London vegan news, reviews & events
Earlier today I found myself in a central London hospital for an appointment. Getting old is no joke so I won’t make one.
With some time to spare, I wandered into the cafeteria to see what sort of vegan food might be on offer. What I found was not especially inspiring. The main vegan option appeared to be what I can only describe as a mummified baked potato, sitting sadly under the lights and looking as if it had been waiting far too long for anyone to take an interest.
Read more below.
Guest post by Mirel.
Hospital food has had a bad reputation for decades. Never mind vegan hospital food, which I’ve never had to try and find before now. I recently had an operation which required an overnight stay in a London hospital. Ahead of time I contacted the hospital to put in my request for vegan meals and hoped for the best.
They confirmed vegan meals would be provided for me but couldn’t give me exact details of what would be available. I had the lowest of expectations and asked my loved ones to be on standby to source a packed lunch from outside if needed!
The day came, the operation was a success and this was my post-op meal, a combination of lunch and dinner due to the timings on the day.
They brought me round a jacket potato with double beans, a hummus sandwich on brown bread with crisps and a side salad. Dessert was a fruit bowl with melon, grapes and pineapple pieces. I was impressed! Nothing here was groundbreaking but it was thoughtfully put-together, healthy, tasty and filling.
Even my visitors were impressed! Though perhaps this was because there was no need for anyone to do an emergency dash to the nearest food retailer.
The real fun came the next morning when breakfast arrived. They brought me avocado on sourdough toast, a large bowl of porridge with maple syrup, another round of toast with peanut butter and another fruit bowl.
It’s one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had, which was extra welcome in the circumstances!
FGV note: this stay was in a private hospital.
