London

London vegan business celebrates 5 years!

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Bow down.

The revolutionary, trailblazing and pioneering Ms Cupcake vegan bakery in Brixton, London is celebrating its five year anniversary tomorrow (FGV was at the grand opening back in 2011).

Can you even imagine the energy, dedication and hard work required to not only keep a London business open for five years, but to make it thrive? Mellissa Morgan has succeeded and thrived by committing herself to her business wholeheartedly.

To truly understand how hard Mellissa has worked, take a moment to reflect on your own life during the past five years. You will have endured hardships, stress, possibly health concerns, the daily grind of general life and countless other confronting situations.

Now add to this the running of an independent business with your own money, being responsible for the livelihood of a dozen or so people, writing and promoting books, launching your products into a nationwide retail chain as well as being seen as one of the driving forces behind the UK vegan movement.

I’m worn out just typing it.

I was going to ask you all nicely, but have decided to be a bit more direct. Go to Twitter and Facebook to congratulate Mellissa and the Ms Cupcake team for five amazing years, as well as thank them for their tireless dedication to improving outcomes for animals and for kickstarting UK veganism like no one else was able to manage.

ms-cupcake

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Clothing-optional vegan pop-up in London this weekend!

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Post by:

josh panel

Well here’s something you don’t see very often.

This Saturday and Sunday there is a pop-up sauna in South Tottenham with vegan food provided by The Magic Cauldron and the Facebook page for the event says that swimwear is optional! Housed in a converted horse trailer, the sauna is open to all interested people and towels can be hired for £3. Interested yet? If not, then let me tell you about the food.

The Magic Cauldron will be at the pop-up event providing 100% vegan food. Here’s the flyer for the event:

magiccauldronflyer

It all looks and sounds divine:

  • Baked turmeric falafel
  • Red Cabbage Vietnamese Rolls
  • Sweet potato, carrot & courgette fritters
  • Creamy roasted red pepper curry & rice
  • Roasted beetroot & fennel hot lentil salad

So if you’ve always fancied getting your kit off and getting stuck into some tasty vegan food, then this weekend could be right up your alley!

Like The Magic Cauldron on Facebook.

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Boat race and baked potato

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If for some reason you find yourself caught up in the drama of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race this weekend (Sunday 27 March, 2016), you must ensure you take the time to stop in at the Old Ship W6 pub.

I’ve written about how vegan-friendly this pub is previously and the boat race weekend is going to be no exception.

Check out this GORGEOUS baked potato menu that will be available on the day.

potato

Can you see the deliciousness on that menu? Have you been astounded by that unicorn potato riding a rainbow? Did you notice that the menu is 100% vegan? This is all too much!

I would definitely opt for a baked sweet potato with olive oil, smoked tofu, beetroot and spicy sweetcorn salad. How lovely would that be?

How would you combine the ingredients listed above to create your dream potato?

Follow the Old Ship W6 on Twitter.

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London, you are losing awesome vegan food

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Oh no!

Vegan friendly pub kitchen Phil T’s in Camden in closing in a few days. You have just one week to get there and sample some of their outrageously-tasty savoury goodness.

This is the announcement made by the kitchen on their Instagram page:

It is with great regret that we have to announce that Phil T’s at the Black Heart will be closing with our last day being Saturday the 26th of March. Phil has a big new project that will be taking up most of his time and though we wanted to keep the kitchen going we have been unable to find the right person to run it for us. So even though it was a hard decision we have decided that instead of letting the quality of the food and service suffer it’s time to bow out. Thanks to all of you who have come in and supported us and enjoyed our food. Hopefully it’s not the last you’ve heard of Phil T’s but in the meantime we’ll let you know about Phil’s new project once it’s up and running.

Now there’s only one thing left to do and that’s for Phil to get back into the kitchen for the last week and dish out all your favourites and a few daily specials! So if you want to have one last taste of Gourmet Trash Food at its best then you’ve got eight days to eat your fill. Hope we’ll see you there! (Opening Times: 2pm-10pm today, 12pm-10pm Sunday 20th, 3pm-10pm Mon 21st-Thurs 24th, 12pm-10pm Fri 25th-Sat 26th)

Vegan crab cakesBuffalo cauliflower wings with blue cheese dip

Get on it, people.

