Imagine my reaction when an invitation came through to visit a vegan cupcake factory. I was like a larger version of that dancing baby that was a viral sensation a few years back, except a bit camper.
One of the most-loved cake companies in London, Trina’s Delicacies, asked me to drop in on their production premises south of the river to see how they go about creating some of the loveliest vegan cupcakes on the planet.
When you love vegan cake as much as I do, it can be a little overwhelming to find yourself in the centre of a commercial kitchen dedicated to baking huge quantities of the stuff. Trina (along with her friendly assistant Andy) made sure I stayed focussed by talking me through how each cupcake is lovingly handcrafted, where they can be purchased and what the plans are for the future.
London Vegan Beer Fest is rapidly approaching and plans are well underway. Super cool breweries are locked in, the 100% vegan BBQ menu is being devised and early bird tickets are flying out the door.
It is all terribly exciting, I’m sure you will agree. But hold onto your sun hats because that’s not all.
I am thrilled to have just confirmed Australian band Love Like Hate as performers at this year’s event.
Brisbane-based (FGV’s hometown!) band Love Like Hate are a duo combining post punk electric guitars with free form piano melodies to create a sound described as dark pop. Currently touring Europe on the release of their single Electric Ships from the upcoming second EP, Heather and Sonja have made special arrangements to be part of the biggest vegan party of the year.
Check out the music video for their fab song Electric Ships below then buy your super cheap London Vegan Beer Fest early bird tickets now.
I am just putting the finishing touches together for the first night of the FREE WINONA film season. You know the deal, right? A month of free movie screenings starring everybody’s favourite girl interrupted, Winona Ryder.
If you missed out on tickets for this week’s screening of Beetlejuice, you will want to be extra fast when securing a place for the second instalment on Tuesday June 10, 2014.
It hasn’t even been a year since I first blogged about the glorious vegan food vendor The Mighty Fork so it is with great sadness and shock to find out that the people behind it have no future plans to trade.
London has lost one of its only world class, 100% vegan food providers. The Mighty Fork were a shining light in a slate grey Victorian sky filled with hummus and falafel. Their gourmet dogs were loved by many and the capital is a decidedly less adventurous food landscape without them.
Owner and founder Rita sent the following tweet this morning to her devoted fans via Twitter.
I followed this tweet up with an email to Rita, asking if this really is the end of her vegan hot dogs on the streets of London.
She replied that there are no plans for The Mighty Fork in the future and she has no plans to return to street food. Rita also stated it was important to her to get word out to the people who have supported her business. She loved meeting the thousands of people she served vegan street food to and is thankful for all the new friends she made along the way.
It turns out that the final outing for The Mighty Fork was the roller disco I held to raise funds for Sea Shepherd. I’m glad I had the good sense to eat two of their delicious creations on the day.
Much love to The Mighty Fork for the brief enjoyment they gave to London vegans.
I am teaming up with The Gallery Cafe in Bethnal Green for a season of free films starring the one and only Winona Ryder.
Join me in The Chapel (access through the cafe) every Tuesday evening in June for these free movie events. Of course vegan food and drink will be available from The Gallery Cafe kitchen, however purchase is not required to enter the event.
All you have to do is book a ticket to secure a seat. So simple.
We are kicking off the FREE WINONA season on Tuesday June 3, 2014 at 7pm with a screening of the 1988 classic Beetlejuice. Book your free ticket now.
If you are in London this week and are not attending London Vegan Drinks, I have two questions for you.
Question the first: why the heck not? Question the second: it’s because you are going to this fabulous vegan Italian supper club, right?
My pal Sara is a much-loved food creator and she has once again put together an eating experience for hardcore foodies. Sara has just arrived back in the UK following a vacation in South Africa and she is fired up, ready to put some serious food on the dinner table this week.
Check out the menu.
