vegan

Is Twitter Completely Dead To Me?

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I’ve resisted for a while, but can I delay it any longer?

Social network X (formerly known as Twitter) has become an unusable heap of steaming nonsense, overflowing with violent videos and fake accounts pushing extreme agendas.

But why am I so reluctant to leave it in the past where it clearly belongs?

Twitter was the first social media account I started under the Fat Gay Vegan name. My memory is a bit hazy (insert joke about B12 deficiency here) but I think my presence on Twitter started in 2010. I was full of hope about making the world a better place by sharing vegan news with likeminded people, while encouraging even more people to explore their compassionate side.

I used the platform to build connections with vegan and social justice activists all over the planet. It was a tool I used to share my thoughts, support independent vegan business, and improve outcomes for animals. The sense of community I experienced through Twitter was affirming and I was able to communicate and promote my vegan events with very little negative experience.

Yes there were trolls as with any online space, however the good outweighed the bad.

But then Elon Musk happened. Let’s talk about the rapid destruction of a once positive and nurturing online community.

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Vegan Cakes In Canary Wharf

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Canary Wharf is one of those parts of London that feels like it only exists for people who work there. A sea of suits, glass towers, and the eerie quiet of a place that empties out after office hours.

It’s never really been a destination unless you have a reason to be there and for years, I’ve had precisely zero reasons.

But now, Yummzy has arrived, giving Canary Wharf a rare glimmer of interest for those of us who don’t clock in at a finance firm.

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15 Years Of Vegan London: From DIY Potlucks To Corporate Takeovers

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Fifteen years ago when I started this very blog, if you wanted to be social as a vegan in London you had to make it happen yourself. There were no vegan pubs and certainly no high street chains with dedicated plant-based menus.

This wilderness forced me to launch London Vegan Drinks, a monthly gathering where we carved out a space for ourselves in a world that barely acknowledged we existed. London Vegan Potluck was another community-driven event I curated, where people cooked and shared food because there weren’t many places to eat out.

Back then, if you wanted a vegan meal, you might get lucky at Pogo Café in Hackney (if they were open and serving something edible) or a measly number of eateries that weren’t always great. Other than that, it was whatever scraps you could cobble together from independent health food stores and Holland & Barrett. There were no vegan ready meals, hardly any supermarket own-brand plant milks, and certainly no Gregg’s vegan sausage rolls.

Then the independent vegan revolution happened. Slowly at first and then rapidly.

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Vegan Thai Food In Heart Of Brixton

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If you are familiar with the delicious vegan offerings of Mali Thai in Earls Court, you’ll be delighted to know this restaurant now has a companion outlet located south of the river.

Muan is a Thai street food restaurant located inside Brixton Village market, just a few minutes walk from Brixton Underground and Overground stations.

The eatery is a no-frills kind of vibe which makes for the perfect spot for a fast meal in a relaxed and comfortable setting.

Take a look below at the delights I ate during my recent visit!

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Be My Vegan Valentine In Bow

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Are you feeling romantic, London?

E3 Vegan, the sensational plant-based restaurant on Roman Road in Bow, is celebrating Valentine’s Day with an exclusive menu crafted by chef Marc Joseph.

If you hang around these parts often, you might have seen my post about the top tier Sunday roast being served regularly at E3 Vegan. Click here to play catch up if you missed it.

That Sunday feast is all well and good, but I’m here to encourage you to take your current romantic entanglements along for this one of a kind date night on Friday February 14th, 2025.

Check out the menu below!

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London’s Disappearing Vegan Scene: Going, Going, GONE!

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There was a time, not that long ago, when I struggled to keep up with newly-opened vegan food businesses in London.

There was a green culinary boom taking place in the UK capital that was tough to track and I’d often find myself being the last to know about a new eatery.

Sadly, there now appears to be another new trend rapidly spreading around town which is equally as exhausting to document.

Vegan restaurant closures.

I’m not here to do a deep dive into why these businesses are closing (mostly because I’m too lazy for investigative journalism) but I did want to take this opportunity to give a shout out to a few locations that had been feeding the vegan and vegan-curious in London but which have now turned out the lights for good.

The huge (and hugely-popular) Club Mexicana on Commercial Street, Shoreditch recently closed quite abruptly. This loss came as a shock to the community as the restaurant had been promoting its offerings almost until the day it was shuttered.

Fans of the Mexican-inspired eatery can still enjoy their favourite menu items at two continuing locations, Soho and Mayfair. Click here to get more information and booking details. Use it or lose it people!

This listicle isn’t my favourite thing to do, but let me rush through these recent closures.

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Get Squeaky In UK Supermarkets

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I haven’t done any sort of supermarket product update in a while but this news certainly got me in the mood to share with you all.

I’ve documented my appreciation of the Squeaky Bean brand quite a bit over on my Instagram account and have even collaborated with the brand on a few pieces of content.

They sell really fab, ready-to-eat meat alternatives that are filling a big gap in UK supermarkets… and my belly.

The latest products to join the Squeaky family are these sandwich-friendly Tofu Slices.

Available in either Spinach & Basil or Red Pepper & Tomato, these slices are ready to go and will improve your sandwich game.

But where can you buy them?

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Made In Hackney Is One For The Books

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Big news!

Food security heroes Made In Hackney are finally dropping their first-ever cookbook, and it’s an absolute must-have.

We Cook Plants is more than just a recipe book. It’s a love letter to plant-based cooking, packed with 100 global recipes from the incredible Made In Hackney chefs curated by the charity’s founder, Sarah Bentley. And if that wasn’t exciting enough, the book features contributions from celebrity supporters like Andi Oliver, Sami Tamimi, Dr Rupy, and fermentation king Sandor Katz. Fancy, right?

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Dine Scandinavian Style In London

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I don’t know a lot about Scandinavian food.

As a person originating from outside the region known as Scandinavia, I’m not even sure how effective it is to use a coverall term such as Scandinavian to describe all the food developed across a handful of countries with diverse geographic landscapes and historic influences.

To develop an understanding of what really constitutes Scandinavian food, the best I can do as a non-Scandi living in London is to defer to a chef who is happy to use the term to describe the food they create.

And if this plate of deliciousness is the norm, sign me up as a Scandi fan!

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I’m Not Religious But I Do Celebrate Easter Eggs

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The title of this blog is a joke I’ve made a few times, in a few different forms.

I’ve joked about not celebrating Christmas while expressing my devotion to overeating on Christmas day. I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving but that doesn’t stop me from eating food associated with this problematic calendar date.

And just like the above festivities, Easter comes with it’s own delicacies that I love to consume while simultaneously rejecting the cultural and religious framework surrounding it.

Yes. I’m coming out of the closest as an atheist who is obsessed with Easter eggs!

My family wasn’t religious when I was growing up in Australia and I only attended church for weddings and funerals, but Easter was one of those celebrations that reached even the most non-observant of the population Down Under.

As a child, I would build a nest to which the Easter Bunny would deliver chocolate and candy eggs once a year (a tad confusing when I ponder this as an adult). This nest was more often than not simply a beach towel rolled into a spiral, placed in the living rom or at the foot of my bed. Sometimes I would shred newspaper to create a cosy, cushioning base to protect my expected egg delivery! I have no idea if this was a cultural practice outside of my family but we did it for most of my childhood years.

I suppose it was this custom that instilled in me a joy for Easter eggs that has lived long past my childhood and even long past retaining (most of) my family in my life!

This probably isn’t the right place to do a deep dive into my complex family history, however it is the perfect platform for sharing my current Easter faves with you here in the UK.

Check these out!

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