vegan UK

Vegan pub food in London

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Here is a quick little bite sized chunk of news you can eat.

I’m just about to head back to Mexico City for six months so I gathered my friends in London for a farewell party at The Blacksmith and The Toffeemaker in Islington.

This pub on St John Street is a gorgeous pub that has just switched it’s entire food menu to be 100% vegan.

Check out this short Instagram video I made showing the current menu.

The polenta fries with added cheese were fabulous and I loved the toasted sandwich.

Not all of the alcohol being served is vegan, however they assure me this is being worded on and will be rectified soon.

In the meantime, all of the booze that is vegan suitable is clearly labelled.

You can follow The Blacksmith and The Toffeemaker on Instagram and see the pub’s exact location thanks to Google Maps.

Food giveaway

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This isn’t an FGV-run giveaway, but it is happening at my Hackney Downs Vegan Market this Saturday (January 13, 2018).

To find out how you can win some exclusive vegan fried chicken from trader Greedy Khao, you need to check out the details in the description of this Instagram post below.

Get entering and I hope you win!

You can see the full line up of traders for this Saturday’s market online here.

My book in bookstores

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When I was a young child in Australia, it was a dream of mine to be a writer.

I didn’t consider how it would happen or when or what was even involved, but I was simply drawn to writing.

I entered writing competitions at my local area shows and I even once won a prize for having a poem published in a newspaper.

Fast forward to now and here I am with a published book many decades later.

Thank you to Tsouni of Yes It’s All Vegan for letting me use this photo she took of the vegan section of Foyles on Charing Cross Road in Central London today.

It means more to me than I can explain to see my book on the shelves of a ‘proper’ bookstore amongst titles by people I love and adore… and some I don’t! LOL.

If you would like to grab a copy of my book from Foyles and help me continue to live out my childhood dream as it comes to life, you can order online or even order online to collect in your nearest store.

Foyles has my book in Stratford Westfield, Charing Cross Road, Bristol, Waterloo London, Birmingham, Chelmsford, and Royal Festival Hall London stores.

Click here to order for delivery or collection from Foyles. The website tells you how many copies of my book remain in each store. Maybe we can even give one of the stores a sellout situation?!

London cafe turns totally vegan

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Have you heard the news?!

The Gallery Cafe, the legendary Bethnal Green eatery, has become a 100% vegan cafe.

And even better news?

The Gallery Cafe is now completely vegan forever. It’s not a #Veganuary thing, it’s a #VeganEveryMonthOfTheYear thing.

It has taken a while, but better late than never. I can remember trying to convince the management years ago to make this switch but they were certain losing the halloumi from the menu would be the end of them.

I’m thrilled they have finally taken the leap and removed cruel dairy from their business. Pop in and have one of their famous breakfasts and say thanks.

You can follow The Gallery Cafe on Instagram.

You can see the exact location of the cafe thanks to Google Maps.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdXiEP7jf-3/

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https://www.instagram.com/p/BcP-sxfjezN/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BY8W9xMjlve/

FGV cupcakes

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Here is a super quick post to say thank you to south London cafe, Cupcakes & Shhht.

The Elephant and Castle cafe hosted an intimate get-together today to celebrate the launch of my book. It was a lot of fun chatting and getting a chance to say hello to a few friends and news faces, but the crowning glory of the evening was the cupcake selection.

The gorgeous vanilla and coconut cupcakes had mini edible front covers of my book on top of the frosting.

Check it out!

Please take a moment to follow Cupcakes & Shhht on Instagram so you can keep updated on their latest news, including an upcoming pop-up in Old Street!

You can join me at one of the book events coming up this week in London and Coventry. See all the dates and events online here.

If you would like a copy of my book, you can order online here.

New vegan food at Pret

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Pret a Manger has released some more vegan options so I’m doing my duty to let you know about them.

Cauli & Sweet Potato Dhal Hot Pot, £6.25 (vegan)

A warming, mildly spicy, coconut dhal, with chunks of roasted sweet potato, roasted turmeric cauliflower and baby plum tomatoes. Top it off with the pot of fresh spinach, toasted seeds and a squeeze of lemon.

