vegan

Give yourself to the dark side

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I feel sorry for people who celebrate Christmas. All that money spent on gifts for other people when they could be buying vegan treats for themselves in Hotel Chocolat.

A few days ago I ventured into the Waterloo Station location of chocolate emporium Hotel Chocolat and was blown away by the tastiness on offer. This was my first experience inside one of their stores, but I’m confident they will get to know me on a first name basis before too long.

Of course not everything is vegan inside the shop, but they certainly give greedy plant eaters like me something to get excited about. On asking about the vegan options, I was inundated with choices as the super-friendly staff member practically fell over trying to show me every product suitable for my compassionate sensibilities. I loved that these items were also clearly marked as being vegan on the packaging.

Check out the photos below to see which items won the distinguished accolade of being devoured by me. There were plenty more options that were almost-rans, but I’ll be getting to know them more intimately in the near future.

Dark chocolate with mint crisp
Dark chocolate with mint crisp
Dark chocolate & chilli batons
Dark chocolate & chilli batons
Gorgeous hazelnut
Gorgeous hazelnut slab
Hotel Chocolat Waterloo
Hotel Chocolat Waterloo

Find your nearest Hotel Chocolat online

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Deep Fry and Friends: Vegan Day of the Dead Supper Club

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My mate and all round good person Kip from Messy Vegetarian Cook has stopped by to let you know her take on my recent 2nd Annual Day of the Dead vegan supper club.

She even took fab photos for you to drool over. Thanks Kip!

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Another event organised by Fat Gay Vegan, the second annual Mexican Day of the Dead supper club went off without a hitch.

Día de los Muertos—Day of the Dead—is a Latin American holiday that originated in Mexico to remember and celebrate the lives of those who died. Food and friends are a central theme in the holiday, and this supper club lauded both.

The dinner comprised of five courses (six if you count the hibiscus tequila cocktail): esquites (Mexican sweetcorn salad, a typical street food), smoky lentil soup with fried plantain, potato taquitos (deep fried stuffed corn tortilla rolls), seitan in hibiscus mole sauce with cacao nibs, and cinnamon rice pudding.

FGV in the middle
FGV in the middle

While I think it’s safe to say the overall diner favourites were the taquitos and lentil soup, what stood out most to me was the mole sauce. This rich preparation is the end result of a laborious task of toasting, grinding, and mixing a number of latin ingredients. Aside from the necessary chili component, other popular ingredients include nuts, seeds, chocolate, various spices, bread, and various fruits and vegetables. A mole can be incredibly complex, so to know someone painstakingly prepared it from scratch made the whole meal worthwhile for me.

Many thanks to chef Julio for his efforts and skill in the kitchen, and for his enthusiasm in presenting the food and culture of his country with such passion. Hats off also to Josh for his help and to Sean for hosting such a great evening. Also a massive final thanks to all of the companies who donated to guests’ take home goody bags.

I’m already excited about next year’s supper club!

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Sweetness is my weakness

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I have written about the good folk of Need Sweets in the past, but these purveyors of vegan sweets have got me all in a mess once again with a giant goodie box just for chubby ol’ me.

Check it out.

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Feel like winning?

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My vegan Day of the Dead party has been months in the planning.

Huge goodies bags have been assembled for attendees. My friend has designed the menu based on traditional recipes and he has flown all the way from Mexico City to be with us. The room is decorated. We have an altar for offerings to the departed. The food is crazy delicious.

mexican1-1

It is going to be a phenomenal party starting at 4:30pm today in central London. How would you like to join us for free?

The marvellous people at Cool Chile Co have donated two tickets (valued at more than £80) to be given away today!

Mexican ingredient champions
Mexican ingredient champions

This is a simple competition with very few rules:

  • You must follow the Cool Chile Co on Twitter
  • Once following, you need to tweet them and tell them when you last ate Mexican food
  • You need to include the hashtag #FGVwin
  • Winner is responsible for their own transport and must be able to get to Holborn in central London by 4:30pm today (Saturday November 2nd, 2013)
  • Winner will receive two tickets to attend the 2nd Annual Day of the Dead vegan supper club and two goodie bags.
  • There is no cash substitution for this prize and the prize will be drawn randomly from eligible tweets – the judge’s decision is final (FGV and Cool Chile Co.)
  • Only enter if you are certain you can attend
  • Winner will be notified via Twitter at 1:30pm

Get tweeting. Tell your friends to tweet so they can bring you if they win.

If you do not win but would like to attend, there are roughly four tickets for sale from here.

News you can eat October 2013

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Here it is, people. All the vegan news that is fit to eat from the month of October… and there is a lot to get through.

Tuck in!

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I love a good poster

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Check it out!

Here is the glorious poster for the upcoming Brecknock Road Vegan Festival. Share it far and wide.

brecknock flyer
A poster to be proud of!

Hand drawn by Ange of The Third Estate with finishing touches by Kip of The Messy Vegetarian Cook. Do you like it?

Chocolate in the box

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Is there anything more appealing than a mystery box of vegan treats being delivered to your front door once a month? I didn’t think so!

As I raced around the recent (and huge) Vegfest UK London, one particular stall caught my eye. How could I resist a neatly-packed box filled to the brim with tasty, cruelty-free food? I couldn’t.

What's in the box
What’s in the box?

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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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