vegan London

Christmas cheese shopping in London

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I’m not wasting your time here. You just need and want the cheesy facts.

We have three days of fantastic vegan Christmas markets coming up this week in London, so that means plenty of opportunities to grab your festive cheese supplies.

Take note of which brands are appearing where and get there EARLY on the day. The cheese always sells out quickly at this time of year:

Friday December 21, 2018 at City Vegan Lunch Market – Christmas Edition on Guildhall Yard in the City of London between 11am and 2:30pm

  • Nutkin – nut based cheeses that are current Venn Street faves
  • I AM NUT OK – gourmet artisan cheese taking the UK by storm
  • Kinda Co. – one of the true vegan cheese superstars of 2018

Saturday December 22, 2018 at the FGV section of Venn Street Market in Clapham between 10am and 4pm

  • Nutkin – nut based cheeses and our resident Venn Street trader

Saturday December 22, 2018 at the FINAL weekend for Hackney Downs Vegan Market between 11am and 4pm

Sunday December 23, 2018 at the FINAL weekend for Hackney Downs Vegan Market between 11am and 4pm

Support these independent cheese traders and make your festive table extra special.

Extra note: the markets will be overflowing with hot food, cakes, drinks, and gift ideas so please make an effort to support these traders on the final weekend before Christmas.

Taste award-winning Oumph meat alternative for free

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This weekend at Hackney Downs Vegan Market is your chance to try the award winning meat alternative by superstar brand Oumph!… for free!

Oumph!, a favourite in Sweden and the Nordic countries, is made from soya beans and organic herb and spice mixes. It’s plant-based and free from gluten and dairy… and it is taking the UK by storm.

Oumph! is versatile and easy to cook. It’s suitable to grill, boil, sauté, deep-fry or even heat over an open BBQ. In addition, it’s high in protein and fibre and a source of iron and folic acid, as well has having a low climate impact.

And no animals were harmed to bring it to your table!

Oumph! is absolutely delicious so it comes as no surprise that the brand has been busy sweeping all the awards in 2018, including:

• Oumph! Kebab Spiced – awarded ‘Best Food Product of the Year’, Food Matters Live.

Oumph! The Chunk – awarded Gold ‘Food For Food Service’, FreeFrom Eating Out Awards.

• Pulled Oumph! – awarded Bronze in ‘Ready Meals’ category, FreeFrom Food Awards 2018.

• Oumph! The Chunk – awarded Silver in the ‘Food Innovation’ category, FreeFrom Food Awards 2018.

If you are curious to see what all the fuss is about, get along to Hackney Downs Vegan Market to taste the incredible Pulled Oumph! for free.

Pulled Oumph!

On Saturday December 15 and Sunday December 16, 2018, you can try hot samples of this groundbreaking products served on crunchy corn chips with pickled onion.

Truly sensational.

Pulled Oumph! on crunchy corn chips with pickled onion

Oumph! is a part of Food for Progress. Food for Progress is a Swedish food company producing tasty, nutritious and climate-friendly food that everyone on the planet can eat. 

Check out the full Oumph! range in the UK online here and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

You can see the full trader line up for Hackney Downs Vegan Market online here.

London restaurant bookings skyrocket with vegan menu

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City Spice in Brick Lane has been awarded for their new vegan menu and their business is booming!

City Spice restaurant was recently named London’s Best Vegan Indian Restaurant option at the prestigious Bangladesh Caterers Association Awards.

The awards are considered to be the ‘Oscars’ of the curry-house awards and City Spice was selected as the winner of their category in a vote involving the 12,000 member restaurants of the Bangladesh Caterers Association.

But what is all the fuss about and why is the restaurant being honoured?

City Spice recently launched Brick Lane’s first ever purposefully-vegan menu in a curry house, resulting in a 170% increase in bookings for the restaurant in the two months following the launch.

Yes, that’s correct. A 170% increase. That’s the power of plants, people!

The Michel-Indian inspired vegan menu comprises of 14 dishes and was perfected after the restaurant attended a culinary masterclass with Michelin-star chef Rupert Rowley in Sri Lanka.

Some of the vegan dishes that grabbed my attention include:

  • Palani Potatoes (£9.95)
    Fresh cubed pieces of potatoes are cooked with zesty cumin seeds and curry leaves, to provide a distinct, medium flavour, exemplified by a thick mouth-watering sauce.
  • Shobji Kufta Bhujon (£9.95)
    Lightly spiced mixed vegetable balls cooked in a spicy sauce with mushrooms, baked tomatoes and capsicum. Garnished with spring onions and coriander.
  • Mixed Vegetable Jalfrezi (£8.95)
    Seasonal vegetable cooked with an original recipe with an emphasis on the flavours extracted from fresh green chillies, fried onions and green peppers.
  • Mixed Vegetable Rogan Josh (£8.95)
    With its distinctive tomato flavour, this is the perfect go-to for newcomers to Indian cuisine. Medium spiced, tomatoes make up the base of this delicious dish, being built up with a selection of fine herbs as well as our own secret recipe, to give the Rogan it’s aromatic flavour.