Apple & Almond Butter Bowl, £1.99 (vegan)

Customers have been asking for more vegan snacks. Pret has kept this recipe nice and simple: crisp, green apple wedges with a generous dollop of almond butter.

Falafel, Avo & Chipotle Flat Bread, £3.99 (vegan)

Sweet potato falafel and freshly sliced avocado with a dollop of chipotle ketchup. Topped with pickled onions, crunchy red peppers, fresh coriander and charred corn and black bean salsa. Available in shops from Thursday 4th January until Monday 5th March.

A non-vegan place turns vegan: Day one

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I am super excited about getting down to the newly-vegan Old Street branch of Arancini Brothers tomorrow (Thursday January 4, 2018) for their grand re-opening.

It is also the official launch of my book and they just shared this post of the stock arriving:

I reached out to owner Dave to see how the soft opening went yesterday and he said:

Even though this area is a ghost town at this time of year, we had a queue out the door between midday and 2pm. There were lots of customers loving the FGV Burger and we didn’t get a single complaint from our regular meat eating customers. It has been a great start to our vegan project!

Such good news!

Click here to see the full menu plus some food photos. Hopefully I’ll see some of you at the grand re-opening/book launch tomorrow. If you can’t make it tomorrow, Arancini Brothers Old Street will be 100% vegan for the entire month of January and maybe longer if it works out for them.

You can also order my book online here.

Introducing the FGV Burger

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News you can eat.

As you have probably heard, Arancini Brothers Old Street location is turning 100% vegan for January 2018.

The entire menu is becoming plant-based for Veganuary (and hopefully longer) and to celebrate, they have added a burger they are calling the FGV Burger.

Check it out.

The FGV Burger features the famous mushroom zucchini risotto patty inside an organic bap plus double cheese, pickles, crispy onion, ketchup and mustard.

I’m absolutely drooling.

This is the burger of my dreams and I’m thrilled to see my name on their new vegan menu.

You can get your hands on the FGV Burger at Arancini Brothers Old Street location all month long. See the full vegan menu online here.

The soft launch for Old Street turning vegan is January 2, 2018 with the grand vegan re-opening in conjunction with my book launch is Thursday January 4. I’ll be there on January 4, so please say hello.

Hope to see you in store where you can grab an FGV Burger and an FGV book!

If you would like to buy the book but cannot make it to this celebration, you can buy a copy online here.

Best nine of Instagram 2017

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As I do at the end of each year, I like to share the most popular photos from my Instagram account from across the previous twelve months.

As you can see from the list below, Wagamama made the list three times and bizarrely the same dish made up two of those posts! If you work at Wagamama and you make a lot of money, I won’t say no to a monetary showing of appreciation. I didn’t post those pics for my own financial return, but holy shit did you people get some incredible PR from me this year.

Some of the entries are surprising (that popcorn chicken in at number 3 and those tiffin bites appearing AT ALL?!) and it is extremely telling that eight of the nine photos feature products from huge, non-vegan multinational companies.

If you need proof of how mainstream and commodified veganism and plant-based eating has become, this list might just come in handy.

Enjoy reliving these most-liked moments from 2017 and if you don’t already, follow me over on Instagram for new adventures in non-animal living in 2018.

Here we go, starting with number nine and counting down to the most popular:

Number 9.

Number 8.

Number 7.

Number 6.

Number 5.

Number 4.

Number 3.

Number 2.

Number 1. The most-liked photo of 2017 on the FGV Instagram account

And finally, here are the top nine in a handy grid for a recap if you need it.

See you all next year!

Another FGV book reading

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Here is book reading number 3 from my VERY SOON to be released book, Fat Gay Vegan: Eat, Drink and Live Like You Give a Sh!t  (you can see readings number 1 and 2 online as well).

You can order your very own copy of my book online here.

Stay tuned for more readings and book launch events such as the official launch at the Arancini Brothers vegan reopening celebration on January 4, 2018.