vegan London

Inside look at London’s flagship vegan kebab shop

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London really has come along leaps and bounds when we look at vegan advancements.

Independent vegan food businesses are storming the capital and two people on the frontline of this charge have just gone and opened London’s first vegan döner restaurant with its own indoor seating.

What The Pitta is the brainchild of Cem Yildiz and Roj Gul. These friends started selling their irresistible comfort food from a garden shed set up in Shoreditch, moved on to creating a cult following with their two Boxpark locations (Shoreditch and Croydon) and have now outdone themselves by throwing open the doors to the UK’s first ever 100% vegan döner kebab restaurant in Camden.

Roj and Cem outside their Shoreditch takeaway joint

The rapid success of the two Boxpark locations meant that the only logical step for the two entrepreneurs was to open their own permanent restaurant.

I asked Cem what the new Camden version of What The Pitta means to him and this is what he had to say:

We’re really happy to have secured our first place outside of Boxpark with the continued support of the vegan community. Camden may be becoming another London vegan hub but I see the years to come as an opportunity for us to move into some other major cities around the UK as it’s not just Londoners who want their vegan döner fix!

You can see the exact location of the Camden restaurant thanks to Google Maps and be sure to follow What The Pitta on Instagram.

If you haven’t been down to What The Pitta Camden, the photos following will be your first peak inside.

Superstar vegan brand back as sponsors

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This is the third year in a row I get to make this announcement and I am just as delighted as I was the first time.

Superstar vegan food brand Follow Your Heart is back as proud sponsor of UK Vegan Beer Fest 2018.

The cost of running a series of community-focussed events around the country while keeping all tickets under £10 (early bird tickets under £5 for most dates) can be daunting, but the financial support we receive from Follow Your Heart makes it possible.

Vegan Beer Fest UK events are focussed on creating inclusive spaces where people can celebrate their veganism (or vegan curiosity) with like minded party goers. Events this year include the 6th annual London Vegan Beer Fest, as well as outings in Sheffield, Glasgow and Coventry.

Every single person attending one of our beer events will be handed a durable pint cup to use on the day. The cups are decorated with the event details as well as the Follow Your Heart logo. Once the beer fest is over, attendees can take their cups home to use again and again.

Follow Your Heart makes these showcases of vegan beer and food providers possible and I am extremely grateful of their continued support of our community.

You can see the entire range of Follow Your Heart sauces, cheeses, mayo, dressings, and more online here.

You can follow the brand on Instagram, too!

Order your early bird tickets for UK Vegan Beer Fest now!

New vegan food range launches in London shops

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Say hello to The Plantifull Food Co.

This brand new, 100% vegan food provider has just launched a range of ready meals and they look tasty.

The Plantifull range of four chilled vegan ready meals (Creamy Mac, Gluten-Free Creamy Mac, Shroomy Risotto, Three-Bean Chilli) are now available in 30 London stores including As Nature Intended, Eat17, Harvest, GreenBay Supermarket and Planet Organic.

Based on the glowing reviews I’ve seen, it shouldn’t be long until the range starts popping up around the UK.

If you aren not near any of their stockists or maybe in a different part of the country, you can also shop on the Plantifull website for delivery.

Follow Plantifull on Instagram.

Unwaxed fruit in London

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Here is a super short post to let you know that you can now buy unwaxed fruit on a regular basis at Hackney Downs Vegan Market.

Fresh Fruit Box is one of our newest traders and today they launched their colourful unwaxed fruit and vegetable stall at our weekly market in Hackney.

As you might know, a lot of supermarket bought fruit in the Uk is waxed with animal derived ingredients.

Fresh Fruit Box go to a lot of trouble to source unwaxed fruit from Spanish farms, meaning everything they sell is devoid of any animal products.

Visit Hackney Downs Vegan Market next week (March 31) to check out the gorgeous fresh produce selection for yourself and perhaps consider making this your regular shopping spot for fresh fruit and vegetables.

You can follow Fresh Fruit Box on Instagram.

New music from Colour Me Wednesday

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One of my favourite bands out of London is the fabulous Colour Me Wednesday.

This band releases some of the best music you will hear out of London and in even better news they also champion vegan causes.

Because I think it is a great idea to support independent artists (especially if they are vegan), I am sharing the link where you can pre-order the soon-to-be-released new album by Colour Me Wednesday.

Click here to order and help keep the arts alive… and hear some fucking fantastic music.

New vegan eatery in Camden

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Hey, I just found out about a new vegan place to eat in Camden so I thought I should pass on the info.

The friendly Verena got in touch to let me know she has just opened this new food business on February 1, 2018 so it is super fresh.

