vegan London

Vegan burger at London kitchen takeover

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You all know about my buddy Vanessa and her delicious food business called Essential Vegan, right?

Over the past few years, Vanessa has taken her incredible brand of hand made plant-based cuisine to all corners of London and beyond. She works so incredibly hard.

Remember her triumphant pop up café on Portobello Road? Or may you dined with her at her stand in PUMP Shoreditch. Of course a lot of you ate Vanessa’s food at VegFestUK London.

Now Vanessa has announced her next food adventure and you should put this one in your diary.

Essential Vegan is launching a 6-week kitchen takeover in Hackney at popular food and drink venue, Haunt, from March 14, 2017.

Haunt is a super chilled out bar that is beautifully decorated and only a short stroll along Stoke Newington Road from either Dalston Kingsland or Stoke Newington Overground stations. Click here to see where Haunt is located thanks to Google Maps.

Look at how beautiful this venue is:

Not only will you be able to devour and savour gorgeous, gourmet vegan food made by Essential Vegan, but it will be the ONLY food being served inside Haunt for this 6-week period. So you won’t have to sit next to anyone chomping down on animal products.

Ready to see the menu?

Vanessa is adored for her seitan burgers and as you can see in the menu, she is launching her new Essential Gourmet burger.

It’s like her original burger but taken to the next level with aged vegan cheese and special sauces. Check it out:

I’m drooling.

The menu also features a special line up for weekend brunch, served between midday and 3pm.

If you have the means to enjoy this food, make a special effort to join Essential Vegan for this limited kitchen takeover. As it is less than a 10-minute walk to Hackney Downs Vegan Market, I predict that area is going to be EXTREMELY busy on March 18.

Visit Essential Vegan online (super rad recipes), like them on Facebook and follow via Twitter and Instagram.

Find more info on Haunt on their website.

Tegan the Vegan London

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Being half a world away in Mexico City for half of every year means I miss out on a lot of incredible vegan food developments in London.

Of course I’m reporting as much as I possibly can, but I can’t physically get my greedy hands on a lot of the new and interesting stuff. If I’m completely honest, it does lead to a slight case of FOMO.

Take Tegan the Vegan for instance.

Tegan has been burning up the east London vegan scene for a little while now, but I’m yet to taste any of her amazing-looking food due to my globetrotting ways.

You can find Tegan the Vegan getting involved in all manner of events around the UK capital (and sometimes slightly further afield) and everyone I know who has tried her treats can’t stop raving about her skills. Tegan seems to have something very special going on.

There is often a weekly cake and vegan cheese menu posted via the Tegan the Vegan Facebook page and if you live in her catchment area, you can place an order for home delivery.

Check out this sample menu below.

OK. Before I make myself completely starving and jealous, let me give you a few links so you can get involved with this vegan food business on the rise. Get in on the ground floor before Tegan is recognised as London’s next vegan superstar!

Like Tegan the Vegan on Facebook. Follow Tegan the Vegan on Twitter and Instagram.

Now I’m going to spoil you with one of my favourite photos from Tegan’s Facebook page. Enjoy.

Extra note: Tegan’s incredible logo was created by Alex Bertram-Powell. See his art here.

All photos and images are property of Tegan the Vegan and reproduced here for publicity purposes.

Vegan fish and chips in a gay bar

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London, you had better rush out to this event.

Independent bars and businesses struggle uphill to survive in the UK capital. Rent prices are absurd and the general cost of living is extortionate.

These sky high costs are the reason why we have to get out of our homes and support local business. If you’ve got the means to do it, for fuck’s sake do it.

Use it or lose it.

In the spirit of guilting you into supporting other Londoners, I’m thrilled to let you know of a very special event taking place in Camden tonight (Wednesday March 1, 2017) and every first Wednesday of the month going forward.

This is what you need to know.

Queer Goes Nothing is a fab monthly night of live acoustic music in the heart of Camden at new LGBTQ venue, Her Upstairs.

