London

Vegan Christmas Market announcement

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As you have probably heard, I am teaming up with Hackney Downs Studios to bring London a super-fun and tasty Vegan Christmas Market on Saturday December 17, 2016.

The market is going to be rammed solid with some of the finest vegan food in the country and I’m so very excited to let you know about a few of the attractions.

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Please give a warm welcome to the first batch of confirmed stallholders for the Vegan Christmas Market:

Peanut Butter Bakery – adored vegan bakery stall certain to be swamped for their Christmas-themed treats. I’ve heard rumours of Xmas donuts. Follow them on Instagram.

Essential Vegan – always a sold out event for these caterers. Plenty of cakes that fans will be used to with some surprise festive twists as well. Follow them on Instagram.

Battered – this is a Vegan Christmas Market exclusive. The vegan fish and chips truck is driving to the capital ONLY for this event. Be one of the first in London to try their amazing food. Follow them on Twitter.

Temple of Seitan – if you don’t know how incredibly amazing this food company is, you are in for a pleasant surprise. Deep fried done to perfection. Follow them on Instagram.

Rupert’s Street – the unmissable bright yellow truck featuring Emily cooking up hearty winter warmers. Follow them on Instagram.

Mouse’s Favourite – the vegan cheese company taking over London is going to be well stocked with all your festive cheese needs. Bring a shopping bag for this stall! Follow them on Instagram.

That’s it for now. I don’t want to overwhelm you.

We have plenty more announcements to come so be certain to scribble the date in your diary and stay tuned for updates.

You will not want to be anywhere else as one of the best vegan food lineups in the country crash lands in Hackney for one day only.

RSVP to the Facebook event and be sure to invite friends. The event is free entry. It is an outdoor market in winter so please dress warmly.

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Hackney vegan

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London, don’t go getting getting delusions of grandeur and start thinking you are some sort of vegan capital now.

Latest plant-based news to reach my fat ears involves a pop up catering company switching from selling fish and dairy to trading in vegan food only. How fab!

Pesky’s are currently serving up delicious vegan diner-style comfort food at super trendy The Yard theatre in Hackney Wick. Get along until December 10, 2016 to taste their newly vegan menu.

Pesky’s themselves told me their favourite dish is the ‘buffalo cauliflower tacos’. They also do the buffalo cauliflower ‘flyers’ as a side, which are a vegan equivalent to buffalo chicken wings. Other sides include vegan mac ’n’ cheeze bites with sriracha, as well as triple cooked chips with a special salt blend.

What?! Triple cooked chips with a special salt blend? HOLY SHIT I NEED THAT IN MY LIFE.

Their signature dish is the original ‘Argy Bhaji Burger’ which is a large spiced bhaji burger with mango and chilli salsa.


If you can’t get along before Pesky’s shut up shop on December 10, don’t fret.

The now-forever-vegan food business has been invited back to The Yard to set up PERMANENTLY from February 2017.

Yep, London you are set to have another full time vegan food trader. Click here to see where The Yard is located.

Celebrate this news by buying food from Pesky’s and following them on Instagram.

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Urban Garden Show

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Have you ever thought about going to a Royal Horticultural Society garden show?

I know, I know. It al sounds a bit middle class and insufferable but the Urban Garden Show taking place this weekend actually sounds kinda cool… plus they have four vegan caterers on site for the event!

Now I have your attention, right?!

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As you can see from the flyer, there is a whole lot to get involved with at this show including hands on workshops, retail stands, bars serving drinks and informative talks.

Most of you reading will be interested to know food is being served by Spice Box, Vegan Sweet Tooth, Rupert’s Street and Young Vegans.

The show is open on both Saturday November 12 and Sunday 13, 2016 just a small stroll from Victoria station so click here to get tickets and more information.

Have fun learning about small scale urban gardening AND support independent vegan business.

Have fun!

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Deep fried toffee apple pies

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Oh my.

Super-adored street food specialists Club Mexicana have just posted the champion of all teaser photos on their Instagram account.

