vegan London

Vegan recipe box hits UK

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Have you often felt as though the only thing missing in your life was a vegan recipe and ingredients box?

Well, you can sleep well tonight because you can now buy one. Like, today!

From today (3rd July, 2017) UK residents can order PlantCurious, the UK’s first exclusively plant-based recipe boxes, directly to their homes.

The boxes, which have been designed to make it easy for people to make delicious wholesome plant-based meals, have been curated by the innovative new plant-based business PlantCurious.

PlantCurious boxes are available to order throughout the UK and first 100 boxes are available at an introductory price of £35.

The first box includes ingredients and recipes to make a Sumurai Miso Ramen, Ruby Vurry and Loaded Sweet Pots.

PlantCurious Co-Founder Angela Gawor adds: “We kept trying recipe boxes and none of them got the the concept of plant-based. We became fed up of receiving recipe cards telling us to just leave out ingredients.”

“One supplier even sent us cheese and yogurt wrapped in sheep’s skin. Plant-based food isn’t about leaving stuff out it’s about embracing all the amazing vegetables out there and making them the centrepiece not the side dish.”

To start with, availability is limited, with 100 boxes available to order from 3rd July online (that’s today!).

South London café turns vegan

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With chef’s hailing from Brazil, Portugal & the Caribbean, the team at Café Van Gogh are on a mission to bring original, authentic, home-cooked, 100% vegan dishes to customers. Their Sunday roast has already been featured in Metro’s best places for vegan Sunday roasts while profits from the café are reinvested into employability training, work experience programmes and food workshops for marginalised members of the local community. Café Van Gogh’s unpretentious, welcoming atmosphere paired with good value, hearty cuisine is attracting foodies from far and wide.

Café Van Gogh’s founder Steve Clarke is keen to democratise access to healthier options for all. After leaving a career in in social care, Clarke intentionally set up shop in an ethnically diverse and densely populated low-income area of south London, making fresh, affordable, plant-based meals accessible to surrounding locals as well as hardcore vegan converts.

Consumer demand for healthier vegan options is undeniable; but so is the demand for great taste. Café Van Gogh’s new summer menu wins on both counts featuring:

  • Sticky seitan ribs, with potato and pickled onion salad, grilled corn, “bacon” butter.
  • Sri-Lankan jackfruit and aubergine stuffed chapatti, served with dhal, pineapple chutney & a selection of salads.
  • Jerk plantain served with smoky beans, brown rice, mango salsa.

Steve said:

We can’t wait to share our new dishes with food lovers in London & beyond. Going 100% vegan is close to my heart and a lifestyle choice I believe in wholeheartedly, but this this isn’t just a personal decision; more and more customers have been asking for it. It’s just plain common sense to serve this demand. For me, the best bit is being proud of a menu that’s so full of real flavour. It seems to hook everyone, regardless of your diet choice.

The sentiment is shared by the café’s loyal customers across social media:

“I’m coming to my sticky seitan ribs today! So thrilled to have such a wonderful, tasty, vibey vegan place on my doorstep. – Jasmine Pender, local resident & customer

As a social enterprise, Café Van Gogh invests the profits made from café sales into dedicated food workshops, training and employability opportunities for marginalised members of the local community in Brixton.

To date social impact activities have included:

  • Providing chef and kitchen staff apprenticeships to NEETs
  • Welcoming field trips from the local primary schools, hosting experiential workshops where the kids taste and explore how raw nutritious ingredients transform into the deliciously diverse menu.
  • Offering a work experience programme to teenagers with learning difficulties from Highshore School putting them on the front line of food prep & customer service.

Café Van Gogh is supported by Big Issue Invest which supports a number of social enterprise organisations tackling poverty and disadvantage.

Café Van Gogh wants to say thank you to the loyal customers that have supported the café over the last year.

To celebrate going 100% vegan and the new summer menu, Café Van Gogh will be rewarding weekly surprise gifts to customers that post about the restaurant or snap their favourite dishes from the menu across Facebook, Twitter & Instagram using the hashtag #CafeVanGoghLDN from 1st – 31st July. More info can be found here.

