I love getting invited to try new vegan products and I love it even more when said products are TASTY!
Oumph! reached out to me recently and asked if they could sponsor me to shop for their range in an Iceland store near me. If you don’t know, Iceland is a chain of supermarkets in the UK that specialises in frozen foods.
The exciting news of the month is all about the HUGE selection of vegan meat products now stocked in Icelend stores, including a bunch of products from Oumph!
Click here to take a look at the very DIY video I made of my trip. It features shoddily recorded footage of me shopping in my nearest Iceland store.
The meat free/plant based freezer in the store is packed with brands from the LIVEKINDLY Collective including Oumph!, LikeMeat, The No Meat Company, and Fry Family Foods.
I bought pretty much one of everything, but my favourites so far have been the Oumph! Mince and the Oumph! Balls. Check out this ramen-inspired dish we had at my house tonight featuring the mince.
I recently (as in today!) had a chat with Steve Clarke, founder of Brixton vegan restaurant Café Van Gogh.
We chatted about how excited he is about coming out of lockdown, new head chef Bonita, what makes the café so special to the local community, and what’s on the new menu.
It is a fun and informative chat about one of the best places to eat vegan food in London.
Cafe Van Gogh is a 100% vegan eatery in Brixton, South London that has always impressed me. Not only do they serve some of the tastiest food in the country, the cafe also runs as a social enterprise.
What is a not-for-profit social enterprise?
Cafe Van Gogh is a community interest company, which very basically means that their social purpose is stronger than their drive to make tonnes of cash. All of their business decisions and ethical choices are made for the local community, the environment, cafe staff, and customers.
Cafe Van Gogh works in conjunction with Toucan Employment, a leading learning disability employment charity, to run a programme of on-the-job training for people with additional challenges in life, such as a learning disability or a mental health problem to provide them with the support and confidence to seek paid employment. They also provide paid employment opportunities to these delegates if the opportunity arises.
The cafe aspires to be zero waste, they do not tolerate single use plastics, and all of their takeaway containers and coffee cups are fully compostable. They recycle food waste and it’s all taken away to be composted rather than sent to landfill.
Is that enough reason for you to visit? Well, how about this?
The Vegan Ploughman’s is a tantalising food experience if I’ve ever seen one.
It features a vegan cheese selection including Shamembert, Veganzola, Cheddah and Herbivorsin, alongside bread, house pickles, and apple chutney. There is the option to ask for gluten-free bread.
I’m impressed and I can’t wait to get along to the cafe on Brixton Road to partake. The Vegan Ploughman’s is available weekday lunch between 12pm and 4pm.
Follow Cafe Van Gogh on Instagram and see their menu online here. You can see the exact location of Cafe Van Gogh thanks to Google Maps.
Episode 5 contains news of my upcoming relocation to London, a new vegan market in Camden, and which stores are selling the new vegan pork product taking the world by storm.
Use the player to listen to older episodes, too.
Please let me know if you have anything you would like mentioned in an upcoming episode.
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Well, the human behind FGV was born in Queensland, Australia but FGV the concept came to life in London.
I was living in West London at the time I started this blog in 2010 and I went on to put a lot of effort into creating events for the vegan community. Remember my Hackney Downs Vegan Market? It turned the whole vegan thing upside down.
Before the market, I created and hosted London Vegan Beer Fest, London Vegan Drinks, and London Vegan Potluck. I enjoyed running events such as Bowling For Oceans, Skating For Oceans, and Vegan Day of the Dead supper clubs.
And that is just the tip of the iceberg lettuce.
My time in London was whittled down a few years back and the past few years have seen me spending a lot of time out of the UK capital, including time in Mexico City and Sheffield.
But now I am coming back! The original vegan grandpa of the plant-based scene is moving back to where it all began.
The first thing I have planned is to try to get a new vegan market off the ground. Click here to read all about Vegan Makers at Buck Street Market in Camden.
Also, I am getting involved with one of my favourite vegan brands on the planet. I will be helping legendary Temple of Seitan with promotion, helping them to take their irresistible fast food to the masses. You can follow Temple of Seitan on Instagram.
If you see me around London over the coming months, please say hello. I am really looking forward to being back in the thick of things.
We are really swamped with vegan meat alternatives, aren’t we?
I know it sounds as though I am complaining which is weird because I was vegan two decades ago when there was nothing, but it’s 2021 and the shops are overflowing with vegan meat.
I suppose my complaint is that there are a lot of sub-standard products in shop fridges and freezers, rushed out by brands to meet the demand for plant-based protein.
There is, however, one brand making waves in the UK that stands head and shoulders above the crowd.
Say hello to OmniPork.
OmniPork is a pork alternative that has completely changed the game. The taste and flavour is beyond anything I’ve tried before and it is so versatile.
We had this grogeous ramen-style dish a few months back at my place using OmniPork.
It isn’t a stretch to say Hackney Downs Vegan Market was one of the most influential plant-based things to happen to London over the past 10 years.
