London vegan news, reviews & events
I’m a little bit late to this party but for anyone who hasn’t heard, there are new vegan Magnum ice creams in the UK.
The dairy free version of these famous products are available UK wide and come in two varieties. You can grab the classic or the almond (chocolate coating with almond pieces).
As the photos show, these vegan ice creams are available in packs of three. I have also seen reports online of single packs being sold.
What do you think? Have you tried?
Here is a super quick note about a sustainable fashion event taking place in the same location as Hackney Downs Vegan Market on Saturday September 22, 2018.
Style Yourself Sustainable is an event bringing together vintage clothing and eco brand pop-ups in one space, alongside talks such as ‘Wear the walk’ and a panel of eco minded brands for you to ask questions.
There will be sewing workshops with Kate from Time to Sew (check out additional tickets) and t-shirt re-fashioning session with Oonagh.
In addition to all of the above, there will also be a swap shop where (for free) you can swap something that you are not that in love with anymore for something that you do love!
Sustainable fashion AND a vegan market in one spot. Get involved!
Click here to book your free ticket.
Hey everyone.
Pizza Express has just joined the ranks of non-vegan restaurant chains with a separate vegan menu.
Check it out below and be sure to let me know if you have tried and enjoyed anything on the menu.
Ooh, I love an exclusive dining engagement.
Street food superstars SpiceBox are gearing up for some big changes and developments to impress London, but in the meantime they are doing some important recipe development with a residency in Walthamstow.
From Friday September 21 until Sunday October 21, 2018, SpiceBox will be running the SPICEBOX TEST KITCHEN at the Hornbeam Cafe in Walthamstow.
The café is located just south of Walthamstow Central station and you can see the exact spot thanks to Google Maps.
Be sure to follow SpiceBox on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to keep updated with the test kitchen menus and future developments!
I stumbled into my local Marks & Spencer this afternoon and discovered a big range of detergents and cleaning products all carrying the words ‘suitable for vegans’.
Check them out below and let me know in the comments if you have tried any.
A short while ago I posted about a new vegan restaurant on Brick Lane called Buffalo.
The food got some great reviews but they shut up shop pretty soon after opening. The location was not suitable for some reason but all is not lost.
I just had word that Buffalo is re-opening in Hackney!
This is what founder Stephen had to say to me:
Buffalo’s re-opening will be early October 2018! We have the lease for 6 months which hopefully will become permanent. The menu is expanding to include our burgers, extended list of homemade sauces and toppings, extra options for fries, and a new tapas menu. We are taking over the space recently used by The Brook Social.
Great news!
You can follow Buffalo on Instagram.
I like to think I know everything about everything vegan, but one person has me well and truly licked.
Jez (who works at The Incredible Nutshell vegan grocery store) is always ahead of the game when it comes to what’s up with vegan Sheffield.
This latest piece of news from the ‘Jez Express’ is extremely welcome:
The Burger Garden has been taken over by the owners The Plant & Steel City Cakes. They opened 3.14 The Vegan Pi Company on Friday just gone. I’ve supplied pictures of the ‘chicken’ & stuffing pie I had as well as the shop front. (see below)
In other Jez-sourced news:
There’s a vegan bookshop & cafe opening further down Abbeydale Rd from 3.14 Pi soon called Red Haus and a completely vegan gluten-free bakery opening the end of October called Pearl Bakery.
It’s all happening in Sheffield, people!
I feel like a proud parent!
The annual VegFestUK Awards are open for voting and it is fantastic to see so many of the traders from Hackney Downs Vegan Market being shortlisted within the categories.
These businesses work tirelessly to bring veganism to a wider audience and a lot of them are at the forefront of product development in their field.
Check out the friends of FGV and Hackney Downs Vegan Market who have grabbed a nomination:
It is so heartwarming to see all of these traders recognised in the nominations. Some of them still trade with us regularly and I’m sure the rest of our Hackney Downs Vegan Market family wish them all the best in the voting.
That cheese category is going to be a tough vote!
Click here to vote online in all the categories.
This news is too exciting to keep to myself any longer.
I am thrilled to announce that Hackney Downs Vegan Market is set to become the world’s first full weekend vegan market.
Yes, that’s right. The market will be trading on Sunday as well as Saturday each week!
Hackney Downs Vegan Market has become known for being the friendliest market in London.
Starting as a one-off Festive market a couple of years ago, the market then experienced runaway success as a monthly market and enjoyed attendee numbers in the thousands. The crowd numbers were so good that we had to make the market a weekly event in order to control crowds.
The demand was certainly there so Hackney Downs Vegan Market became the first weekly vegan market in the UK.
Located at Hackney Downs Studios E8, the market has become well known as a destination for the best vegan street food in London. Many of our traders have used the market to springboard into bigger business ventures and we are proud to support independent traders on their journeys.
The popularity of the market means there is immense interest to trade with us and our waiting list currently holds more than 400 traders.
There is only one way we can start to give more traders an opportunity and that is to expand the market into Sunday. Hackney Downs Vegan Market will be the world’s first full weekend vegan market!
We look forward to welcoming you on September 16, 2018 for the first Sunday version of our market and we hope this gives many more of you a chance to spend time at the world’s most-loved vegan market.
Commencing Saturday 15 and Sunday 16, 2018 Hackney Downs Vegan Market will be a full weekend market, opening from 11am until 5pm on both days.
The market will be open every Saturday and Sunday.
I’m not sure where else you need to be each weekend. Our market has got BOTH days sorted for you with burgers, beer, cakes, cheeses, and so much more. Don’t forget that the Temple of Seitan operated TEMPLE GOODS vegan café is on site at the market and open all weekend with brunch, coffee, tea, and gorgeous baked treats.
Stay tuned for more details and follow me (Fat Gay Vegan) on Instagram. This is where I share trader and food line-ups for the market each Friday ahead of the weekend.
Extra note: my second weekly vegan market taking place in Clapham is commencing on Saturday September 15, 2018. Fat Gay Vegan at Venn Street is a 10-stall market running alongside the original Venn Street Market every Saturday. Read more here.
Do you like free vegan things?
How about free vegan croissants?!
Get along to Hackney Downs Vegan Market this Saturday September 1, 2018 where I will be giving away 1,000 vegan croissants!
The very friendly Free From Italy have kindly donated a HUGE amount of their Probios vegan croissants for me to give away for free at our market this week.
The croissants are individually wrapped and perfect for an on-the-go snack, to take to work or picnics.
I will be handing out several hundred in both Organic Whole Wheat and Spelt varieties. Even though I have a lot to hand out, please get to the market early as there is no purchase necessary to get them for free and there isn’t really a limit on how many you can take. However, I will probably get a bit annoyed and mouthy if you try and take too many. Be decent about it!
The croissants, which are usually available in Chocolate, Spelt, Wholemeal and Savoury flavours, are normally sold in packs of 5 individually wrapped portions and ready to eat.
If you can’t make it to the market but would like to buy your own vegan croissants, you can do so online at the Free From Italy website and Ocado. You can follow Free From Italy on Instagram.
The line up for the market is sensational, including a first time appearance by legendary vegan bakery Ms. Cupcake. See full details here. We open at 11am until 5pm and are located at E8 2BT.