vegan

A very vegan Christmas

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Join me as I take over The Gallery Cafe for a night of festive food, stellar company and vegan drinks.

Frequent visitors to my blog know I don’t celebrate Christmas but I always say I do celebrate delicious food. When I was approached by The Gallery Cafe to host this event, I took about one second to squeal “Yes!”.

On Friday December 13, 2013 from 7pm, this east London eatery will be closed to the public for a private vegan Christmas dinner that you will not want to miss.

Attendees will be welcomed with a warm cup of mulled wine before being served a delicious 3 course dinner directly to their table. The menu for the evening is mouth watering:

Welcome drink – cup of homemade mulled wine

Starter – wild mushroom pate served with toasted sourdough bread, locally sourced chutney and a salad garnish

Main – homemade nut roast A walnut and brazil nut roast served with roast potatoes, glazed root vegetables, seasonal greens, cranberry stuffing and a good glug of gravy

Dessert – mince pie served with brandy cream

Entry to the event is for ticket holders only. The restaurant will be closed to the public for the evening. You must buy a ticket to secure your place.

All food is included in the price of £25 plus booking fee. Additional drinks including vegan beer, wine and cider can be purchased throughout the evening at additional cost.

Buy tickets from here: A Very Vegan Christmas

Bah humbug, indeed!

Nine lives

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Pogo Cafe is gone but in a city the size of London, vacant cafes don’t sit empty for long. 

It is with great excitement that I welcome Black Cat Vegan Café to the capital food scene. This workers’ co-op has taken over the old Pogo site and looks set to keep the spirit of vegan eating alive and well in Hackney.

I am yet to make it over to the new cafe but that hasn’t stopped me from sharing with you what I know. Here are some bits of information sent through by Carolyn, the chef at Black Cat Vegan Café.

I would love to hear what you all think of the food on offer.

Black Cat Vegan Cafe
Black Cat Vegan Café

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The Great Vegan Challenge

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When one of my favourite outreach groups emails to ask if I can spread the word about something, I jump right on it.

Check out what the compassionately-motivated people of Animal Aid have in store for the entire month of November and then pass the info on to a friend or family member who you think would make a good candidate for The Great Vegan Challenge.

Vegan Challenge Flyer cropped

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Brecknock Road Vegan Festival

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London vegans, friends and the vegan-curious are invited to a day of celebrations along the plant-eater friendly Brecknock Road in Kentish Town.

Brecknock Road Vegan Festival
Brecknock Road Vegan Festival

The local business holders have come together to celebrate everything they have to offer in the way of vegan food, goods and services on Saturday November 9th, 2013. It is an all day shopping, eating and social event from 11am, culminating with a party in the pub from 6pm until late.

Attractions on the day include:

– The Third Estate who will be launching Wills Vegan Shoes winter collection as well as their new website

– Bumblebee Health Foods serving Manna vegan cakes all day and will be sampling Fry’s Vegetarian products

– Muya Ethiopian restaurant with a separate vegan menu

– Salvino Italian deli serving vegan food and groceries plus will have live music in the store

– The Admiral Mann pub hosting the official afterparty (with vegan bottled beers by McMullen Brewery) featuring Motown/R&B/Soul singer Steve Lucas

– The Mighty Fork will be selling their delicious range of gourmet vegan hot dogs until 4pm

– The Vegan Society will be on hand to spread the vegan message and sell merchandise

– More stores, products and specials to be announced

Every visitor to the street will be given a vegan loyalty card. When you buy a vegan item from any of the participating stores on the day, your card will be stamped which you can then use to collect a very special gift bag from The Vegan Society stall.

The Vegan Society will be filming the entire day for a video to be shared on their website and social media platforms. It is our opportunity to show on a grand scale how London vegans and their friends can come together!

Please stay tuned for regular updates to this event. It is a real first for London and an amazing way to encourage local businesses to take notice of vegans. The event aims to support local traders while promoting and supporting the vegan community!

