independent traders on their journeys.

The popularity of the market means there is immense interest to trade with us and our waiting list currently holds more than 400 traders.

There is only one way we can start to give more traders an opportunity and that is to expand the market into Sunday. Hackney Downs Vegan Market will be the world’s first full weekend vegan market!

We look forward to welcoming you on September 16, 2018 for the first Sunday version of our market and we hope this gives many more of you a chance to spend time at the world’s most-loved vegan market.

Commencing Saturday 15 and Sunday 16, 2018 Hackney Downs Vegan Market will be a full weekend market, opening from 11am until 5pm on both days.

The market will be open every Saturday and Sunday.

I’m not sure where else you need to be each weekend. Our market has got BOTH days sorted for you with burgers, beer, cakes, cheeses, and so much more. Don’t forget that the Temple of Seitan operated TEMPLE GOODS vegan café is on site at the market and open all weekend with brunch, coffee, tea, and gorgeous baked treats.

Stay tuned for more details and follow me (Fat Gay Vegan) on Instagram. This is where I share trader and food line-ups for the market each Friday ahead of the weekend.

Extra note: my second weekly vegan market taking place in Clapham is commencing on Saturday September 15, 2018. Fat Gay Vegan at Venn Street is a 10-stall market running alongside the original Venn Street Market every Saturday. Read more here.

HUGE vegan croissant giveaway

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Do you like free vegan things?

How about free vegan croissants?!

Get along to Hackney Downs Vegan Market this Saturday September 1, 2018 where I will be giving away 1,000 vegan croissants!

The very friendly Free From Italy have kindly donated a HUGE amount of their Probios vegan croissants for me to give away for free at our market this week.

The croissants are individually wrapped and perfect for an on-the-go snack, to take to work or picnics.

I will be handing out several hundred in both Organic Whole Wheat and Spelt varieties. Even though I have a lot to hand out, please get to the market early as there is no purchase necessary to get them for free and there isn’t really a limit on how many you can take. However, I will probably get a bit annoyed and mouthy if you try and take too many. Be decent about it!

The croissants, which are usually available in Chocolate, Spelt, Wholemeal and Savoury flavours, are normally sold in packs of 5 individually wrapped portions and ready to eat.

If you can’t make it to the market but would like to buy your own vegan croissants, you can do so online at the Free From Italy website and Ocado. You can follow Free From Italy on Instagram.

The line up for the market is sensational, including a first time appearance by legendary vegan bakery Ms. Cupcake. See full details here. We open at 11am until 5pm and are located at E8 2BT.

FGV at Bestival

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Hey!

Do you remember when I went to Bestival?

The festival was a lot of fun and I was thrilled to be asked to help curate and promote some of the vegan food on site across the event.

Gaz Oakley of Avant Garde Vegan was also a guest at the festival and he made this video of his time there, including snippets of a chat we had!

Check out the video below and I might see you at Bestival next year.

British Library goes vegan for a day

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The British Library is embracing veganism by offering staff and visitors an exclusively all-vegan food and drinks menu at its Kings Library Café this Thursday (August 30, 2018).

The world’s oldest library is supporting The Vegan Society’s Plate Up for the Planet campaign that encourages people and businesses to take up to a seven-day vegan challenge.

The King’s Library Café, located in the Kings Library, will be serving dishes such as mock chicken katsu curry, Caribbean jerk tofu and pandan panna cotta, as well as hot drinks with soya milk between 10:45am and 5:00pm.

Louise Davies, Head of Campaigns, Policy and Research at The Vegan Society, said: “We are very excited to have such a respected institution as the British Library promoting the environmental benefits of the plant based diet with a vegan offering at its café.

“With the weight of evidence showing that going vegan is the most significant thing an individual can do to reduce impact on the planet, it’s time people and companies alike took action on this issue.

“We need to be far bolder with our food choices if we are to protect our precious planet, and our Plate Up for the Planet campaign encourages people to do just that.”

Chantelle Nicholson, chef and author of vegan recipe book ‘Planted’, will give a free vegan cookery demonstration at 1pm on the day and sign copies of her book.

The Vegan Society will hold a stall by the café, handing out literature and giving out flavoured roasted peas from Brave Foods to people who sign up to their seven-day planet-changing challenge.

You can find the café by the King’s Library, located on the first floor of the British Library.

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

Vegan ribs feast night

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Gorgeous London event space 10 Cable Street is excited to be collaborating with Lazy Boy Kitchen to give you this fun night of vegan ribs and trimmings.

Gather around a table and tuck into some great food, eat with your hands, get messy and just have fun!

This event is the third outing of the always sold out vegan ribs night and is taking place on September 14, 2018.

The menu looks amazing:

  • Jackfruit Ribs
  • Smoked Homemade BBQ Sauce
  • Mac & Cheese with Bacon Bits
  • BBQ Pitt Beans
  • Cheeze & Jalapeno Corn Bread
  • Whole roasted potatoes
  • Corn on the cob
  • Salads
  • Sharing Dessert

Lazy Boy Kitchen is a London vegan pop-up kitchen creating USA-style plant-based comfort food classics, such as their Mac & Cheeze made with homemade cashew cheeze sauce and Brizket made with a homemade slow cooked BBQ sauce.

Click here to book a ticket for this one night only feast.

Extra news: Lazy Boy Kitchen will also be appearing at Hackney Downs Vegan Market on Saturday September 1, 2018.

New vegan products at Marks and Spencer

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The great expansion of vegan groceries in the UK continues with this plant-based range now available in Marks & Spencer.

I was wandering through the Ealing Broadway outlet of this mainstream retailer when my eye was drawn to multiple appearances of the word ‘vegan’ on packages in the chilled section.

Check out all the items I spotted below. I actually didn’t buy any so am unable to give any constructive feedback!

If you have tried, please let us know what you thought in the comments below.