Restaurant manager Abdul Muhaimen, 19, who created the menu, commented:

“Brick Lane is an incredible institution, but every institution needs a kick up the bum once in a while! Palates are changing, and the street needs to catch up.

While we’re delighted to have been recognised by the BCA, that’s just the tip of the iceberg for our family run restaurant. Since its launch we’ve now sold more than a thousand vegan dishes!”.

The restaurant was even recently featured on ITV News to talk about the runaway success of the vegan menu.

This isn’t the first time the restaurant tasted success in the BCAs. In 2017 the East End restaurant won London’s Restaurant of the Year at the Bangladesh Caterers Association Awards, and Best Asian Restaurant at the Asian Curry Awards.

Click here to see the new vegan menu online. You can see the exact location of City Spice thanks to Google Maps.

Customers can try the vegan menu, which also includes vegan wines, by booking a table. Simply visit city-spice.london/contact, dial 020 7247 1012, or email reservations@city-spice.london to secure your dining experience.

Follow City Spice on Facebook.

FGV received a fee to post this news. 10% of this fee has been donated to water security charity Isla Urbana in Mexico City.

Vegan café in northwest London

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Another amazing stockist has come on board to sell my book Fat Gay Vegan: Eat, Drink and Live Like You Give a Sh!t.

Ahimsa The Vegan Café is a gorgeous vegan eatery located in Pinner, a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Harrow.

The food served up in Ahimsa is some of the best in London. Take a look at some of these food photos below.

As the photos show, the Ahimsa menu is overflowing with everything from fresh salads to gourmet pizzas.

And now they also sell my book!

Support this wonderful community-focussed café by dining with them often and when you buy a copy of my book, they get to keep 50% of the money.

See the exact location of Ahimsa thanks to Google Maps.

You can follow Ahimsa on Facebook and Instagram.

You can also buy my book online via Amazon, Foyles, WH Smith, and Audible.

Vegan dinner at Black Cat Hackney

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Black Cat Hackney is one of the finest places to eat vegan food in the UK so you know you don’t want to miss out on their exclusive one-night-only Christmas supper club.

The exciting menu consists of a mix of classics and new items:

Starter (to choose from):

Caramelised cauliflower bisque topped with grilled seasonal mushrooms and served with garlic sourdough bread
OR
Wild mushroom croquette, whipped cashew chevre cheese, salt baked heritage beets, Hackney leaves and balsamic reduction

Main (to choose from):

House made seitan steaks, steamed seasonal greens, roast potatoes, lemon white wine shaved brussels sprouts, pastrami seasoned carrots and parsnips ribbons. Served with Black Cat’s gravy
OR
Blue corn crusted tofu cutlets, sweet potato and pumpkin mash, braised cabbage and roasted red pepper, Mexican chiles and peanut sauce

Desserts (to choose from):

Lemon thyme yoghurt cake, rhubarb compote, caramelised figs and coconut sour cream
OR
Peanut-butter chocolate cheesecake with bourbon biscuit base and salted candied nuts

The dinner is taking place at Black Cat on Clarence Road, Road on Saturday December 15, 2018.

Book now your tickets to spend this great evening with Black Cat. Choose from two time slots:

  • 6pm until 8pm sitting
  • 8:30pm until 10:30pm sitting

This event is BYOB meaning you are welcome to take your own drink.

You can also follow Black Cat on Instagram.

Buy my book AND support a vegan business

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My first ever book was published back in January and I’m here to give you two good reasons why you should by it right now.

Well, one of the reasons is just an OK reason while the second idea is the very good reason.

Idea the first: my book is a fabulous Christmas or festive present to give a loved one. Even if you think the person has little chance of switching to a vegan lifestyle, the book is an engaging read packed with funny and touching personal stories.

There are also plenty of arguments for why we can be kinder by choosing veganism, as well as how we can also make choices to challenge racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, and worker exploitation.

Reason the second and the best reason?

You can buy my book directly from the Shoreditch, London cafe Essential Vegan.

It is crucial that we support independent vegan businesses such as this cafe founded and operated by my dear friends Vanessa and Neni. You won’t find two people working harder to put veganism on the map and their food is sensational.

Grab a copy of Fat Gay Vegan: Eat, drink and live like you give a sh!t from the shelves of Essential Vegan for £8.99 and 50% of this money stays with the cafe.

