temple of hackney

BREAKING NEWS Temple of Seitan

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Oh my gosh.

I’m thrilled to announce that Temple of Seitan has opened a cafe on site at Hackney Downs Studios, the home of Hackney Downs Vegan Market.

Say hello to Temple Goods.

Temple Goods crash landing at Hackney Downs Studios makes this the most significant vegan site in London. We now have the best vegan food provider in London trading six days a week with a glorious new cafe AND the first and best vegan market in London right outside every Saturday.

Bec from Temple wanted me to share the following with you:

We are very excited to announce that we have taken over the cafe at Hackney Downs Studios for (at least) the summer. We will be building it into something pretty special over the coming months, so please follow our new cafe on Instagram for updates! To begin with, we will be serving our full range of cakes and pastries, as well as Dark Arts Coffees, and a rotating menu of breakfast and lunch dishes. We will also be stocking *vegan treatz* and are working with some other independent vegan businesses to build a stock of hard to get goods to take home.

London, this is the real deal. You now have a vegan cafe and provisions store right in the heart of Hackney Downs Vegan Market.

Bec continued to tell me:

Given the success of Hackney Downs Vegan Market we think this is the perfect location for us to set up shop. The Hackney Downs Vegan Market was where we experienced some of our first real successes and without the support of Hackney Downs Studios and FGV we certainly wouldn’t be where we are today. We are looking forward to serving up some weekend specials to complement the market!

Saturday is now a very special day. You can shop and dine with our market traders AND kick back inside the giant cafe space with these true vegan food pioneers.

And of course you don’t even have to wait until Saturday as Temple Goods is open from today (Monday May 21, 2018). Monday’s specials will be toasties, smashed avo on toast and a chick’n Caesar salad!

Opening hours are Monday through Friday 8am until 5pm and Saturday 10am until 5pm. Sunday openings will be from June 3.

Follow Temple Goods on Instagram now and get down there to celebrate the further expansion of the Temple empire.

BREAKING NEWS EXTRA

July 14, 2018 marks the 6th annual London Vegan Beer Fest and I’m thrilled to say that Temple Goods cafe will be joining in the celebrations.

The cafe will be one of four exclusive spaces available only for beer fest ticket holders.

Temple Goods will be set up as an indoor beer hall with exclusive food and beer offerings. On the day, the cafe will only be open to beer fest ticket holders. This is in addition to our outdoor beer market, the huge indoor Brass Castle beer hall located inside Hackney Showroom, and the karaoke performance space.

More than 25% of tickets for London Vegan Beer Fest have been snapped up so please book now online if you want to be part of this enormous party.

Inside Temple of Camden

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A few days I gave you a sneak preview of what it looks like inside the soon-to-be-opened Temple of Camden, the second permanent location for food superstars Temple of Seitan.

If you missed that post, which also included some breaking news about their new Camden menu, you can click here to read it.

Today’s post is to share some more shots of the Temple of Camden interior (and exterior) to help get you excited ahead of their grand opening on January 31, 2018.

Check it out below!

You can follow Temple of Seitan on Instagram to stay updated on all the latest news.

Vegan fried chicken

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Even though I first reported the opening of vegan fried chicken shop Temple of Hackney back at the beginning of the year, I only got to eat with the business for the first time a few days ago.

This isn’t so much a review as it is a love letter.

Temple of Hackney is the food business of my dreams. What they are doing is the definition of groundbreaking and there is nobody on the planet doing what they do to this level.

The menu is outstanding and irresistible.

Crispy chips. Juicy seitan with crunchy coating. Gravy pots. Vegan chicken poppers. Burgers.

Every single item is world class and Temple of Hackney is one of the finest vegan food outlets on the planet. No debate.

Follow them on Instagram and eat with them as soon and as often as you can.

Want to be happy? Get the mac n cheese from @templeofseitan in Hackney. #vegan

A post shared by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

Get a fried #vegan chicken burger from @templeofseitan and your life will improve.