Check it out.


Can you even cope with that?

As the post states, Club Mexicana will be serving up these delights at Hawker House this weekend. The street food market takes place very close to Canada Water Underground station on Friday and Saturday night. Click here to see the location on Google Maps.

Eat well this weekend, stay happy and keep doing what you can to improve outcomes for animals without relying on sexist, racist, homophobic or body shaming techniques! xx

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Second location for London legend

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This is grand news.

Cookies & Scream, one of my favourite places in London to grab sweet delights, now has a second location in the capital.

Screamers thank you so much for coming out to our little shop of treats! Y’all have a good night now #hollowayroad #veganbakery #glutenfreebakery

A photo posted by Cookies And Scream Vegan/GF (@cookiesandscreambakery) on


If you love what they have been doing at their Camden Lock location for several years, you really should get along to the new 100% vegan shop front on Holloway Road in North London.

Expect all the usual glory such as decadent shakes, cookies, ice cream sandwiches and the all-time champion of the universe… the Wookee bar. All gluten free too, if that is what you need.

Click here to see the store location on Google Maps and follow the bakery on Instagram. And tell them FGV loves them when you visit!

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Vegan Christmas Market

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This is your early warning to save the date.

Don’t say you didn’t know to keep Saturday December 17, 2016 free from all other engagements.

I am teaming up with Hackney Downs Studios to bring you Vegan Christmas Market.

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This is a teaser post to get you excited. Did it work?

More details to follow.

In the meantime, RSVP to the Facebook event to get all the updates and to invite friends.

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Job in vegan joint

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Hey kids.

Check out what my buddies at Kabaret @ Karamel just sent through.

Job Advert – Join the Karamel Crew

Kabaret@Karamel, London’s award-winning vegan venue & restaurant, is looking for a creative, committed and versatile multi-tasker to join the team.

In 2 years, we’ve built a small, and close-knit crew of full and part-timers who work really well together, and now we’re looking for a new member.

Someone who loves to cook for others, can hold their own in the kitchen and keep a level head under pressure. Who can jump behind the Bar at a moment’s notice, greet customers, serve coffee, beer, and cocktails, & assist where needed.

You need to be conscientious, professional and proactive, with a warm and friendly personality.

You must have previous cooking/catering and customer service experience, in a professional or semi-professional role. Also essential, is experience of collaborative team-working in a pressured environment. You will need to give details of this experience in your application, and tell us how it relates to Karamel.

It’s a demanding job: you will need to work hard, and at weekends, when we can get very busy. But it’s a rewarding and fun one too. Creating a wonderful food and entertainment experience is a buzz – and more so if you’re vegan, and keen to spread the love.

Kabaret@Karamel is unique, there’s nowhere like it. Live music, comedy gigs, art and theatre shows, club nights, private parties, socials, meetups and weddings. We do it all! This is a great chance to work in vibrant vegan venue with like-minded people, and to learn firsthand about the arts and hospitality sector.

30 hours a week. (Shift times, and rate of pay to be negotiated).

Key qualities: Committed, Reliable, Flexible, Self-motivated

Desirable Training/Qualifications: Level 2 – Food Safety & Hygiene

HOW TO APPLY: Application deadline: Friday 28th October 2016. Application by email only – please follow these instructions carefully:

Email Louise Wallis bookings@karamelrestaurant.com attaching the following:

  • Your CV (maximum 2 sides of A4) including two referees (please give their name, address, telephone number, email address)
  • 1-side of A4 outlining your reason(s) for applying, and your relevant experience of (cooking/catering, customer service and collaborative team-working

www.karamelrestaurant.com

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Day of the Dead menu

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This is my favourite event that I put together.

Every year around this time I am filled with such excitement as I start putting together the finer details for my vegan Day of the Dead dinner party.

Not only is it fun devising a menu filled with delicious Mexican treats, it is also an opportunity to get dressed up and spend time with some of my best friends on the planet.

