vegan UK

Vegan options in Crouch End

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Do you ever find yourself in the London neighbourhood of Crouch End without a bite to eat?

Well, say goodbye to being hungry in Crouch End as you say hello to Miranda Café.

This vegetarian eatery is located on the corner of Broadway Parade and Elder Avenue, plus it has a whole LOAD of vegan options.

Of course it would be fabulous if the entire menu was vegan (I’m contractually obliged to say that as FGV) so let’s hope that is the direction in which the business is moving.

Check out some of the tasty vegan dishes being served by Miranda Café below and follow the eatery on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 

Chain store vegan sandwiches

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My friend Susan visited London a while ago and one thing about the UK really amused her. She couldn’t quite understand the obsession with ready to consume sandwiches.

Susan has a point.

I’ve never seen a country quite like the UK when it comes to pre-made, boxed up sandwiches. You get them at the petrol station, inside pharmacies, as part of meal deals, in high end shops, in budget outlets, in coffee chains, and pretty much any other type of retail space you can imagine.

Some stores selling these sandwiches will have an entire wall of chillers dedicated to dozens and dozens of various flavours.

I’d love to know how this sandwich saturation happened in the UK. If anyone knows the history of why packed sandwiches are an integral part of life here in the UK, I’d love to know.

Sharing Susan’s bewilderment and amusement was really just a cute lead in for sharing these photos.

Check out three vegan ready-to-go vegan sandwiches I’ve spotted around the UK over the past week.

Let me know if you have a favourite ready made sandwich in the comments below.

Vegan food at a Pride event

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If you are going to Herts Pride this weekend (September 2, 2017) David and Tony are running a Veggies Catering Campaign trailer selling vegan burgers, sos rolls, Fairtrade teas, coffees and cola along with other drinks.

How fab is that!

The Pride day is taking place in Gadebridge Park in Hemel Hempstead between 11am and 10pm.

The stall will also selling a range of cakes made by Heather of The Green Kitchen.

Here is your chance to support and enjoy a Pride event while feeding yourself with vegan food.

You can get all the details for Herts Pride over on the Facebook page.

Vegan comfort food for Manchester

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I wrote about the vegan food options at Manchester’s The Deaf Institute a while ago, but only just got around to trying some of it for myself last night.

The Deaf Institute is a bar, kitchen and live music venue just off Oxford Road. The kitchen is open every single day from 4pm until late and is packed solid with vegan comfort food.

Confusingly, the menu does make claims about a full vegan kitchen but during my visit their were a few non-vegan items listed on that very same menu such as meat and cheese. I’m not really sure what this means.

Anyway, the vegan food is plentiful and really quite good.

You can follow The Deaf Institute on Instagram and keep scrolling down to see everything Josh and I devoured last night.

Extra note: I wasn’t keen on the wall of animal skulls and horns as decorations, either.

Extra extra note: The Deaf Institute might very well be a great hangover spot for you and your friends the day after Manchester Vegan Beer Fest, taking place in three weeks! Book a ticket.

Vegan event in Reading

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Do you live in or around Reading? Here is some news you will enjoy hearing.

Reading Vegan Festival is taking place on September 23, 2017.

The festival is free to enter and is situated in the centre of Reading. The organisers have billed it as a safe and friendly environment to ask questions, sample products, and buy a range of vegan food, cosmetics and clothing.

There will also be a programme of activities, speakers and food demos. The full day programme will be announced nearer the time so RSVP to the Facebook page to keep updated and keep checking in at the website.

Vegan sweets in the UK

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Here is a super sweet and super short blog post today.

It is a brief post because Josh and I are currently stuck in traffic on the M6 motorway on our way to Glasgow for Glasgow Vegan Beer Fest this weekend. The traffic has been horrendous and it has taken us about six hours to get from Coventry to Lancaster.

I’ve been passing the time in the car by overeating vegan sweets.

Did you know that Swizzels make a bunch of vegan suitable sweets? You can search their website to find out which products are free of animal ingredients.

Here is what I ended up with today.

Please take special note: the original Drumstick on a stick is NOT VEGAN. Make sure you hunt out the soft chew version of the sweet if you want vegan-friendly enjoyment.