The opening weekend welcomed approximately 5,000 people and the market acted as the launching pad for some of the most recognised vegan brands in the UK capital.
Ever since Hackney Downs Vegan Market came to an end, I’ve been thinking and dreaming of bringing another market to life.
It’s 2021 and I feel like it’s time to stop dreaming. I want to get a vegan market up and running again!
Fat Gay Vegan (that’s me) is teaming up with Buck Street Market on Camden Hight Street to launch a 5-day a week artisan market just for vegan products. Yes, that’s correct. 5-days a week, every week. The market will run 11am until 6pm from Wednesday until Sunday.
Vegan Makers at Buck Street is set to be a collection of stalls celebrating the best take home vegan products including deli items, cheese, pantry items homewares, clothing, candles, and personal products.
Located just a few steps from Camden Town Underground station on one of the busiest streets in the UK, Vegan Makers at Buck Street will be the most exciting place to shop in London for compassionate consumers.
Buck Street Market is a 3-level complex featuring rooftop bars, restaurants, street food, and shops. Vegan Makers will be in the central courtyard on street level, meaning our vegan stalls lead out to Camden High Street and are less than a 60-second walk from Camden Town Underground station.
Camden is undoubtedly the vegan centre of London and visitors to Buck Street will have a huge choice of places to dine in the area. Even though there will be no hot food on our market, Camden is simply overflowing with plant-based food outlets.
Buck Street Market itself is home to vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants and cafes, while legendary eateries Temple of Seitan and Purezza are only a 2-minute walk away (to name just two).
People can shop at Vegan Makers at Buck Street and then have the tough job of narrowing down the dozens of plant-based food choices in the neighbourhood.
The above photos shows what our stalls look like. They are white metal with folding doors on both sides, meaning traders can lock their stall at the end of each day and will only have to worry about transporting perishables each day. No clumsy stalls to pack up. No heavy gazebos to drag home.
Vegan Makers at Buck Street is a chance for vegan businesses and independent traders to have a mini shop in the heart of London without having to commit to huge rents and business rates. WiFi is available for traders to use for payment devices, while there will be limited electricity for some stalls.
This shopping district is one of the most desired in London and a spot in the Vegan Makers section will expose traders and brands to potentially tens of thousands of shoppers every day. Weekends on this street are particularly busy and a summertime coming out of lockdown means record numbers of shoppers are expected.
Examples of what we would love to see on the vegan market:
Cheese and deli items
Kombucha
Wine, spirits, and champagne to take home
Cake or patisserie
Personal care products
Zero waste
Candles and gifts
Cruelty free make up
Organic pantry items
Jewellery
Hats, shoes, sunglasses, and clothing
Vegan Makers at Buck Street plans to launch in June 2021.
We have great introductory rates for the first month (even lower if you commit to the full month). There is no market in Central London where you could trade in such a high profile spot at these prices.
If you are a trader and want more information about booking a stall, email josh@fgvpr.co.uk and he will fill you in. This market is for vegan products only and spots are offered for the full 5 days each week. There are no weekend-only spots.
PLEASE NOTE: there will be NO hot food or street food on the Vegan Makers section of Buck Street Market. There are many 100% vegan food spots in Camden right now and this artisan market has been designed to add value to the area for vegan visitors, not take away from businesses already in Camden.
This weekend in the Steel City, hungry vegans and vegan-friendly eaters can grab some great deals from the Make No Bones stable of restaurants to celebrate their launch on the UberEats delivery app.
I am back again with a brief audio recap of all the vegan news that matters to me this week.
It is the Fat Gay Vegan Weekly News Roundup: episode 4.
Listen to how many mistakes I make this week. Also, find out about free vegan meat, a vegan job in London, and where in the UK a pub has just gone 100% vegan.
FGV mini news round up December 28, 2022 – final of the year –
Fat Gay Vegan
As the year ebbs away join me for a chat about the tough task of going home, Whitney Houston, and vegan food on QANTAS planes.
If you appreciate the work I do to encourage people to go and stay vegan, as well as the support I give to independent business, click the image below to pledge or donate financially if you can.
The superstar Brazilian eatery served loving and loyal customers in Shoreditch prior to landing in their new permanent home inside legendary LGBT+ venue, Dalston Superstore.
It’s a dream come true for lovers of vegan comfort food and queer bar excitement. Essential Vegan serve patrons inside the venue and even make the food for the weekend drag brunch!
If you like the sound of all that and you currently need employment, Essential Vegan is hiring.
They are looking for a part-time kitchen assistant/chef to join their small and lovely team from May 2021. You must know your way around a commercial kitchen and have Level 2 Food Hygiene certificate.
The job involves doing prep, service, cleaning and closing.
Interested? Send your CV to vanessa@essentialvegan.co.uk
If you get the job, make sure you keep watching for me in the crowd. I’ll be down there often for vegan eating and LGBT good times!