This is what she had to say about Green Rhino:

The Green Rhino London is a proper sit down restaurant in Camden Town. We opened on the 1st of February this year. Our opening times are Thursday to Sunday from 5pm until 10pm. Our menu is small and simple because it’s just me at the moment but as soon as it gets busy I will be looking for helping hands.
Our idea of a regular vegan meal is plant based without many meat replacements or deep frying, so we offer a changing vegetable based soup that comes with wholemeal brown toast for £5.50. We also have two main courses for £8.50 each; a cauliflower and kidney bean stew in tomato sauce served with boiled new potatoes and a green crunchy side salad plus our vegetable medley with fresh veggies in a creamy coconut sauce served with brown rice and a couscous salad.
We try to keep the portions big to make sure everybody is full!
For the sweet tooth we have homemade vegan Snicker bars and muffins.

Sounds tasty and filling!

You can get along to Green Rhino at 25a Pratt Street NW1 0BG. Click here to see the exact location thanks to Google Maps.

You can follow Green Rhino on Instagram.

Now, let’s look at the food!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfisB9YFKho/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfn_nngFywv/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfi6I1_lG0K/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Be-UXVzlAwG/

Vegan wings eating competition

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Have you ever felt you would excel at competitive eating but there just haven’t been enough vegan opportunities?

Well, say hello to Biff’s Jack Shack’s 1st Annual Vegan Wings Eating Competition.

National Wing Day is on Thursday 22nd March and not only will Biff’s be offering 50% off all wingz, they’ll be putting on a wingz party at Haunt London featuring the UK’s first vegan wings eating comp.

Actually, unless someone can prove otherwise I’m confident in declaring this the world’s first vegan wings eating competition.

Four challengers will get to eat their way through a bucket of ten of their crispy fried jackfruit wingz, slathered in special hot chipotle sauce.

The champion will get Jack Shack tees and swag for them and their crew, food for two at the Haunt, the coveted GOLDEN BUCKET, and a place in history.

If you want to take the challenge, you must:

👉 1. Follow Biff’s Jack Shack on Instagram
👉 2. Tag two wing-people that you’d bring down with you on the night in this post
👉 3. Tell the wing makers what makes you the ultimate wing fiend in a comment below the Instagram post

If the eating challenge isn’t for you, you should still get along to enjoy cheap wings and support independent vegan business.

New at Ms Cupcake

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The crew at Ms Cupcake never stop working to bring you new seasonal treats and this delight they have launched today looks exquisite.

Say hello to the Jam Doughnut Muffin!

I think they should call it a duffin.

So, it’s like a muffin and a jam filled doughnut?!

That’s my kind of hybrid!

In case you don’t know, Ms Cupcake is an absolutely old school legendary vegan business in London ad was the first all-vegan bakery.

The store has been going from strength to strength over the years and the business has even expanded to include sales of packaged cupcakes in Whole Foods Market stores and a home delivery service for online orders.

Check out the Ms Cupcake website for more info and follow them on Instagram.

Vegan in Earlsfield

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If you think all the best London vegan food is in Hackney, I’m about to hip you to some news you can use.

Say hello to Amrutha Lounge.

Amrutha started life as a mobile food truck (which I wrote about here) but recently opened this permanent eatery in Earlsfield, SW London.

What do the founders say about their food?

Innovative vegan dishes and heart-warming classics are lovingly prepared on the premises by our chefs on a daily basis. The food is made from scratch with an emphasis on taking simple ingredients and elevating them to extraordinary levels, that’s our version of ‘Vegan Soul Food’.

You can follow Amrutha on Instagram. See the exact location thanks to Google Maps.

Now, let’s check out some food shots.

Exclusive vegan cheese now in London grocery chain

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By now you would have heard all about New Roots.

This Switzerland-made range of vegan cheeses took London by storm when it was previewed at VegfestUK late in 2017 and ever since vegans have been scrambling to get their hands on their products.

The camembert made by New Roots is next level and their other divine cheeses aren’t far behind. It is no wonder people have been hunting all over the capital for this stuff.

Well, the hunt for New Roots just got that little bit easier now that they have signed a deal to be sold in Planet Organic stores around London.

You can get along to the following in store tasting sessions to try some of this cheese glory for yourself and of course buy a few of the flavours:

  • Thursday March 8th – 4pm until 7pm – Islington N1 8LR
  • Friday March 9th – 4pm until 7pm – Devonshire Square EC2M 4AE
  • Saturday March 10th – 11am until 2pm – Torrington Place WC1E 7HJ
  • Saturday March 10th – 4pm until 7pm – Westbourne Grove W2 5SH
  • Sunday March 11th – 11am until 2pm – Wandsworth SW18 4FT
  • Sunday March 11th – 3pm until 6pm – Tottenham Court Road W1 1BJ
  • Thursday March 29th – 12pm until 3pm – TottenhamCourt Road W1 1BJ
  • Saturday March 31st – 2pm until 5pm – Muswell Hill N10 3HS

There are a lot of opportunities to try this cheese, so get along to at least one of these tastings in March.

You can follow New Roots on Instagram and if you can’t make it along to the tastings, shop online with the superstar vegan cheese company.