Also, who doesn’t love Parma Violets?

Gorgeous vegan pop up for London

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sixty:2 told me they are a new concept restaurant using food as a tool to explore the social and environmental impacts of animal agriculture on the planet in a playful, accessible, and inclusive way.

After a series of supper clubs around East London, they are excited to be launching their first popup restaurant at The Canvas Cafe E1. The restaurant will run on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings throughout September with table bookings available from 6:45pm until 9:15pm.

The fully plant-based menu is based on the best local, seasonal ingredients around, crafted into innovative, colourful dishes that walk the line between beloved classics and creative experimentation – always with a focus on flavour and sustainability.

You can follow sixty:2 on Facebook and Instagram where you can also find links for booking a table.

Check out the fabulous menu below!

New seitan company in UK

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Seitan is essential.

I couldn’t get through a week without a few servings of delicious, crispy seitan so I’m thrilled to learn about a new UK company dedicated to making and delivering the meat substitute to hungry people all over the country.

Say hello to LoveSeitan.

LoveSeitan has a fabulous online shop housing all of their flavour creations including Smokey Dokey, Classic, Curry & Coriander, Chili & Garlic, and Italian Herb. Shoppers can also buy multipacks featuring all the flavours!

If you are reading this in August 2017, you can also take advantage of the LoveSeitan launch special where they are giving 15% discount on orders using the special code found on their website.

You can follow LoveSeitan on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Check their social media for upcoming festival and market appearances, too.

Now, let’s get looking at seitan photos.

Vegan chips in London

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It’s the old age dilemma.

People think vegans will eat any old chips because chips are made out of potato. But we vegans know that some mass-produced chips actually contain animal fat as an ingredient.

In addition, some chip shops cook their chips in with fish, sausages and other derived items. A lot of vegans don’t want their potato to be bubbling away next to a dead sea creature and a battered sausage.

Yes, the hunt for vegan chips is a predicament a lot of us experience.

Imagine my joy when I strolled by a fish and chip shop just around the corner from my house and say ‘Our chips are 100% vegan’ printed on the window?

The owners told me they promote the vegan chips at the request of their wives who are both vegan. The shop also does a vegan falafel wrap on request.

Codfather is a 9 minute walk from South Ealing Underground station on the Piccadilly Line. You can see the location and walking directions thanks to Google Maps.

Of course I prefer to support 100% vegan eateries such as Vegan HQ which is located a 10 minute walk in the opposite direction of the station and Falafel Box another 10 minutes walking, but I might stop in for chips at Codfather after a few beers. South Ealing is becoming a vegan-friendly hub!

Vegan market intensity

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Here is a quick blog post to reiterate my feelings about community markets.

Get out of your house and START A VEGAN MARKET.

I hosted my monthly Hackney Downs Vegan Market on Saturday and to say in was swamped by people would be a monumental understatement.

Check out this photo I shared from the day.

Thousands of vegans and vegan-curious people swarmed the market and many of the vendors could not cope with the demand. Cake stands that thought they would be safe by showing up with hundreds of cakes sold out within the first few hours. Temple of Seitan sold out of almost 500 bacon cones with hours still remaining of the event. Battered sold hundreds of portions of vegan fish. Big V had their busiest day at our market ever. Café SoVegan know how to make a lot of food and they sold out completely for the first time ever.

Some people have suggested that we should have more stalls or that the vendors should make more food. Neither of these things can happen. Our space has limitations around the number of stalls permitted and the vendors are making as much food as they possibly can. They are stretched beyond their limits.

The answer to this problem is simple.

More people need to run more vegan markets around London. You can see that the demand clearly exists. When thousands and thousands of people show up to my market on the same day as a sold out 1,000 person vegan food event is also being staged in Kings Cross, you know there is not enough being done to meet the demand.

I am only one person and I do what I can, but we are in desperate need of other community-minded people to step up and start local markets that celebrate and support independent businesses.

Start small. Don’t think that 4,000 people are going to swarm your event. Keep it local. You can do it if you simply start. Get an idea and run with it.

Do it for your neighbourhood. Do it for the business owners. Do it for the animals.