Crab cakes, buffalo cauliflower wings and more: done vegan and done well until this Saturday and then it’s GONE.

Follow Phil T’s over on Instagram in case they pop again in the future.

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Do you need a vegan job?

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Do you need a vegan job?

courgette+and+corn+fritters

The legendary vegan restaurant in north London called Manna has some jobs on offer.

  • trainee front of house supervisor
  • part-time waiting staff

If you want to know what these jobs entail, you need to contact manage@mannaV.com for more info and to apply.

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Vegan chocolate Easter workshop

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Do you want to learn how to handcraft mouthwatering chocolates? Do you want your teacher to be an expert? Do you want to eat delicious sweet treats?

Yes to everything?

Check out this fabulous vegan chocolate Easter workshop where all of the above will happen.

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On March 25, 2016 you can join chocolatier Ela Harpak, a Le Cordon Bleu graduate, for a fun and delicious Easter vegan chocolate workshop. Ela will teach you the basic skills of a chocolatier as well as introduce you to some surprising vegan ingredients and flavours.

You will make and decorate vegan chocolate eggs, as well as craft delicious vegan creamy pralines, truffles and more!

The cost of the workshop is £35 per person and bookings can be placed via ohlala.workshops@gmail.com. You can also RSVP over on the Facebook event.

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Hottest new vegan burgers in London!

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Post by:

josh panel

A couple of weeks ago I saw something on Twitter about a new veggie burger pop-up at Brick Lane. I reached out to Hot Boyz Veggie Burgers and discovered that they are 100% vegan. Their food looks delicious – check out some pics from their social media channels:

The Hot Boyz are in Town! If your around come down!! Brick Lane Upmarket #vegan #vegetarian #foodies #foods #foodie #foodporn

A photo posted by Hot Boyz Veggie Burger Joint (@hotboyzvburger) on


Hot Boyz Veggie Burgers will be at the Sunday Upmarket in Brick Lane this Sunday from 10am-5pm. Go along, check out their burgers and report back!

Like Hot Boyz on Facebook or follow on Twitter and Instagram.

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Vegan Japanese luncheon

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Book a spot for this gorgeous vegan meal in a hurry.

My buddy Jhenn is once again rolling out a fabulous multi-course vegan Japanese luncheon for limited guests in her very own London home this Sunday (February 28, 2016 from 1pm).

Jhenn is a culinary hero in the capital and I haven’t met a person who has walked away from one of her meals feeling anything less than completely satisfied.

What is Jhenn serving on Sunday?

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Hampstead Heath

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This isn’t something you can eat, but I really wanted to share it with you all.

I’m not often impressed by the idea of a photo book, but this project aiming to capture the beauty and wildlife of Hampstead Heath and turn it into a collectible book is impressive.

Watch the video above and not only will you marvel at Matt Maran’s love of Hampstead Heath, but you will also be impressed by the incredibly high standard to which he works as a wildlife photographer.

Matt has set up a Kickstarter page to fund the production of his photo book and if you love London, or you know someone who does, this is a campaign you should get behind.

The rewards for backers are varied but for just £30 you will receive a hand signed hardcover copy of the 192-page Hampstead Heath: London’s Countryside. 

This is THE perfect gift for wildlife lovers, London lovers and people who like to support independent artists.

Click here to check out all the other rewards and help Matt achieve his goal of producing this stunning book.

Extra note: in case you need a vegan connection to justify taking action, Matt is the partner of vegan chef and caterer Rowena of V-Curious. 

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Food in a box

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I’m annoyed. I leave London for an extended time and all the good stuff happens.

My pal Gabi emailed me last week to tell me about an incredible food delivery service recently launched in central London.

I scooted over to the MOJO-BOX website to find out why Gabi was so excited and as soon as I saw the food photos, I knew the hype was justified.

After drooling over the food photos, I messaged the company to discover more.

This is what they told me:

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