You can visit Van Gogh Café online. Follow the café on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The closest Underground station is Oval. You can see the exact location of the café here thanks to Google Maps.

New vegan burger bar for London

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London. You are on a roll.

A brand new vegan burger business is set to open on July 1, 2017 (this Saturday!) in Camden Market and the food sounds and looks lovely.

VBurger is the brainchild of north Londoners Reuven Cohen and Amir Wayman, who have teamed up with chef Yossi Edri to open their first vegan burger bar in Camden Market.

The pair state that this is only the first of several VBurger outlets they plan to open, so it definitely feels as though London has some special to look forward to.

The menu being launched in Camden includes a beetroot burger, a falafel burger and a seitan cutlet burger. You can dress your burger up with vegan cheese or avocado and make a complete meal with skin-on fries, sweet potato wedges, coleslaw and decadent brownies.

Even better news involves the menu expanding some time after opening to include another five burgers.

This is fabulous news for vegan Londoners. We get a fast food burger joint from this Saturday and it looks like it is going to be a big deal. Get along 7 days a week between 10am and 7pm.

Follow VBurger on Facebook and Instagram.

New vegan cafe for London

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If you have been to many vegan events around London, you will undoubtedly know Vegan Sweet Tooth. This bakery business has been pleasing their fans for many years at street markets and their offerings always look stunning.

The big news for Vegan Sweet Tooth is their residency in south London for the entire summer!

The baking superstars have a semi-permanent location in a glorious garden setting behind the Earl Ferrers pub in Streatham. BIG YES to vegan bakeries in pubs!

Vegan Sweet Tooth is selling all of their much loved cakes as well as hot savoury food.

The hours you can pop along are each Wednesday until Friday between 10am and 5pm, plus weekends until 7pm. You can click here to see the exact location thanks to Google Maps.

Support independent vegan business this summer!

You should also follow Vegan Sweet Tooth on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Vegan get together with Fry’s

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You all know about Fry’s when it comes to amazing frozen vegan meat replacements in UK supermarkets and online stores. If you don’t, you should visit their website to get acquainted.

Now you are up to speed, you need to know about this big vegan event the superstar food brand is hosting in London at the end of July 2017.

Check out this event.

The Fry’s AGM is a showcase of food, activist information and international speakers. Money from ticket sales is being donated to the campaign by Animals Asia to care for bears rescued from bile farms.

My buddy Carl Donnelly is a stand up comedian who just happens to be vegan and he is the MC for this day long event taking place.

Speakers on the day include:

  • Tom Kuehnel from Grown Green
  • Heather Russell – dietitian from The Vegan Society
  • Tammy Fry of Fry’s

Food is included in the ticket price and it looks superb. The legendary Cook Daily will be providing a special Fry’s lunch bowl for the event and Bexfest is providing her pots for breakfast.

You can click here to book your ticket.

Super exclusive supper club

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Rarely does a food event come along of such exclusivity. You need to book a ticket for this pop up supper club IMMEDIATELY after reading this post. Tickets will not hang around.

On July 14, 2017 in Finsbury, London you have the opportunity to dine with two of the best vegan chefs in the UK. Jhenn of The Vegan Ronin and Kip of Messy Vegetarian Cook are joining forces to bring you an intimate Japanese/Thai fusion eating experience like no other.

First things first. Jhenn and Kip have both cooked for me and you will hard pushed to find finer food in the UK capital. Jhenn is an expert at recreating Japanese cuisine while Kip never fails to impress with her take on Thai. To add value to the event, both chefs are two of the most compassionate and kind people you could meet.

Are you ready to discover the incredible menu they have planned for their guests?

Menu

  • Welcome drinks and nibbles – Cocktails with tom yam popcorn & shiso popcorn
  • Miso Walnut Aubergine Larb – Yuzu, lime, mint, coriander, roasted chilli powder, toasted rice with sticky rice and crunchy salad
  • Thai-koyaki – Seasoned vegan fish paste Takoyaki with garlic, coriander stems, white pepper, twice fried tofu, Thai pickles, marinated shiitake, chilli tonkatsu sauce , homemade vegan mayo and fried shallots.
  • Nigiri sushi & Miso soup – Nam Prik Pao chilli jam aubergine nigiri with roasted aromatics, tamarind, palm sugar. Seared massaman nigiri with pickled ginger, cucumber chilli relish, toasted peanuts. Served with Thai vegetable miso soup and pickles.
  • Petit Fours & tea – A selection of Japanese and Thai sweets

That menu sounds absolutely amazing. Last time I checked, there were only 6 seats remaining for this exclusive supper club.

