New vegan eatery in Edinburgh

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There is a brand new vegan eatery set to open in the Bruntsfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi6UqT2lzXD/

Thrive Cafe:Bar is all a bit top secret at the moment ahead of its August 2018 opening, but this is what I have been able to work out from snooping around on social media:

  • the food and drinks menus will be 100% vegan
  • will feature a wine list
  • they promise exciting craft brews
  • Thrive is hiring staff

Yes, that is correct. If you are looking for a vegan job in Scotland, Thrive might be the right fit for you.

The new cafe and bar is looking for an assistant manager, supervisors, waiting staff, bar staff, a sous chef, a line chef, commis chefs, and kitchen porters.

You can follow Thrive on Facebook and Instagram, and email team@thrive-edinburgh.co.uk if you are interested in a position with this new eatery.

Buy this new vegan bacon online

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This is exciting news!

Vegan Cartel is a new start up involved with making and selling vegan bacon.

You can currently buy the super-cute packets of the tasty stuff online only via the Vegan Cartel website, but that is surely set to change with the big plans they have.

This is what they told me:

By making vegan bacon and other delicious stuff that will follow in the future, we are striving to get enough funds to build a sustainable vegan settlement somewhere near London. And we strongly believe that we are able to do this as our vegan bacon is the most delicious bacon you could possibly find. It took us months to develop the right recipe. It’s been degustated by meat eaters and vegans and all of them were fascinated about the taste and looks and asked if they could have some more.

Be one of the first people in the UK to buy your own packet of Vegan Cartel bacon via their online shop now.

You should also follow them on Instagram to stay tuned to their promotions, news and events.

A vegan shopping trip to Tesco

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I’ve been away from the UK for a while.

Well, actually it has been more than a while. I’ve been in Mexico City for six months.

During my absence, it appears that vegan options in UK supermarkets have simply exploded in popularity and availability.

I popped into my local Tesco Extra earlier today and was completely blown away by the enormous range of vegan products lining the shelves.

Check out just some of the dozens and dozens of new vegan groceries I saw.

Hug and Pint in Glasgow

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It has been a long time since I’ve eaten with Hug & Pint in Glasgow and even a longer time since I blogged about them.

I have always been blown away by the inventive and tasty food at this Glaswegian kitchen inside a bar that is above a live music venue, so I felt the need to give them a shout.

The menu is ever-changing and features small bowls and plates perfect for sharing. Order a whole bunch of them and share with friends.

You really need to follow Hug & Pint on Instagram to stay updated with their latest cuisine creations.

You can see the location of the venue online here thanks to Google Maps. The kitchen opens at midday every day.

Now, take a look at some of their latest dishes that caught my eye.

 

Vegan pizza on a canal boat

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It’s easy to get a bit jaded.

Are we getting overwhelmed by vegan news and vegan opening? Have we reached peak vegan?

Just as I thought I could no longer be impressed, along comes a vegan pizza canal boat!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkuwdLYnje4/

The Country Punk Kin Pizza Boat is a travelling vegan takeaway pizzeria travelling, stopping, and serving up delicious pizza regularly between Devizes and Bristol.

The concept is simple.

Follow the pizza boat on Instagram to find out where they are moored and then show up for pizza.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bkss65oH06i/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkstQlKH5AC/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkfRX-PHNUr/

I couldn’t be more in love with this concept if I tried.

Please follow The Country Punk Kin Pizza Boat on Instagram and make plans to eat with them this summer.

A visitor’s view of the vegan market

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It is always satisfying to see people enjoying Hackney Downs Vegan Market.

The traders put in so much effort into their products, Josh and I work overtime to make sure everything running smoothly, and our market manager Robertas is the star who pulls all the pieces together each Saturday.

We all work hard so our visitors leave with a smile.

Just like Club Mexicana did this past Saturday!

When they aren’t being legends with their own vegan businesses (such as running the kitchen at The Spread Eagle vegan pub), Club Mexicana love to openly support other vegan traders via their Instagram page.

You can see all of their photos from their market visit below.

You really should follow Club Mexicana on Instagram just for their Stories alone. They get up to so many cool vegan adventures.

EXTRA NOTE: There will be NO Hackney Downs Vegan Market on Saturday July 14, 2018 due to us hosting London Vegan Beer Fest on site that day. In a full circle moment, Club Mexicana will be one of our food traders at the beer fest! Click here to buy early bird tickets.

UK vegan music festival

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Is this a UK first?

The organisers of Vegstock reached out to me in order to ask me to share this information with you:

There are many fabulous vegan festivals around the UK but very few vegan music festivals, so Vegstock was born! The first Vegstock will take place Sunday 16th September, 2018 at the fab music venue The Piano Works in Farringdon, London. We have a full afternoon and evening of vegan bands lined up, alongside some great vegan food and clothing vendors. The event is in aid of Open Cages who are an organisation trying to make this a better and happier world for factory farmed animals.

I really haven’t seen many all-vegan band line ups in the UK, so this is great news.

Band scheduled to perform on the day include:

  • Rudy Warman & The Heavy Weather
  • Queen V
  • RIIVER
  • Tokyo Taboo
  • Platypus
  • Juha
  • Harry Munk
  • spyplane
  • Tally Spear
  • Eden & The Aftermath
  • The Fleas
  • Amorie

Food vendors will include Vegan Sweet Tooth London, Shakey Shakey Vegan, Sheila’s Kitchen, and more to be announced.

Early bird tickets for just £5 plus booking fee are available by clicking here now and you can RSVP and invite friends over on the Facebook event page.

A vegan BBQ at Argos

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Now this is just hilarious.

Argos is a catalogue retailer specialising in home furniture (amongst other items). It is famous in the UK for its giant catalogue containing an overwhelming amount of products including garden furniture, toys, stationery, home decorating needs, and so much more.

The retail outlet has caused a storm this week by selling a vegan BBQ. Check it out below:

Yes, it is a cheap metal BBQ. No different to any other BBQ you will see for sale in home stores and sporting outlets.

But some genius at Argos came up with the idea of putting the ‘v’ word in the product in order to cash in on the hype surrounding veganism. This is the most hilarious and shameless marketing I have seen in a very long time.

Of course the absurdity is that vegans can buy any of the 75 or so BBQs listed on the Argos site, but the retailer is maybe trying to trigger an emotional response from plant eaters and trick them into buying this model.

And I think it is working.

As I hovered my cursor over the product, a small pop up warning box told me more than 100 of these items had been ordered over the past 48 hours.

If for some strange reason you feel the need to possess this vegan BBQ, you can order it online here.

FGV book in Australia

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I was tagged in a fabulous post on social media a few days ago.

As you all know (because I never shut up about it), my first ever book titled Fat Gay Vegan: Eat, Drink and Live Like You Give a Sh!t was published a few months ago.

But in news that has just reached me, my book is now available in Australia!

It’s a nice feeling to know this book is finally available to buy in the country where I spent my formative years.

There are so many stories from Australia packed into the book, from my childhood spent marauding across Queensland beaches to my young adult years in Sydney share houses.

If you are in Australia and would like to buy a copy, you can ask your local independent bookstore to order it in. Alternatively, you can order online from Booktopia.