Not only should three incredible independent bands get your interest up, but the kitchen in the venue is being taken over by BigV London. Yep, BigV is the vegan burger stand adored by regulars at Borough Market.

However…. (this is where it gets interesting)

For their involvement in tonight’s version of Queer Goes Nothing, the BigV people will be serving vegan fish and chips.

So you have live acoustic bands, a vegan business selling vegan fish and chips, a fab Camden location AND free entry.

If you have a few quid spare and are in London and you DON’T go to this event, please don’t bother coming to my house for Christmas. Two reasons: I don’t celebrate Christmas and I probably won’t be talking to you.

RSVP and invite people on the Facebook event page.

Her Upstairs should be followed on Facebook for upcoming version of this wonderful night plus other interesting happenings. You can see the bar location on Google Maps.

BigV can be seen here.

Vegan eatery opens new location

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You have probably spoken to someone who has been completely blown away by What The Pitta! in Shoreditch, London.

The takeaway fast food stand has devoted fans and for solid reasons. Their wraps are huge and delicious. Add vegan baklava to the mix and you have one o the best plant-based location in the UK capital. You can see my original post about What The Pitta! online here.

Now onto the fresh news part of this post.

What The Pitta! have a brand new location opening in the Boxpark complex in Croydon and they are throwing a two-day party… and you can be there with some superb special offers!

The two-day celebration in Croydon is taking place on March 3 and 4, 2017.

When you advance buy your meal deal online, you get the following for just £9.99:

  • Lentil soup
  • Vegan doner kebab OR vegan Turkish pizza
  • Vegan baklava
  • Can of Karma cola/lemon/ginger

Wowsers! That is one superb deal.

You need to pre-pay for your ticket online here to get the special price. If you show up on the day, the price will be higher. Buy quickly as I imagine a couple of hundred people will be getting involved and tickets will fly out.

Once you have your ticket, you can show up at any time during the celebration. However, lunch and dinner times will be the busiest with longer waits.

You can invite friends and RSVP over on the Facebook event page.

Follow What The Pitta! on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Extra note: CookDaily also has another location in Boxpark Croydon!

New products from VBites

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VBites are gearing up to launch four new products into the UK market very soon (maybe some of them are out there already?), so I wanted to give you some warning. Start your engines!

Of course each new product is 100% vegan, as is the entire VBites range.

The new products are:

  • BBQ pulled ‘pork’
  • piri piri burgers
  • lemon and black pepper scampi style bites
  • vegetable bake fingers

Here is a sneak preview of the piri piri burger.

What do you think of the new products? Are you excited to try them?

You can visit VBites online.

All new products will be showcased at the huge IFE Show taking place in London next month (trade show/not for public).

Exclusive vegan Valentine dinner

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One of the best decisions I made before leaving London for this latest six month stay in Mexico was to visit Paradise Unbakery in Kensal Rise.

The café was beautifully decorated and the food was superb. You can see my original blog post here.

Enough reminiscing. On with the future and the future at Paradise Unbakery is all about Valentine’s Day.

You really should book tickets for this exclusive event taking place on February 14, 2017.

The exclusive set menu reads like a dream:

  • Strawberry Kombucha Mocktail
  • Mermaid Platter: Raw Gnocchi OR Cooked Polenta, both with Loch carrot, “caviar” and “scallops”
  • Burger: Raw burger in a raw turmeric bun OR BBQ jackfruit burger in a focaccia bun. Both with veggies, cashew cheese, side salad and roast sweet potato or raw crisps
  • Raw Dessert for Two: a plate of two raw heart cakes and raw chocolate to share

As you can see, you can choose from raw or cooked options for some of the courses. Once you book your tickets, the café will get in touch to ask for your preference.

Tickets are priced at £32 each (plus booking fee). Additional drinks will be available to buy on the night plus you are permitted to bring your own beer or wine. Paradise Unbakery will supply the glasses!

This dinner sounds divine and I’m so happy to see a stunning vegan event like this happening in a part of London that doesn’t normally get a lot of plant-based heat.

Click here to book your spots for this special vegan Valentine event.