Click here to book now. Don’t miss out.

Follow The Vegan Ronin on Instagram.

Follow Messy Vegetarian Cook on Instagram.

Vegan cheese for London

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Hey, vegan cheese lovers.

If you get along to superstar vegan grocery store GreenBay in West London, you can buy some amazing vegan nut cheeses made by the wonderful Essential Vegan.

Yes, Essential Vegan have found something to do following on from their wildly successful residency at Haunt in Hackney. They are pushing forward with their plans for vegan cheese domination!

Everything that Vanessa at Essential Vegan makes is superb, but believe me when I say the aged smoked nut cheese is on another level.

Get along to GreenBay as soon as you can to grab some of this gorgeous cheese. The shop is also selling the Essential Vegan cookbook.

Like Essential Vegan on Instagram. Like GreenBay on Instagram.

Click here to see the exact location of GreenBay thanks to Google Maps.

Vegan options in heart of Bloomsbury

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Peter, my lovely father-in-law, sent me a photo today of a café sign showing vegan options in the central London neighbourhood of Bloomsbury. Just a few hops from Kings Cross.

Check out the board in front of Thenga Café.

Thenga is a hidden gem for inner city vegan food that I don’t often hear people talking about.

I actually stopped in for a brief can of pop late last year but I was too late in the day for food, therefore I didn’t really take notice of their meat free policy. Peter’s photo has really got me thinking about a return visit, especially the part that says £4.95 for a vegan Indian set lunch.

You can follow Thenga on Facebook and Twitter. You can see the exact location of the café right here thanks to Google Maps.

How about it? Have you tried the food at Thenga Café?

Extra note: go vegan, Thenga! You are almost there. xx

Vegan cheese tour of the UK

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Hey, have you ever wanted to attend a super fancy vegan cheese workshop? Well if you live in London, Nailsworth or Manchester you have got this exciting vegan cheese workshop tour coming your way.

Asparagasm are thrilled to present, all the way from Berlin, one of the leading artisan cheesemakers in the world, Anderson Santos Silva, aka Cashewbert.

Originally from Brazil, Anderson is a committed and passionate vegan, who is an international leader in this type of vegan cheese making.

In this workshop you will learn the principles of aged vegan cheese, why and when you need curdled cheeses, how to allow the cheese to age and develop the flavours and much more.

Some of the cheese types you will learn how to make in this workshop:

  • Fresh cheese types, like feta and queso blanco
  • Mold-ripened cheese types, like camembert and blue cheese
  • Fermented cream-cheese types, that can be used as spreads

With those basics you can create your own type of cheese.

This workshop will focus more on techniques rather than recipes, but you will receive recipes for the aforementioned types of cheeses at the end of the workshop for you to make at home.

You will also be able to try different Almond and Cashew based cheeses at the end of the workshop.

The Manchester and Nailsworth events are 4 hours long, while the Manchester session runs for 2 hours.

Click here to get all the details and book your spot.

Mini vegan donuts in London

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Get ready for a stampede. Peanut Butter Bakery is launching mini vegan donuts this weekend (Saturday June 17, 2017) at Hackney Downs Vegan Market.

Check out these amazing treats.

Normally Peanut Better Bakery does a roaring trade with their regular sized donuts but as a special treat for market goers in London this weekend, the superstar dough merchants will be presenting some top secret flavours in mini form.

Lauren from the bakery told me people love getting a chance to buy mini donuts as it allows them to explore a lot more flavours than if they were buying regular donuts.

If you are keen on getting the pick of the crop this weekend from Peanut Butter Bakery, get down to the market early. These donuts are not going to last all day.

You can follow Peanut Butter Bakery on Instagram and get all the Hackney Downs Vegan Market info you need right here.