STARTER – Farinata – baked chickpea pancake with red onions served with handmade vegan garlic mayo
MAIN COURSE – Handmade Beetroot Ravioli filled with Fava Beans in cheesy cream
SECOND COURSE – Artichoke and Asparagus Gratin
SIDE – Blood Orange, Beet and Fennel Salad served with handmade sourdough
DESSERT – Caramel Tiramisù
Sounds lovely, right? If you are reading this soon after I posted it, you need to act quickly to book your ticket.
A little while back, Josh took over with a blog post about a vegetarian cafe in the heart of the Bloomsbury neighbourhood that serves up tasty meat-free meals during academic term time. Read about his love of the place here and then scroll down below for a shot of my tasty lunch there today.
The Mary Ward Centre Café is a long-standing favourite of students, staff and visitors to this learning complex, as well as visitors and staff from the nearby Great Ormond Street Hospital. The prices are maybe some of the lowest you will find for vegan options in central London.
Here is an Instagram snap I took of my lunch today. I thoroughly enjoyed the borlotti bean pie topped with creamy mash and the lentil stew with crispy potato wedges. Both plates of food just over £4 each.
How’s this for a UK first? You can book a tour of the giant Whole Foods Market store on Kensington High Street and you will be led around the complex for approximately an hour by their in-house Healthy Eating Specialist.
Oh, did I forget to mention that the specialist is a super friendly vegan named Maura? How cool is that?
Maura is in charge of all the cooking demos and food education that take place in the Kensington store. As a vegan, she makes sure plant based eating is front and centre of everything she does.
I recently booked a tour with Maura and was impressed by how she was able to personalise the experience for me. She really explored the vegan options available for me based around my love of quick meals and snacks (and maybe some beer). Maura pointed out products that matched my love of food and she often referred to my ethical choices. I didn’t feel like my health was being questioned and the nutrition information was pitched just right. I was interested in everything she showed me.
That’s not to say that she wouldn’t be able to cater for the health-conscious vegans out there. Maura explained how she loves to talk with store visitors about making the most out of the bulk section, vegan food nutrition, cooking vegan food from scratch and how she can even email you follow up recipes based on ingredients you discuss with her in store.
Maura of Whole Foods Market
It really is a fantastic experience being taken around such a huge supermarket by a vegan food specialist. There is no pushing animal products. Maura is completely relaxed and helpful. The tour is flexible enough to feel inclusive for long term and new vegans alike.
The tour costs nothing and there is no pressure to buy anything at the end.
Maura of course welcomes non-vegans to tour the store with her. It is such a great way for people teetering on the edge of veganism to get a helping hand. This would be a perfect blog post to pass on to those people in your life who you know could be comfortable with vegan food if they just had a little more information.
Maura is definitely the person with that info.
Email Kensington@wholefoodsmarket.com if you are keen on taking the tour with Maura.
I was about to start this post by saying another week sees the appearance of another vegan food market stall, but I think they are popping up faster than one a week in London.
Rawwwsome is kind of unique, though.
The fabulous Steph has started this super cute stall right in the heart of Camden Lock Market. It is packed with incredibly healthy (and tasty!) handmade raw treats such as mint chocolate brownies, raspberry cheesecakes and banoffee bites.
Steph told me she is having a great time exposing this type of food to the mostly non-vegan punters of the market. During my visit, I counted almost a dozen curious people stop by to taste the samples on offer and every single one of them looked and sounded impressed.
And so was I. Everything I ate was gorgeous. Check out the photos below.
Get down to Camden Lock Market and eat all the raw treats from Rawwwsome. Follow Steph on Twitter. It might be a good idea to double check with her before you head down that she will be there. I think she is currently at the market most Fridays and Saturdays.
I have been hearing good things about new(ish) soda company Square Root and was keen to get it on my chubby tastebuds.This Hackney-based company make all their drinks by hand from seasonal ingredients and they sell them from a gorgeous vintage tricycle fitted out with taps from which they pour the tasty liquid.