Yep! You can eat some of the best vegan food in the UK, do some Christmas shopping, and ensure that more of your hard-earned cash is staying in your vegan community.

If you aren’t able to get along to Essential Vegan but still would like a copy of my book, you can order online from Amazon, WH Smith, or Foyles. You can also buy the audio version via Audible.

You can follow Essential Vegan on Instagram.

New vegan bakery for London

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One of the most popular traders we have ever hosted at Hackney Downs Vegan Market is LuckyLek.

Nora was always drawing large crowds with her exquisite baked goods and her patisserie items were snapped up quickly by eager fans.

Nora and LuckyLek disappeared from our market lineup a while back but for very good reason.

London has a brand new vegan bakery now that Nora has teamed up with her friend Nama. Get ready to visit Nora & Nama: Vegan Bakery & Deli in Camden.

If you can see the photo above, you will see that Nora & Nama have extremely special menu items and expertly-crafted baked goods.

Customers will discover and adore cakes, celebration cakes, finger food, cookies, bread, canapes, pies, tarts, baked goods, starters, spreads, and gluten free options.

The bakery is located in Camden Market (unit 596-598 Camden Lock) and the grand opening celebration is taking place on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 December, 2018.

Click here to RSVP to the Facebook event for the opening weekend, follow Nora & Nama on Facebook and Instagram, and see their official website here.

 

Hackney Downs Vegan Market looking for traders

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Hackney Downs Vegan Market is on the lookout for vegan cheese traders.

Are you a new vegan cheese producer looking to expand your business? Are you ready to take your products in front of the public?

Our weekly market has been the launching pad for many vegan cheese brands that have gone on to bigger and better things and now we are looking for tomorrow’s superstars.

Traders who have been featured at Hackney Downs Vegan Market over the past few years include I AM NUT OK (now stocked in Fortnum & Mason), Kinda Co (now working out of a professional kitchen), and Black Arts Vegan (about to launch their online store).

All of these traders will tell you that our local community market helped them establish public awareness of their brand while they developed and improved their products.

Hackney Downs Vegan Market is low cost for traders as we only charge a percentage of takings. We support and encourage traders who identify as women, non-white, disabled, and/or members of LGBTQI communities to apply as traders.

The market is currently on every Saturday and Sunday with winter hours of 11am until 4pm both days. We have market stalls for you to hire if needed.

If you are interested in coming on board as a vegan cheese trader to take your business up a notch, please email josh@fgvpr.co.uk to express your interest.

Extra note: joining our market is also a great way to build your social media following. As a trader you will be included in my social media announcements and market blog posts, reaching thousands of people each week.

Massive vegan chocolate Santa giveaway

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Do you like vegan chocolate? How about FREE vegan chocolate? How about free vegan chocolate in the shape of Santa?!

The wonderful people at Moo Free Chocolates have given us 200 chocolate Santas to giveaway at Hackney Downs Vegan Market this Saturday and Sunday (November 24 and 25, 2018).

There will be 100 vegan chocolate Santas given away for free each day!

These organic chocolate Santa bars are always a favourite at this time of year, alongside the Moo Free advent calendars which have been known to completely sell out across the UK.

Moo Free Chocolates just won the Best Vegan Chocolate category at the VegFestUK Awards so they are excited to share their award-winning chocolate with our market visitors.

Hackney Downs Vegan Market starts trading at 11am on both Saturday and Sunday, so please arrive early if you would like to get your hands on a Santa. Only one per person until they run out.

Two of our fabulous traders are taking charge of the giveaway so this is who you need to say hello to in order to collect your free chocolate:

  • Saturday – Vegan Delice – our superstar resident baker with cupcakes and hot donuts
  • Sunday – Pason’s Pots – our regular baby food maker selling locally made food for young people!

If you would like to see the full range by Moo Free Chocolates, please visit their website and be sure to follow them on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Moo Free Chocolates can be purchased in stores everywhere including supermarkets, health food stores, and independent vegan shops.

See full Hackney Downs Vegan Market details and trader line up for Saturday and Sunday online here.

Help a vegan business in London

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Got any spare cash?

Picky Wops is a much adored pizza business in London that is currently experiencing severe upheaval and they require community support.

Due to a series of bad experiences that include closing their Fulham branch, Picky Wops is looking for a new home. As you know, London is a brutal place to do business and that becomes infinitely more difficult when you are an independent vegan business.

Picky Wops are trying to raise £60,000 to secure a new restaurant location so they have turned to the goodwill of their vegan community.

If you can afford to spare some cash, please click here to donate.

There are some fantastic rewards on offer including pizza making classes and private catering from the founders.

You can also follow Picky Wops on Instagram.