London vegan news, reviews & events
London Vegan Beer Fest takes place tomorrow, but the fun doesn’t end once guests stumble back out onto the streets of London.
The following vegan businesses have each offered a discount or special for anyone wearing a London Vegan Beer Fest wristband.
The special offers are good for Saturday July 18, 2015 for people wearing an event wristband only.
Check them out:
A post this week in which I voiced my concern about vegan people opening non-vegan cafes has garnered a lot of attention. The comment thread on Facebook has a life of its own and I think it is evident that this discussion is happening at exactly the right time.
One of the commentators suggested it would be beneficial for me to organise a platform to assist people looking to change their businesses into a completely vegan affair.
OK. I think I can offer some assistance. I don’t have a lot of time but I do take it on board that actions speak louder than words and I genuinely want to help people (and businesses) to go vegan and stay vegan.
What can I do?
I want to hear from people thinking of changing a non-vegan food business into a vegan food business. Once we have made contact, I can offer the following if you want it:
Just because I love to be dramatic, I am calling this the Operation Go Vegan Stay Vegan initiative. It is kind of like a vegan challenge, but for businesses.
Why am I doing this? The main reason is I am working to improve outcomes for non-human animals. Another reason is I wholeheartedly believe now is the right time for vegan business owners to take this step.
As I have mentioned on Facebook, there are 100% vegan cafes in regional Mexico, the West Midlands, Prague, rural USA and even an almost three hour drive into the countryside from my home town of Brisbane, Australia. They are popping up in the most unlikely places and they can succeed!
If you do vegan food and drink well, people will pay for it. Not just vegans, but people in general.
Please get in touch if you think you would like to make your business part of this vegan transition initiative. I am not the most knowledgable person but I am confident I can bring useful ideas together that will help you make this change to your business in the most positive way possible.
If you would like to offer a case study of your own vegan business (especially if you changed it to vegan from non-vegan), please get in touch via sean@fgvpr.co.uk – I will need all the vegan community firepower and ideas I can get.
Please note: I will have to exercise discretion in regards to who I assist and this might be based on my own workload or a host of other reasons. I envision being able to work with one business during a calendar month period. I am predominantly looking to assist UK businesses but will consider offering advice and time to people in other parts of the world but I will not have the same insights to offer.
We all know about the fabulous Made in Hackney, right? This community-concerned kitchen is an invaluable source of information about plant based eating for local residents via a whole host of workshops and classes.
The centre offers discounted courses to people experiencing financial hardship. These courses are in part made possible by some of the full-priced classes hosted by Made in Hackney. This is a great way of making sure everyone has access to information about vegan food, no matter what their economic status.
One of these full price classes is a weekend long, hands on experience for people looking to start their own small food company. It sounds thorough and extremely valuable.
The Making to Sell Intensive Weekender will cover:
This sounds like a perfect course for someone looking to start or expand a vegan home food business or market stall.
Taking place on June 14 and 15, the cost for the weekend is £65 (£52 Concession) including a free organic lunch.
All the information about the course and how to book can be found by clicking here.
Go get schooled and start some vegan businesses, London. We need you!
I am a big believer in communities self-directing and supporting each other in order to enact change. That is why I am thrilled to hear about this community-driven support group in the Calder Valley that is creating a support network for local people looking to make more compassionate choices in their lives.
The success of these sorts of groups usually sits with how engaged members feel and I can see by the line up of events 3 Valley Veg*ns has planned, engagement is not going to be an issue.
The group has an impressive calendar of events outlined for the near and distant future including market information stall, social walks, picnics, a summer barbecue and even a vegan cake baking class.
This is an important way change takes place and sticks. Compassionate people supporting each other and organising/socialising at a grassroots level creates a safe space to explore vegan living. It is a vital step in improving outcomes for non-human animals. Community and kinship matter.
I urge you to get involved with 3 Valley Veg*ns if you are anywhere near the Calder Valley and if you are further afield, take a leaf from their book and create your own compassionate community movement.
Follow 3 Valley Veg*ns on Twitter
Every single day seems to bring another plea for donations. Crowdfunding has become the go-to way to pay the bills for everything from home baking enterprises to fully-realised restaurants.
The seemingly never ending requests for money can get a bit tiring. You only have so much to go round. How can you be sure that what you are backing is a worthwhile endeavour?
Getting a recommendation from someone is one way to cut through the sea of monetary requests and I am about to give you a recommendation that I truly hope you take onboard.
Made in Hackney is everything the world should be. This community-driven initiative organises pay by donation classes focussed on food growing, cooking and composting. These classes are delivered to residents of housing estates, local children, adults at risk and charities supporting people with mental health conditions.
