London

Vegan venture

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There are some fabulously exciting things happening for vegans in London and most of them are pop up ventures. What’s behind this drive to sell food in temporary locations?

London is surely one of the most expensive cities in the world for real estate. It was announced this week that the average house price in London is £514 000 while the average house price in central London is £1.6 million. The increase in property prices in London over the past year has been at a rate of 19%. This is staggering.

The cost of renting commercial space in Camden Stables Market is upwards of £1000 a week. You can see why vegan start ups can only afford to run temporary events and pop ups are the new trend of getting food to the masses. Vegan businesses cannot get permanent premises unless they have a hell of a lot of money behind them.

Get up and get out of the house this weekend and support a vegan pop up venture. Show the people making cruelty free food for the masses that you care.

You might very well start with the brand new Club Mexicana pop up in east London. The taco masters have set up temporary shop in The Convenience, an inventive and quirky cafe near Chatsworth Road with a roof terrace for dining.

The Club Mexicana pop up runs from 6pm Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and from 4pm on Sundays. See the current menu below but be warned it will be rotating so not everything will be available every night. Rumour has it they are working on a Mexican seitan burger and that chocodilla on the menu sounds fabulous.

The pop up will run until October 12. Follow Club Mexicana on Twitter.

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Vegan for miles

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Just over a week ago I visited the Specialty & Fine Food Fair held in London Olympia and I am now only getting around to sharing photos of some of the fabulous vegan products I encountered.

I have included social media links for each company, so please feel free to reach out to them and let them know how keen you are to see their products in stores. Some of the products are even available to order online so make sure you do some investigating.

Here we go.

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vegana – an exclusive Italian experience

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Vegan dining in the capital rises to a previously unseen level as Fat Gay Vegan collaborates with legendary Caffè Caldesi of Marylebone. Sunday 5th of October, 2014 is a date for dedicated food disciples.

Caffè Caldesi is located in London’s Marylebone and is the flagship of the Caldesi group of Italian restaurants and cookery schools. The restaurant is known for its un-comprising dedication to creating authentic Italian regional food under the watchful eye of patron Giancarlo Caldesi. Giancarlo, a Tuscan by birth, has been running Italian restaurants for 40 years in the UK and along with his wife Katie has written many books on the regional food of Italy. The couples latest book ‘Venice – Recipes lost and found’ is due to be launched in October 2014.

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Caffè Caldesi is a favourite haunt of Italian ex-pats in London given that it truly is the ‘real Italian’ – you won’t find chequered tablecloths or packet grissini here. The restaurant is split into a downstairs bar/cafe and an upstairs fine dining restaurant, the dishes served in both are seasonal, regional and authentic providing the customer a choice of the classics and less well known.

When Giancarlo and Katie considered delving into the (for them) unexplored world of vegan fine dining they called on the experience of Sean O’Callaghan, known throughout the UK as blogger and event planner Fat Gay Vegan.

Sean has pulled together an exquisite menu utilising the skills of Italian-born vegan chef Sara Mittersteiner. Sara, of vegan supper club Pomodoro E Basilico fame, has lovingly crafted a selection of dishes perfectly matched to an autumnal fine dining experience in this stunning Marylebone setting.

The menu is as follows:

Primo Piatto – Main Course

Tagliatelle al Cacao con Crema di Noci, Fave e Fave di Cacao – Chocolate Tagliatelle with Walnut cream, Fava Beans and Cacao Nibs

Secondo Piatto – Second Course

Erbazzone – Spinach Quiche

Contorno – Side

Insalata di Finocchi allo Zafferano – Saffron Fennel Salad

Dolce – Dessert

Tiramisù al Caramello – Caramel Tiramisù

In addition to this peerless plant-based menu, diners will be treated to a glass of peach Bellini and an amuse–bouche on arrival as well as tea or coffee following dinner. A selection of vegan beer, wine and spirits will be available for purchase from the bar.

Caffè Caldesi, Fat Gay Vegan and Chef Sara are the ingredients guaranteed to bring London a night of magical vegan eating never before seen in the capital.

Book early to avoid disappointment.

Tickets are priced £35 plus booking fee and are non-refundable. Seating is unreserved however we will endeavour to meet emailed seating requests prior to the evening.

Visit Caldesi online. Follow Caldesi on Twitter. Like Caldesi on Facebook.

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Something vegan for the weekend

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What are you getting up to this weekend?

I have put together a few ideas to save you from having to stagger around the Internet in search of fun. If you’ve got any other top tips for the weekend, please post them in the comments below.

Here it is then. FGV’s top vegan and vegan-friendly things to do in London on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th September, 2014.

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Ping Pong vegan

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Do you know the London-wide restaurant chain with eight locations called Ping Pong? Did you know each of the locations can produce a vegan menu for you on request? I didn’t either!

Check it out below.

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Essential Vegan cafe

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London, get ready for some of the best vegan food you have ever eaten. Seriously.

As the sad news filters around town of pop up cafe LOTUS Cucina Vegan vacating its Portobello Road premises, consolatory information about its replacement is spreading even faster.

Vanessa Almeida of Essential Vegan is bringing her outstanding savoury cuisine and cake delights to 297 Portobello Road for (what is now) an 8 week long engagement.

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If you know of Vanessa and Essential Vegan, you will be aware of just how irresistible her food is and what an untouchable reputation it has in the capital. The supper club Vanessa cooked for my guests was peerless and her cake stand on Brick Lane every Saturday is legendary.

Now West London gets to eat like a champion six days of the week starting Tuesday September 2nd, 2014 as the Essential Vegan Pop-up Cafe sets up shop in the Portobello Juice Cafe between Tuesday and Sundays, 9am – 5pm.

Get excited for this menu.

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Raw vegan in Chelsea

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It could come as a surprise to many readers, but I very much enjoy quality raw vegan food. I’m not just talking about the fruit salad I force myself to eat every now and then but well-executed raw cuisine. I’m pleased to say I have found a provider of such food in London.

Read on.

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Vegan at Wagamama

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Josh has climbed on board the blogging train tonight to tell us all about his recent vegan food adventure inside the UK version of international chain restaurant Wagamama.

Take it away, Josh.

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Eat in King’s Cross

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Do you live, work or travel in the King’s Cross area? If you said yes, start licking your lips.

Club Mexicana is a new 100% vegan street food endeavour that is currently popping up every Wednesday as part of the Kerb market on Granary Square just a short stroll from King’s Cross station. You might recall the stall cut its chops as a pop up venture in the Black Cat Cafe across several Saturday nights a few months back.

Check out the photos below to be impressed by the stunning taco, tortilla chips and soup tray on offer from the market stall. The fillings rotate week to week but you will always find a combination of either BBQ pulled jackfruit, beer-marinated seitan, smokey black beans & potatoes and tequila drunken black beans.

How fab does it look?

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Be a Twitter hitter

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I have been invited to contribute to a discussion at the Specialty and Fine Food Fair taking place at London Olympia on September 7-9, 2014.

Here are the quick facts you need:

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