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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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Portobello after hours

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Get ready for one of the rarest occurrences on the London vegan scene. That’s right. I am hosting a vegan pop up supper club in West London! Join me on August 28, 2014 at 8:00PM for a 3-course meal that will leave your taste buds in a spin.

Portobello After Hours is an incredibly special food event on one of the most visited and revered thoroughfares in London, Portobello Road. This bustling street is home to one of the most famous markets in the UK and people flock from all corners of the planet to stroll its length.

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Our event is set in in a gorgeous shop front on Portobello Road, just a few minutes on foot from Ladbroke Grove Underground station. Diners will be seated at both inside and outside tables unless it rains, hails or snows. In the instance of wet weather, diners will be seated in both the inside and downstairs dining areas.

Portobello After Hours is a collaboration between Fat Gay Vegan and LOTUS Cucina Vegan. LOTUS chef Marta has crafted a hearty and delectable menu that will surely excite all vegan food fanatics.

 

The menu includes:

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Hummus Bros love

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I was totally blown away by the fabulous people who came along to my pop up vegan event in Clerkenwell last night.

Everyone was super friendly and chatty. That could have possibly had something to do with the mass amounts of Asparagasm beer being guzzled in between tasty bowls of savoury food served by Hummus Bros.

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Thai for best

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Wow. It is over. My mammoth month-long Friday night supper club event known as Around the World with FGV has come to an end.

What a food adventure!

We started with the gorgeously plated Caribbean cuisine of Vegan Peasant, moved on to the hearty Brazilian fare of Essential Vegan, were in awe of the technical skills of The Vegan Ronin during the Japanese dinner and finished up with the mouth watering delights of Thai street food made by The Messy Vegetarian Cook. 

Kip of The Messy Vegetarian Cook had a tough act to follow being the last of four world class food designers, but of course she pulled out all the stops for a decadent Thai meal that had everyone asking for more.

Check out the photos below to see the stunning line up of Thai delights and make sure you follow Kip on Twitter to see what she has planned next or to book her services.

starter

Starters – Miang Takrai (bite sized citrussy lemongrass parcels of minced coriander, aromatic mint, toasted sesame and fresh coconut, served with a tangy sweet dressing in wild pepper leaves) and Laab Hed Tao Hoo (cooked salad of spicy sour minced tofu and mushroom dressed with fresh herbs and lime)

noodles

table

Main – Kanom Jeen (coils of thin noodles served with two choices of coconut based sauce: nam ya (thick and spicy) and/or nam prik (rich and sweet), accompanied by an array of side dishes including fresh Thai herbs, vegetables, and condiments)

sticky rice

balls

milk balls

Desserts – Floating Lotus/Bua Loi (sticky rice balls in warm pandan infused sweet coconut milk and sticky rice with caramelised freshly grated coconut)

Around the World with FGV

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Four nights in central London. Four visiting chefs. All vegan. This multi-night food event is a celebration of vegan cuisine from all over the globe and something food lovers certainly do not want to miss.

Spread across Friday nights in March 2014, Around the World with FGV is a collaboration between London’s leading vegan event planner and four of the finest vegan cooks in the UK.

Each night will be an intimate affair accommodating only six diners. The menu for each event has been personally created by the visiting chef, who will also handcraft the meal on their corresponding night. The dining experience is to be hosted by Fat Gay Vegan (that’s me!) in his home.

Who is doing the cooking and what are they making? Hold on to your hats!

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Italian afternoon tea

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On Saturday February 1st, 2014 between 5pm and 8pm, my pal Sara is hosting an afternoon tea packed full of herbal tea, Italian coffee and sweet and savoury Italian finger foods with a British twist.

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You MUST check out the menu below:

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Vegan beer night in Shoreditch

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Can you ever have enough vegan beer? If you said yes, don’t let the door hit you on the way out. If you said, “No, FGV. There can never be such a thing as too much vegan beer!” then I’ve got news to make you smile.

Get down to east London this Saturday (December 14, 2013) for a festive vegan beer pop-up bar put on by the good folk of Pitfield Brewery. There will be microbrewed craft beers on the bar including their limited run Christmas beer, Hoxton Scotch Bonnet, as well as a DJ spinning some tunes.

Limited run vegan Christmas beer
Limited run vegan Christmas beer

Of course all that vegan beer is incentive enough to attend this cool event, but it gets better still. The Pitfield Brewery Christmas Party is being held in the slightly-spooky venue known as The Ditch, located in the basement of Shoreditch Town Hall. Located at 380 Old Street, the venue is a short 5 minute stroll from Old Street Underground Station (take exit 2 out of the station).

The party starts at 7pm and runs until midnight. Oh, I almost forgot. The party will cost you nothing to enter. Yep. FREE ENTRY!

 

Pop-up Vegan Pizza Party was superb

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A massive THANK YOU to everyone who came to the first-ever Pop-up Vegan Pizza Party  on Saturday September 29, 2012. If you missed out, take heart in the fact we are doing it all again on October 13, 2012. Tickets available NOW and are selling quickly!

The evening was a runaway success from that moment a month ago when all tickets sold out within three days, right up until some attendees were shovelling their tenth piece of piping hot, cruelty-free pizza into their mouths.

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Pop-up Vegan Pizza Party

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Pop-up Vegan Pizza Party is set to take London by storm on Saturday September 29, 2012. Be prepared for an evening of delicious dining on mouthwatering pizza, vegan cupcakes by award-winning bakery Ms. Cupcake and socialising in the centre of the vibrant and buzzing Brixton Market.

The evening will feature a huge selection of 16″ vegan masterpieces created by the talented purveyors of takeaway, Village Pizza. You will be treated to such tantalising flavours as Hickory Chicken, Spaniard and Tikka Surprise. These pizzas are huge and not to be missed if you are a serious vegan pizza lover.

But the eating won’t stop there!

Every ticket holder at the Pop-up Vegan Pizza Party will also get to choose a vegan cupcake from the glorious selection on offer in the Ms. Cupcake bakery. That’s correct… a whole lot of pizza AND a vegan cupcake of your very own.

The night will run from 8pm and the pizza will be served at specially-arranged tables inside Brixton Market. You will be enjoying your scrumptious feast as a Saturday night in the heart of Brixton comes alive all around you. Non-alcoholic refreshments will be on sale via Ms. Cupcake and there are currenty whispers of a vegan beer sponsor looking to keep revellers hydrated, too.

If a few hours of vegan pizza and cupcakes sounds like your idea of a good time, act quickly. £20 tickets (+ booking fees) to this feast are strictly limited. Click here to buy.

(Tickets are sold on a non-refundable basis)

Follow Ms. Cupcake on Twitter

Like Ms. Cupcake on Facebook

Visit Village Pizza online