You can also let friends/lovers know you are going on the Facebook event page.

Vegan Vietnamese food in London

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How about this tasty news?!

Liz and Joe are a couple with big plans for their brand new vegan food stand being launched at The Boiler House in Brick Lane on February 25, 2017.

What’s so special about ANOTHER vegan food stall in that part of London? Take a deep breath as I tell you Eat Chay is a 100% plant-based Vietnamese food stall!

Before I show you some mouthwatering food photos, take a look at how the Eat Chay menu is going to work.

That all sounds RIDICULOUSLY fabulous.

Now for the photos. Vietnamese coffee and tea. Korean meat-free ribs. Start planning your first meal with Eat Chay now.

Be sure to follow Eat Chay on Twitter and Instagram. Plus, get all their details online.

Get down for the grand opening on February 25 and then visit Eat Chay each and every weekend following that at The Boiler House.

Extra note: neither Liz or Joe are vegan but have decided to invest all of their efforts into a 100% vegan food business. Interesting.

Best vegan donuts in London

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London. You are onto a good wicket.

(Does ‘good wicket’ actually mean anything? Am I using that term correctly?)

After a short time away from the action, the glorious Peanut Butter Bakery is BACK to its usual weekend haunt at The Boiler House market on Brick Lane (see location on Google Maps).

Peanut Butter Bakery caused an absolute sensation at my vegan Christmas market, with people lining up for an extremely long time to get hands and lips on their sensational donuts.

If you think you would enjoy eating the best vegan donuts in the UK, get along to The Boiler House on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 February, 2017. You will be unbelievably happy if you make the effort to get along.

To inspire you, here is a photo just posted by Peanut Butter Bakery detailing some of the things you should be excited about this weekend.


You need to follow Peanut Butter Bakery on Instagram.

Vevolution topics

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If you like to hear other people share ideas and knowledge, this series of events could be of interest.

You might know that Vevolution is an annual information event designed as a platform for vegan people to share expertise or insights within their chosen fields. But of course the problem with an annual event means you have to wait a full year for it to come around.

There is some good news for fans of the Vevolution set-up and that good news is the short series of events being lined up by the festival founders. You don’t have to wait that full year!

The sessions (called Vevolution Topics) are split into four categories that include Food Innovation in February, Health & Wellbeing in March, Activism & Campaigning in April and Inclusivity & Diversity in May.

The February session costs £10 (plus booking fee) and speakers will include:

  • Ian Theasby & Henry David Firth – Founders of Facebook vegan video food channel BOSH!
  • Sarah Bentley – Founder of plant based community kitchen Made In Hackney
  • Jonathan Petrides – Founder of plant-based home delivery vegan meals allplants

If you can’t afford the £10 entry or you are not within the London area, the organisers assure me the sessions will be filmed for sharing online in the near future.

You can click here to get more information and book your tickets.

BREAKING NEWS: fried chicken location

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When I broke news of Temple of Seitan announcing plans to open the UK’s first ever fried chicken shop, it set off shock waves around the vegan Internet.

People went absolutely wild for the news.

In keeping with my tradition of bringing the most fun news first, here is the scoop on just exactly where the fried chicken shop will be AND the official opening date.

Temple of Hackney

Grand opening: Saturday January 14, 2017 at midday

Address: 10 Morning Lane, Hackney E9 6NA

How amazing is the name?! What you can see above is a sneak preview of the inside wall of the shop.

I asked Rebecca of Temple of Seitan (and of course Temple of Hackney) how she was feeling ahead of the launch. Here is what she told me:

It is equal parts excitement and anxiety! We can’t wait to share the fruits of our labour over the last 3 months. The past year of doing stalls and festivals has gone so quickly and we almost couldn’t believe it was real when the signage and graphics went up today. In store, people can expect the usual fast food experience, except that they will be free to attack all items on the menu without having to worry about ingredients. Hopefully, we can fool a few omnis who stumble in as well.

Temple of Hackney, people. Make it your place of worship.

Click here to see the shop location on Google Maps.

Follow Temple of Seitan on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.