Sneak preview of a vegan donut shop

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The countdown is on.

London, your very first 100% vegan donut and coffee shop opens on January 17, 2018.

Lauren of Dough Society asked me to share a few quick glimpses of what the interior of the shop looks like ahead of their grand opening.

Check it out. So gorgeous!

The Dough Society donut and coffee shop is located on Mare Street in Hackney. It’s almost exactly half way between Temple of Hackney and Black Cat Hackney. That part of town really is exceptionally vegan friendly.

Click here to see the exact location thanks to Google Maps.

To celebrate their opening, Dough Society will be giving away one donut to the first 100 customers through the door on Saturday January 20, 2018. (Grand opening is a few days before this giveaway, so get in for one of the early preview days to avoid the rush)

Be sure to follow them on Instagram to stay updated on all their delicious shop news and donut flavours.

Vegan pub food in London

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Here is a quick little bite sized chunk of news you can eat.

I’m just about to head back to Mexico City for six months so I gathered my friends in London for a farewell party at The Blacksmith and The Toffeemaker in Islington.

This pub on St John Street is a gorgeous pub that has just switched it’s entire food menu to be 100% vegan.

Check out this short Instagram video I made showing the current menu.

The polenta fries with added cheese were fabulous and I loved the toasted sandwich.

Not all of the alcohol being served is vegan, however they assure me this is being worded on and will be rectified soon.

In the meantime, all of the booze that is vegan suitable is clearly labelled.

You can follow The Blacksmith and The Toffeemaker on Instagram and see the pub’s exact location thanks to Google Maps.

Vegan pop up in a Tube station

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Here is some fab news.

100% vegan cafe Cupcakes & Shhht located in Elephant and Castle has a pop up cake stall inside Old Street Underground station for the next three months!

Check it out.

As you can see, they are also selling copies of my book. Well, the books might be gone by the time you visit because they only had three remaining.

But you should definitely get along for delicious vegan cakes and treats!

Save money on the FGV book

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You know about my book because I never shut up about it, but I have some extra book-related news that is fresh and exciting.

For some reason, WH Smith has my book available at a special price for online shoppers who use a discount code.

If you use the code FGV18, you will be able to buy Fat Gay Vegan: Eat, Drink and Live Like You Give a Sh!t from the online WH Smith online store for £4.99.

Click here to get my book at a discount!

Food giveaway

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This isn’t an FGV-run giveaway, but it is happening at my Hackney Downs Vegan Market this Saturday (January 13, 2018).

To find out how you can win some exclusive vegan fried chicken from trader Greedy Khao, you need to check out the details in the description of this Instagram post below.

Get entering and I hope you win!

You can see the full line up of traders for this Saturday’s market online here.

Change in social media policy

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As of today, any non-vegan business that contacts me to share information about vegan products and services will be asked for a fee.

I have been running this blog for more than 7 years. It was designed to (and still does) help promote independent vegan business, support people in their decision to live a vegan life, and promote not-for-profit and for-profit vegan events run by me and other vegans.

As veganism becomes a more accepted part of our society, I find myself under ever-increasing pressure to spread news of developments. News is coming in thick and fast.

Non-vegan restaurants, stores and businesses contact me every day asking me to share their information on my blog and social media accounts. Every business in the UK is scrambling to grab some vegan income.

Answering these emails and sharing the content takes up hours and hours of my time each week. I’m finding myself responding to sometimes hundreds of requests from vegan and non-vegan businesses each week.

As there is just one person running the FGV platforms, it is too much work for me to consider publishing every piece of information that comes my way. It is especially too much work when you consider that I don’t ask for money to blog and some of these non-vegan businesses are making huge profits.

Well, I didn’t used to.

Going forward, any requests from non-vegan businesses to share their content will be met with a request for a fee. If any payment is made, this will be clearly indicated on the blog post or social media post.

10% of any payment received from non-vegan companies will be donated by me to Isla Urbana, a charity dedicated to building clean water infrastructure for people in Mexico City.

I will continue to support and share information for vegan businesses, charities, organisations and individuals at no cost.

Extra note: some news from non-vegan businesses will be shared at no cost if and when I think it is important or significant. Or if I feel like doing it.

My book in bookstores

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When I was a young child in Australia, it was a dream of mine to be a writer.

I didn’t consider how it would happen or when or what was even involved, but I was simply drawn to writing.