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Updated menu and hours Temple of Hackney

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You all adore Temple of Hackney, the vegan fried chicken shop by Temple of Seitan.

So of course you love this quick little snippet of news relating to the shop’s brand new revised menu AND the new opening hours.

Firstly, let’s look at the menu.

A few of the items have been changed ever so slightly and the meal deal has come down in price.

Also, you came here to find out about the new opening hours.

They are posted below for your pleasure.

Yes, you can get your vegan fried chicken quota 7-days a week and until 9pm Monday through Saturday.

Get well into it.

Follow Temple of Seitan on Instagram.

New vegan chicken twister

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I share this news with a full heart and a smile on my face.

London, you can get your hands on a vegan version of the chicken Twister wrap.

Take a look at this supreme piece of food art.

There is only one place you can get this wrap in London this week and that is the Temple of Seitan stall at Hackney Downs Vegan Market on Saturday May 20, 2017.

The Vegan Twist wrap comes with your choice of chipotle or lemon pepper mayo.

Of course there will be hundreds of people trying to get their hands on one of these savoury delights, so get to the market early. Full vendor line can be seen here and you can RSVP to the Facebook event.

Temple of Hackney update

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After taking London by storm and firmly establishing themselves as darlings of the mainstream tabloids, vegan fried chicken shop Temple of Hackney has just celebrated one month of trading.

So, how are they doing?

Is business still thriving as the grand opening frenzy fades into the past?

I caught up with owner and Temple of Seitan founder Rebecca McGuinness to find out exactly how the situation is for London’s first vegan fried chicken shop a little over a month in:

Congratulations on such a tremendous opening period. Just how busy has it been in the shop? Has it surpassed your expectations?

Thanks so much! It’s been unbelievable, we never thought in a million years we would be this busy and we are so grateful for all the support. It’s been a lot of hard work but to have this response in just a month as a small business is so surreal and we feel so lucky. We have acquired a second kitchen to keep up with demand and have gone from 4 staff to 13 in a matter of weeks!

What is the general feedback you and the team have been getting from customers?

General feedback has been really positive, the homemade meats have been met with great response, but the surprise dish is the mac and cheese – I would say it’s as popular as the chicken!

We also notice a lot of feedback about the friendliness and great service from our team. We definitely have to give them a shout out as they truly are the nicest and hardest working bunch around!

Do you have any sense of how many non-vegans are eating with you? What has their reaction been like?

We have had a lot of non-vegans come through that are trying to cut down on meat consumption but also some that come out of curiosity or along with vegan friends. We have had people say they prefer seitan chicken on several occasions which is obviously the highest honour! Haha.

The mainstream press has really taken to your story in a big way. How does all that attention feel and how are you managing the PR demands while running the shop?

It can be very full on and unfortunately due to this we aren’t as quick to get back to everyone at present – but as I say we are so lucky to have this kind of press as a small business and certainly wouldn’t be enjoying the instant success we have had without it.

Do you have any upcoming developments or top secret news you would like to share with my readers? What can they expect from Temple of Hackney in the future?

We do! We are working on a new menu that we plan to reveal very soon, including some exciting dishes we have shared early on in our Instagram feed. The menu will still have the “chicken shop” vibe, but will feature some new junk food favourites. We can’t wait to share them with everyone! We will also have extended opening hours shortly.

Finally, do you have a message for your loyal customers who have helped make the opening such a success? I’ve seen photos of them lining up out the door in the rain and snow!

We really do have the most incredible customers and are constantly in awe of their patience and kindness. From those who have been with us from our first stall in Brixton, our weekend stalls in Brick Lane to the new friends we have met in Hackney, we cannot thank you all enough. This first month of opening has been very challenging and we have learned so much in such a short space of time- but to have the support and understanding of the community made our transition from street food pop up to store a dream come true. We couldn’t have come this far without you. We say this often but the UK has the most incredible vegan community and has been so welcoming and friendly to a couple of junk food fiends from down under.

Follow Temple of Seitan on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.