UK has a vegan shake diner

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Hold onto your vintage petticoats because this is some hugely fabulous news.

The Essex town of Colchester has just welcomed a 100% vegan, 50s-style diner that has a distinct rockabilly vibe.

It looks marvellous!

You need to follow Shakers Dairy Free on Facebook and Instagram. You can click here to see the exact town centre location thanks to Google Maps.

Not only do I adore the idea of a completely vegan diner selling ice cream, shakes, and sandwiches, but I’m also in love with the fact that Shakers are using 100% compostable packaging.

Yay for vegan Colchester! There is definitely a fabulous compassionate scene building in strength in that part of the world.

Vegan business in Sri Lanka

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I recently enjoyed a wonderful email exchange with a vegan business owner in Sri Lanka.

Instead of me trying to give you all the details, I’ve asked Tashie Roberts to give you all the inside information on her venture called Smokey’s – The Brownie Bar:

Three and half years ago I became a vegan and because I missed cake and goodies, I learnt to bake vegan brownies. My non-vegan family and friends loved the brownies I baked and many people suggested that I sell a few brownies from home. The rest is history. Smokey’s – The Brownie Bar was born! It took off and people (not just vegans) loved my brownies and it got bigger and I realised I could no longer do it from home. I took a small place and decided to start up my own café. I invested every last cent I have in to opening up the café. Now, even though I do have a regular amount of business coming in from people that order my brownies and cakes for delivery, it isn’t nearly enough to run the café. Sri Lanka is a fairly poor country meaning not many people simply walk into the café off the streets. In the past month (34 days to be exact) that I have been open, I have noticed to my surprise that the majority of customers walking in have been vegan tourists that have found me on HappyCow. I am also the admin of Vegan Sri Lanka, the vegan community here in Sri Lanka where we discuss veganism, help vegan tourists with where to eat, what to eat and how to order, and many other things. The vegan community in Sri Lanka is tiny but there a lot more of us than when we first started our Vegan Sri Lanka journey three years ago. It is growing and we are seeing so much progress in Sri Lanka!

What an amazing story.

We can help Tashie and the vegan movement in Sri Lanka by liking and sharing the Smokey’s Facebook page. You can also follow them on Instagram.

If you are in the area, the exact address of Smokey’s – The Brownie Bar can be seen here thanks to Google Maps.

Pride month

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As June is Pride month, I am thrilled to find myself listed on not one but two lists championing LGBTQI+ vegans.

  • You can click here to see 11 Vegan LGBTQIA+ Activists You Need To Know About thanks to LiveKindly and writer Kat Smith.
  • In addition, you can read the 20 Highly Influential LGBTQ+ Vegans list put together by Emily Court over on Plant Based News by clicking here.

Thank you for the inclusion on your lists.

I truly hope a lot of FGV readers will take a moment to discover some of these queer voices mentioned and work hard to help elevate and amplify what they have to say.

Follow this vegan band

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One of my favourite bands out of Australia is Love Like Hate.

Heather and Sonja write, record, and perform irresisitible and atmospheric pop music.

I was encouraged to remind you about them after I saw the following Instagram post from the band.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkD-EBrF1Ra/

Love Like Hate isn’t just a vehicle for fantastic music, the people involved are also fierce social justice advocates. Both Heather and Sonja are long term vegans and both are continually using their platform to speak out against injustice.

Please take some time to listen to Love Like Hate over on Bandcamp.

Follow Love Like Hate on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Zero waste vegan market for London

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London will soon welcome its first ever vegan, zero waste market.

Set to take place between 10:00am and 5:00pm on Saturday September 29, 2018 at the beautiful palm tree filled Conservatory (at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel, Kensington), Zero Mkt London will involve zero animal products, zero single-use plastics and zero waste. Everything will be edible, reusable, recyclable or compostable. Guests will have an array of stalls to explore, ranging from vegan food and drink, eco lifestyle products, and sustainable clothing items.

Abigail Penny and James Morgan – founders of the market – describe this as a “celebration, where together we can bask in plant-based goodness, explore sustainable products, and begin to live more consciously”.

When asked what inspired them to set up the event, they added: “As consumers we can choose to have a positive impact on this world. We’re on a journey of discovery ourselves and want to share our experience with others. Animal agriculture, non-recyclable plastics, and throwaway fashion each have devastating impacts on our environment, so we hope that by bringing exciting alternatives to our community we can empower and equip others to change their habits and perspectives too!”

Zero Mkt London has partnered with City Harvest who will redistribute surplus food to London’s homeless community and any profit will be donated to Animal Equality, a leading animal protection organisation.