As you might know, Julio (of Sean y Julio fame) makes the journey every year to be with us for this event and for the past few years has been joined by his partner Carlos. Julio and Carlos are extremely special people to me and it a true joy to have them join me in London once a year.

Yes, yes. Whatever. I have friends. You wanna hear about the menu, right?

This year’s Day of the Dead dinner is getting supercharged thanks to the help of Mexican food ingredient specialists Cool Chile Co.

Our multi-course extravaganza will be decadent and packed solid with world class ingredients thanks to Cool Chile. Did you know they have a giant tortilla machine here in London? You should really get over to their website to check out the huge range of quality ingredients they have on offer. From no-fuss bean kits to blue corn tortillas, Cool Chile will have you cooking flawless Mexican cuisine in no time.

Wanna see the menu?

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Once again we have kept the menu completely gluten free.

I’m so pleased to be introducing the mushroom pie for this event, while also keeping much loved favourites from some of our earlier menus such as the flautas.

The 2016 version of this event takes place on Tuesday November 1. We have a sitting at 5pm for early birds and an 8pm sitting for those who cannot get away from work until a bit later. Book here.

It is a sit down dinner, you are welcome to bring your own vegan alcohol and of course you are encouraged to dress up if the mood takes you.

The 5th annual vegan Day of the Dead dinner is being hosted inside Black Cat Café in Hackney and I thank them profusely for their hospitality.

Gather your loved ones, book tickets now and I’ll see you all on November 1, 2016 for a night (and a meal) to remember. This event sells out every year, so please be quick to avoid disappointment.

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London vegan café burgled

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Horrible news but we can help.

Universally-adored Black Cat Café of Hackney was broken into last night and burgled. Followers of the vegan eatery were startled this morning when the café posted the following photo to social media.

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I don’t need to say how upset all of the Black Cat co-op members are following this incident. They pour their heart and souls into making the café not just one of the best vegan places to eat on the planet, but also a vital hub that supports their community.

They give opportunities to independent chefs. They sell vegan groceries. They allow space for a veg box scheme for local residents. They raise money for charities. Heck, they even let me host my annual Day of the Dead dinner in their space.

To put it simply, London is a better city thanks to Black Cat and their tireless commitment to doing better for animals and people.

To show them how much we love and support them, I have set up a JustGiving page in order to help get them back on their feet as soon as possible.

Some of the expenses they could use our help with include:

  • repairing front door
  • replacing stolen cash
  • replacing or repairing stolen till system
  • covering lost revenue due to the café being closed on the busiest day of the week

As you can see, this is going to be a very expensive ordeal for Black Cat. Yes, some of the expenses might be covered by insurance but as we all know this can take a long time to be sorted.

This is about taking action now. We need to get this money to Black Cat as soon as possible. We want them to feel supported by their community, just as they have supported us for years.

Please give what you can and help the campaign by sharing widely.

I have set the target at £1,000 but any extra money raised over the target will be given to Black Cat to help them with any other expenses related to improving the space. When £1,000 is reached, Josh and I will pay Black Cat with our own money in order to get it to them urgently. We will claim this cash back from the JustGiving funds once the campaign is over, while donating any extra to the café.

Click here to donate now.

Yoga and Vegan Fest

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Do you enjoy yoga? Are you vegan?

Yes and yes? Then this is the event you have been waiting for.

Tomorrow (Saturday October 15, 2016) is the day you can join a whole bunch of likeminded people at the Kingston Yoga and Vegan Fest.

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The entry price is just £3 and that includes participation in any and all of the yoga sessions being held across the day. That is superb value. Take your own yoga mat, of course.

There is also a huge line up of talks and demos, plus multiple food stands and traders all selling vegan stuff.

You can get more information from the Facebook event page or the official website.

Anyone going?!

Extra note: my pal Alternative Chef Steph will be at this show with her Ponga food stand, selling handmade vegan cheeses that you do not want to miss. Stunning!

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