**Entry to the after party is FREE**

Autumn vegan pie feast

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As the colder weather approaches, take comfort knowing there is an exclusive vegan supper club full of hearty pies and sweet tarts just around the corner.

Fat Gay Vegan (that’s me!) has teamed up with pie experts The Tickled Tastebud Co. for an evening of delicious, handcrafted vegan pies and tarts.

Hosted in the intimate setting of a Kensington apartment on Saturday October 12th 2013 from 6pm, this exclusive meal is open to only six diners. You will need to be faster than speedy to secure a place.

Once you have read the menu below, I am certain you will be booking instantly.

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Water lapping up on the cement

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Josh has kindly stopped by to tell you about a little vegan surprise he found in central London, just a short stroll from Holborn Underground station.

Talk on it, Josh.

A couple of weeks ago my dad told me of a small independent bakery near my work which proudly displayed a sign out the front asking, “Have you tried our vegan options?”. The establishment in question is the Fleet River Bakery on the northwest corner of Lincoln’s Inn Fields just behind Holborn station. Many colleagues had spoken very highly of this bakery/cafe and I was excited to hear of their vegan-friendly bragging.

Fleet River Bakery London
Fleet River Bakery London

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Make mine a G&T

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Maybe I am not the all-knowing vegan guru of London, after all. I seem to be stumbling upon formerly unknown (to me) vegan and vegan friendly locations almost weekly.

I can add G&T Organic Shop and Coffee House to this growing list.

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Best kept vegan secret in London

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I’m going to tell you about a vegan location in London that you probably have never heard of and if you have, you probably have forgotten. I forgot. I used to visit this location back in 2001, but it had since slipped my mind. This little gem of immense community and plant-eating importance should be a weekly destination for every compassionate shopper in the capital.

Vegans and vegan-curious, I give you FareShares.

Unassuming shop front
Unassuming shop front

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2nd annual Day of the Dead party

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Following on from the phenomenal sell-out success of last year, my Mexican supper club to celebrate día de los muertos (day of the dead) is back.

TICKETS NOW ON SALE HERE

Inspired by my love of Mexico and the wonder of día de los muertos celebrations, I am creating a one-off event that you will have a hard time forgetting.

mexican1-1

Five courses of mouth watering vegan food will be served as you revel in the surrounds of a decorated room furnished with party supplies sourced from the streets of Mexico City. Sumptuous visuals will be projected to satisfy your senses as Mexican pop music fills the air.

In addition to Mexican-inspired snacks, you will be served:

Esquites (seasoned hot sweetcorn)

Lentil & ‘bacon’ soup

Taquitos (crispy fried tortillas with savoury filling)

Crusted ‘beef’ with hibiscus mole

Mexican rice pudding

The menu was co-created by a dear friend of mine from Mexico, who will be making an appearance at the event. I am busily putting together some fabulous goodie bags for attendees. More on that later!

Every attendee will receive a special goodie bag bursting with vegan treats including: a bottle of Choc Shot by Sweet Freedom, a packet of MozzaRisella rice cheese, a tub of Chocolate Orange Pudology, a decorative sugar skull courtesy of Mestizo Restaurant & Tequila Bar, a 20% discount voucher for Vegan Faces cosmetics, a bag of sweets from Need Sweets and a 10% discount to shop online with Cool Chile Co. All of the goodies will be yours to take home in a heavy duty jute shopping bag courtesy of Whole Foods Market.

Check out the blog post about the goodie bag contents here!

Ingredients on the night will be supplied by the Cool Chile Co. Check out their website for the best range of Mexican ingredients in the UK, including their self-made tortillas.

If you are keen to feast on Mexican-inspired cuisine, you should waste no time in snapping up a ticket from here.

And no-one spoke and no-one smiled

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“Here we go again. FGV is complaining about a vegetarian restaurant. Why can’t vegans just take what they get?”

Indian Melody was the scene of one of the most disappointing dining experiences I have ever had in the UK. I thought I was onto a sure thing when I discovered an almost entirely-vegan Indian restaurant in the city of Southampton, but I was rudely awakened to a different reality.

Indian Melody
Indian Melody

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