All of their programs are plant based. Yes, 100% vegan. How awesome is that? Made in Hackney shows class attendees how to preserve foods, forage for ingredients and even make their own cosmetics.
The centre holds masterclasses to financially support the pay by donation classes and has been partially funded by Lottery funding that is now coming to an end. That is where concerned people like you and me come in with our money.
Made in Hackney needs money. The organisation is attempting to raise £12 500 in order to keep performing their vital community work. The campaign so far has seen just over half this amount amassed with just 21 days remaining.
Here is what I think you should do:
Even if this is the one community fundraiser you back this year, I am confident you couldn’t find a more deserving cause.
Read more about Made in Hackney here.
Donate to the Crowdfunder campaign here.
Here’s a quick public service announcement.
Did you know I started a Meetup group for people in London who identify as LGBT and vegan? The group has been running for just over a year and our outings have included trips to the pub, overeating in Camden and even a stroll around an art gallery.
The photo above shows a bunch of us from the group crowding out Koshari Street in central London recently. Future plans include a language exchange, a regular book swap and of course lots of vegan eating.
If any of the above sounds like a good time to you, please get on over to the Meetup group and sign up. We would love to have you join us!
London vegans, friends and the vegan-curious are invited to a day of celebrations along the plant-eater friendly Brecknock Road in Kentish Town.
The local business holders have come together to celebrate everything they have to offer in the way of vegan food, goods and services on Saturday November 9th, 2013. It is an all day shopping, eating and social event from 11am, culminating with a party in the pub from 6pm until late.
Attractions on the day include:
– The Third Estate who will be launching Wills Vegan Shoes winter collection as well as their new website
– Bumblebee Health Foods serving Manna vegan cakes all day and will be sampling Fry’s Vegetarian products
– Muya Ethiopian restaurant with a separate vegan menu
– Salvino Italian deli serving vegan food and groceries plus will have live music in the store
– The Admiral Mann pub hosting the official afterparty (with vegan bottled beers by McMullen Brewery) featuring Motown/R&B/Soul singer Steve Lucas
– The Mighty Fork will be selling their delicious range of gourmet vegan hot dogs until 4pm
– The Vegan Society will be on hand to spread the vegan message and sell merchandise
– More stores, products and specials to be announced
Every visitor to the street will be given a vegan loyalty card. When you buy a vegan item from any of the participating stores on the day, your card will be stamped which you can then use to collect a very special gift bag from The Vegan Society stall.
The Vegan Society will be filming the entire day for a video to be shared on their website and social media platforms. It is our opportunity to show on a grand scale how London vegans and their friends can come together!
Please stay tuned for regular updates to this event. It is a real first for London and an amazing way to encourage local businesses to take notice of vegans. The event aims to support local traders while promoting and supporting the vegan community!
**Entry to the after party is FREE**
I’m going to tell you about a vegan location in London that you probably have never heard of and if you have, you probably have forgotten. I forgot. I used to visit this location back in 2001, but it had since slipped my mind. This little gem of immense community and plant-eating importance should be a weekly destination for every compassionate shopper in the capital.
Vegans and vegan-curious, I give you FareShares.
If you like a good party with plenty of vegan refreshments, wonderful people and plant-based food options, you would have been in your element last night as London Vegan Drinks made its debut in Whole Foods Market High Street Kensington.
Almost 150 vegans and vegan-friendlies converged on the gorgeous Kensington High Street mega-store on Thursday July 18th, 2013 for what is now one of the biggest monthly vegan events on the planet.
I work hard to make London Vegan Potluck a success and stories like the following make it all worthwhile.
A few months ago I was contacted by a friendly person from Reading called Gemma. Gemma was planning a vegan potluck in her city and wanted some advice on how to get it together.
I am only too happy to help where I can when it comes to this sort of question. As I have said previously, vegan potlucks are invaluable when it comes to building social capital, supporting new vegans and strengthening the resolve of long term vegans.
Flash forward to yesterday and I received a lovely message from Gemma sharing the following information:
“So we had our potluck tonight and I thought you would like to see the pics. There were about 18 or so people I think. Thank you again for all your advice before. It really helped. Our next one is 5th August and everyone has said they will come to that one too, yaay.”
How fantastic. I tip my hat to Gemma and the Reading vegans for hosting the first of what I’m sure will be many potlucks. Hopefully I can make it along in the future!
Gemma has kindly agreed to let me use some of her photos from the Reading Potluck. Follow her Facebook page for further dates and details.