I entered writing competitions at my local area shows and I even once won a prize for having a poem published in a newspaper.

Fast forward to now and here I am with a published book many decades later.

Thank you to Tsouni of Yes It’s All Vegan for letting me use this photo she took of the vegan section of Foyles on Charing Cross Road in Central London today.

It means more to me than I can explain to see my book on the shelves of a ‘proper’ bookstore amongst titles by people I love and adore… and some I don’t! LOL.

If you would like to grab a copy of my book from Foyles and help me continue to live out my childhood dream as it comes to life, you can order online or even order online to collect in your nearest store.

Foyles has my book in Stratford Westfield, Charing Cross Road, Bristol, Waterloo London, Birmingham, Chelmsford, and Royal Festival Hall London stores.

Click here to order for delivery or collection from Foyles. The website tells you how many copies of my book remain in each store. Maybe we can even give one of the stores a sellout situation?!

London cafe turns totally vegan

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Have you heard the news?!

The Gallery Cafe, the legendary Bethnal Green eatery, has become a 100% vegan cafe.

And even better news?

The Gallery Cafe is now completely vegan forever. It’s not a #Veganuary thing, it’s a #VeganEveryMonthOfTheYear thing.

It has taken a while, but better late than never. I can remember trying to convince the management years ago to make this switch but they were certain losing the halloumi from the menu would be the end of them.

I’m thrilled they have finally taken the leap and removed cruel dairy from their business. Pop in and have one of their famous breakfasts and say thanks.

You can follow The Gallery Cafe on Instagram.

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

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdXiEP7jf-3/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdSFIZ3DBS6/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bcj71uWD7_L/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcP-sxfjezN/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BY8W9xMjlve/

Vegan supper club at Cable Street

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Beiroot is a vegan Lebanese food business which aims to educate people on the importance of what they are eating. They believe in supporting a region heavily affected by conflict by using Zaytoun (a social enterprise which supports Palestinian farmers) products and donating a percentage of their profits to Kitrinos Healthcare (a charity providing medical relief to refugees along the Greek coast).

To mark the end of Veganuary, Beiroot will be hosting their first supper club at 10 Cable Street on Saturday 27 January, 2018. The evening will feature traditional Lebanese food and will also support a region deeply affected by conflict by using Zaytoun products, to support Palestinian farmers, as well as donating 2.5% of profits to Kitrinos.

The menu for the night is:

Starters

  • Mixed mezze platter of; traditional soured yoghurt i.e. labneh (made with cashew nuts), hummus and baba ghannoush all served with olives, a medley of herbs, vegetables and Arabic flatbread

Mains

  • Shawarma- A traditional pita sandwich made with thinly sliced ‘meat’, veggies, and a tahini and garlic sauce
  • Hindbeh bil Zeyt- Lebanese style sautéed kale drizzled with fair-trade Zaytoun Olive oil and seasoned with Pink Himalayan sea salt
  • Maghmoor served with burghul- Lebanese moussaka made with grilled aubergine tossed in sautéed onions, garlic and chickpeas which will be served with bulghur wheat
  • Fattoush: A classic Middle Eastern salad made with fresh, crispy greens tomatoes, crunchy toasted Arabic flat bread, dressed with a zesty lemon and summac dressing

Dessert

  • Maamoul- Semolina cookie stuffed with fair-trade Zaytoun dates and flavoured with orange blossom
  • Atayef- Traditional Lebanese yeast pancakes stuffed with a medley of nuts and served with orange blossom syrup
  • Mint tea- A refreshing hot drink to end the night and help you digest your meal

This is an absolutely outstanding menu and tickets are going to zoom out.

Please click here now to book your tickets. You can also follow Beiroot on Instagram to stay updated on future events.

FGV cupcakes

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Here is a super quick post to say thank you to south London cafe, Cupcakes & Shhht.

The Elephant and Castle cafe hosted an intimate get-together today to celebrate the launch of my book. It was a lot of fun chatting and getting a chance to say hello to a few friends and news faces, but the crowning glory of the evening was the cupcake selection.

The gorgeous vanilla and coconut cupcakes had mini edible front covers of my book on top of the frosting.

Check it out!

Please take a moment to follow Cupcakes & Shhht on Instagram so you can keep updated on their latest news, including an upcoming pop-up in Old Street!

You can join me at one of the book events coming up this week in London and Coventry. See all the dates and events online here.

If you would like a copy of my book, you can order online here.