Zero Mkt London founders recognise that many stallholders will need to travel to the venue, so they will be planting trees as part of a carbon offsetting mission.

Visit EventBrite to buy your ticket online here.

Stallholders will be announced nearer the time – keep an eye out and follow the handle Zero Market London on Instagram and Facebook.

Temple of Seitan in Coventry

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Here is a short and snappy blog post to give you some exciting news.

The first ever Coventry Vegan Beer Fest is taking place at FarGo Village on July 28, 2018. There are so many exciting things lined up for the day including a huge selection of beers, special tie-ins from local vegan businesses such as The Green Unicorn, and even karaoke.

But what has everyone buzzing is that superstar vegan food providers Temple of Seitan will be trading on the day, serving up their exquisite and adored cuisine.

Temple will only be serving people with beer fest wristbands, so be sure to grab an early bird ticket for just £4 plus booking fee. Click here to book.

I’m so excited to showcase one of the best vegan food providers on the planet at this event in Coventry. You can invite friends over on the Facebook event page.

You can follow Temple of Seitan on Instagram.

Big vegan shake up in Sheffield

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Sheffield. Get ready for a big change.

Superstar vegan eatery Make No Bones is closing this Saturday June 16, 2018 in order to move to their new location with a grand re-opening in early July.

Dave from Make No Bones told me:

We’re really excited about the new venue but we’re a bit sad to be leaving our little yellow cafe. MNB has been going for nearly 5 years now with 2 of them in our current place. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has eaten with us and supported us all along the road. The new venue is a lot bigger and we have designed a lot bigger menu to go with it. The place looks amazing and will have a great selection of vegan beers, cocktails and soft drinks as well as our food. Last day at this place is Saturday and the new one opens early July.

Congratulations to Dave, Lauren, and the entire MNB team for what they have done for vegan food in Sheffield.

They are most definitely entrenched on the list of best vegan food providers in the UK. Everything they create is sensational and I can’t wait to see what they conjure up in their brand new location. I’m hoping to share some sneak preview photos from inside the new place soon, so stay tuned.

Don’t forget that Make No Bones will also be involved with the 2nd annual Sheffield Vegan Beer Fest this August. You can buy cheap early bird tickets online now.

Be sure to follow Make No Bones on Instagram.

I’m finishing off this post with some glorious food photos. Get into Make No Bones this week for these specials before they close for the relocation.

Jim Beam potato crisps are vegan

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If you were to ask me at most times in my life to name two things I simply couldn’t live without, I would say potato and bourbon.

Well, this new product is going to save me a lot of time.

Say hello to the new Jim Beam flavoured potato crisps from Burts Chips.

These crisps actually have Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey as an ingredient!

You can visit the brand’s official page for the crisps, where you can read all the ingredients and see them listed as vegan and gluten free.

The new Jim Beam crisps have been launched in Aldi stores around the UK, as well as independent food retailers.

Eat (and drink) up!

Legendary vegan burger trader opens store

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If you know anything about the London vegan street food scene, you will be aware of Big V London.

Big V is a superstar vegan burger business with multiple locations scattered around markets, including a weekly spot at Hackney Downs Vegan Market. Their burgers are the stuff of legend, lighting up social media every time they make an appearance.

Not satisfied with multiple street market locations each week, Big V owner Jill has taken the leap into the world of running a permanent burger bar every night on site at Exmouth Coffee Roasters in Whitechapel.

Open 7 nights a week from 6pm until 10pm, they have started with their full burger menu with fries and a mayo dipping menu. The business will slowly add more items over the coming weeks.

In addition to the incredible Big V burger menu, they are serving the wonderful Hell.Yum! ice cream (another Hackney Downs Vegan Market regular), FIX8 kombucha on tap, and sodas by Dalston.

You can see the exact location of the new, evenings-only Big V burger bar thanks to Google Maps. They are just a few steps from Aldgate East Underground station.

Be sure to follow Big V London on Instagram for latest updates.

New vegan bakery in London

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The title of this blog post is a little misleading.

VIDA Bakery isn’t new exactly, but they are opening a new bricks and mortar location in London!

VIDA has been around for a few years, serving delicious and adored cakes at pop ups, markets, vegan fairs, and in other vegan food businesses.

The love this company receives across social media from its fans is a great measure of how anticipated this permanent bakery is in the capital.

The bakery is located at 139 Brick Lane and you can see the exact location thanks to Google Maps.

The grand opening is at midday on Sunday June 10, 2018. Get down there for some amazing treats.

Keep updated with all things VIDA Bakery via their Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages.