The future we never thought would be possible has arrived.
Airports haven’t been known as hotspots for plant-based food. Traditionally, vegans have needed to pack our own snacks when spending time in transit or otherwise deal with uninspired crisp selections.
Imagine my shock today when I discovered a vegan full English cooked breakfast at Wagamama while waiting for my flight at Heathrow Terminal 3 in London.
This marks a huge shift in the state of mainstream plant-based foods.
The full English features seitan bacon, scrambled tofu, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, sweet potato, and toast.
The meal isn’t cheap at £10.25 but it certainly feels like good value when held up against other airport meals.
And the thrill of enjoying a plate of hot vegan food before a flight cannot be overstated. It is a real joy.
If you want to follow my travel and food adventures, follow me on Instagram.
Trends in the vegan world are tough to keep up with as there seems to be a never-ending stream of breaking news and product launches in 2019.
I’ve made it my business to know what is happening when it comes to plant-based developments over the past decade but I sometimes feel like I have vegan fatigue from the ridiculous number of news stories breaking every week.
Yes, I am tired and worn out from trying to stay updated with vegan developments however there is one story within this swell of stories that still has the power to get me excited and hold my interest.
IKEA.
I am obsessed by how obsessed vegans are with the plant-based products of IKEA. This is the strange and wonderful world we find ourselves in right now. IKEA is somehow the hottest global trend in veganism!
I spend a lot of time in Mexico City and we do not have an IKEA here. Can you even imagine?! I’ve got IKEA envy. Every single day I watch vegan after vegan post photos of plant-based foods from their local IKEA and I don’t have one near me.
Because I’m currently out of the IKEA loop, I’ve pulled together a few recent Instagram posts showcasing this love affair between UK vegans and the Swedish-founded mega store… plus a few photos from IKEA-loving vegans from around the rest of the world, too.
And until the Mexico City location reportedly opens next year, these photos are all I have.
The Ms Cupcake bakery is one of the true pioneer vegan businesses in the UK and was largely responsible for launching the booming interest in veganism we see today.
I recently interviewed Ms Cupcake founder Mellissa Morgan for Tenderly online magazine. We talked about the trials and tribulations of running an independent vegan business and how the biggest hurdles are often completely unexpected.
In the interview (which you can read online here), Mellissa talked of how the business recently recovered from a flood. This break in was never going to have good timing, but right now feels particularly difficult for the team.
Please consider what you might do to help support the Ms Cupcake team as they move past this trouble.
My suggestions are:
Visit the store as soon as you can and spend up big (they sell a huge range of pantry items, packaged sweets, ice cream, and of course legendary cakes and slices)
If you are at VegFestUK London this week at Olympia, stop by the Ms Cupcake stall (stand number CAT0 – next to One Planet Pizza) and buy lots of cake
In addition, you can catch Mellissa presenting a talk at VegFestUK London on Saturday October 26, 2019 between 1:15pm and 1:45pm.
Mellissa will be talking about all things sweet on the Foodies Stage.
Learn how you can use alternatives to refined sugars in your baking but still get immensely indulgent and decadent results. Over the years Ms. Cupcake has changed and developed her recipes to reflect changing customer tastes and now you can learn her secrets. Find out how this Brixton bakery has removed a third of the sugar from their cupcakes and cakes and introduced both a menu of refined sugar free items and a menu suitable for diabetics.
Get all the info about VegFestUK London (including tickets) online here.
Have you ever thought about working with the most-recognised vegan group on the planet?
Check out these positions with The Vegan Society and get busy applying. Yes, they are all based in Birmingham, UK.
Business Development Officer (x 3)
The Vegan Trademark registers tens of thousands of vegan products a year and they are looking for three people to join the busy team and help register even more vegan products.
The role supports the Trademark team, working closely with some of the leading manufacturers across the UK and around the world and actively promoting The Vegan Society’s Trademark. The role will be working to strict deadlines and targets to ensure client expectations are met, managing the client relationship and administering all elements of Trademark product checking, applications, renewals, and queries.
Salary and hours: this is full time (37.5 hours per week) role with a salary of £24,799 per annum.
The application deadline is 9am Wednesday 13th November 2019. Interviews will be held on Wednesday 27th November 2019.
Media and Public Relations Officer
The Media & PR Officer is the first point of contact for the media at the Society and often undertakes high profile media interviews. This role works very closely with all departments to represent the Society’s voice in the media and good interpersonal skills are required.
The successful candidate will be expected to have excellent writing skills with a high standard of literacy and a positive, can-do attitude. A background in PR, journalism, communications or marketing is required and experience of media relations is preferred. Experience of being a spokesperson for an organisation is an advantage but training can be provided to the right candidate.
Salary and hours: this is full time (37.5 hours per week) role with a salary of £22,911 – £28,785 per annum.
The application deadline is 9am Friday 25th October 2019. Interviews will be held week commencing 28th October 2019.
To apply for these roles and find out more information, click here.
The Fry Family Food Co is a legendary vegan brand that is known and loved all over the planet.
The family-owned brand is especially famous amongst vegans and the vegan-curious in the UK. Their meat alternatives have been keeping people happy for what must now be a few decades.
In what is great news for lovers of this meat-free brand, The Fry Family Food Co now has products available in Tesco supermarkets around the UK.
You can now find their chilled Pepper Pie, Mushroom Pie, Curry Pie, Med Veg & Squash Slice, and Twin Chicken-Style Sausage Roll (new and seen first in Tesco) in around 800 stores.
Both the slice Slice and Sausage Roll are ready-to-eat straight from the pack, or you can heat them in the oven for a warm and tasty treat.
You can view the entire range of Fry’s products (including the range of pastries available in Tesco) online here.
Fry’s will also be launching three frozen products later this month, so keep your eyes open!
Do you love candles AND improving outcomes for people living with HIV?
Buy this vegan candle and do something nice for yourself and an important charity.
The One Love candle is now available on the Avanti Candles website.
This vegan candle is handmade with natural soy wax, resulting in a soot-free burn. The company cleverly craft the candles with a wooden wick which crackles when it burns, adding to the enjoyment of the high grade fragrant oils.
The One Love candle has notes of cedar and sandalwood, blended with Moroccan rose, jasmine, lily, and patchouli.
It retails at £25 (reduced price of £20 at VegFestUK London if you are heading there) and with each sale, Avanti donates a percentage to Terrence Higgins Trust.
But what is the Terrence Higgins Trust?
Terrence Higgins Trust describes itself as the HIV and sexual health charity for life.
Their vision is a world where people with HIV live healthy lives free from prejudice and discrimination, and good sexual health is a right and reality for all.
Terrence Higgins Trust is the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity, providing a wide range of services to over 50,000 people a year. The charity also campaigns and lobbies for greater political and public understanding of the personal, social and medical impact of HIV and sexual ill health.
You can read more about Terrence Higgins Trust online here.
Now, back to the candle business.
Buy the gorgeous One Love candle from Avanti online and they will donate 10% of all sales to Terrence Higgins Trust.
Click here to buy online and make sure you take a look around the rest of their range of candles and diffusers.
Essential Vegan is an independent café run by chef Vanessa Almeida and her husband Neni.
I got to know Vanessa and Neni several years ago through the vegan scene in London. They would both come along to events I hosted and it wasn’t long until we counted on each other as friends, not just vegan comrades.
Vanessa and Neni work as hard as anyone I’ve ever met in the vegan community, if not harder.
I have seen them pull all-nighters, often multiple nights in a row, in order to prepare for large scale vegan festivals such as VegFestUK. At the first ever Hackney Downs Vegan Market Vanessa was swamped by customers and sold out of everything instantly, resulting in her actually RUNNING home to bake more cakes for attendees while Neni stayed at the stall and chatted with customers.
Their shed/hatch window takeaway stall in the now-defunct PUMP foodcourt in East London was crucial in pushing vegan food forward in the capital. Vanessa and Neni worked tirelessly to make delicious seitan burgers and succulent cheesecakes to keep the hungry crowds satisfied.
Essential Vegan also became famous around this time for their gourmet plant-based cheeses.
Vanessa has invested thousands of hours in order to perfect her handcrafted artisan cheeses. If you consider yourself a vegan cheese fan, you owe it to yourself to get along to Essential Vegan to buy a few of Vanessa’s creations.
As Essential Vegan Café turns two years old, it is also important to recognise how Vanessa has helped put Brazilian food on the London map. As a chef, she is a pioneer in the UK.
Vanessa and Neni relocated from Brazil to London many years ago and it was a dream of theirs to feed traditional dishes from back home to the population of their new home. They have realised this dream with Essential Vegan Café.
Feijoada is one of their specialties and I promise you will struggle to find a weekend brunch as delicious as this anywhere else in London.
I haven’t even touched on the rest of the sensational menu which includes cake, cassava chips, Brazilian cheese balls, seitan wings, salad, quiche, and casserole.
Congratulations to Vanessa and Neni for two years of Essential Vegan Café. I’m truly inspired by your determination, work ethic, and commitment to improving outcomes for animals.
See the exact location of Essential Vegan Café thanks to Google Maps (just a few skips from Shoreditch High Street Station).
I understand that I rattle on endlessly about the importance of supporting independent vegan businesses, but like anything worth saying it is worth saying until you can’t say it any longer.
With that unstoppable determination in mind, I want to share my list of the top 5 online UK vegan shops that you could be supporting right now.
It includes a mix of groceries, cheese, clothing, wine, footwear, and baked treats.
Shopping online with these businesses keeps money in the pockets of vegan and independently-owned operations, allowing them to offer work to other vegans.
These businesses support other independent traders. Your money spent with these people keeps money in local UK communities, more so than if you shop with huge chain stores.
The Vegan Kind Supermarket is grocery heaven for online plant-based consumers. Of course the shop grew from the runaway success of their monthly subscription boxes, but the online shop has become an unstoppable force all of its own.
Click here to shop with The Vegan Kind Supermarket. They offer 15% off your first order!
The Third Estate is not just the physical vegan boutique in London. Angela and James also operate an online version of their ethical shop. These people care about every aspect of doing the right thing by animals, people, and the planet so expect fairtrade and zero sweatshop goods. Select from a range of gorgeous boots, dress shoes, sneakers, sandals, handbags, belts, backpacks, clothing, and seasonal trinkets and candles.
Click here to shop with The Third Estate. Be sure to check out the online sale section.
Ms Cupcake is a world-famous, pioneering vegan bakery based south of the River Thames in Brixton, London but did you know they also deliver a selection of their treats all around the UK? Choose from tray bakes, cookie sandwiches, muffins, brownies, branded merchandise, and even the Ms Cupcake recipe book!
Click here to shop with Ms Cupcake. Look for seasonal items available for a limited time.
La Fauxmagerie is a 100% vegan gourmet cheese deli in East London. If you are a cheese lover, this place is your dream come true. If you don’t have a lot of spare time for vegan cheese shopping in that part of the city or you live at the other end of the country, why not shop for their gourmet cheeses online?
Click here to shop with La Fauxmagerie. Spend over £100 for free shipping. It’s easier to do than you think with such a huge range! Perfect for special occasions.
Vegan Wine Box is THE online place to shop for home delivery wine that is all guaranteed to be vegan. Their selection of mixed cases is perfect for adventurous drinkers. The company has a strong focus on sustainable wines and you won’t get cheap, nasty vino in any of your deliveries. You can order a one-off box or subscribe for monthly deliveries.
Click here to shop with Vegan Wine Box. Look out for the Prosecco and rosé boxes!
