Vegan capital of the world is not a city

To be honest, I’ve spent a lot of time moaning about London and how it always seemed behind other world capitals when it came to vegan food. It always felt 5-10 years behind NYC, LA and Berlin.

However, things are now changing rapidly for the UK capital and nowhere is heralding in this plant-based revolution faster than the north London Borough of Hackney.

To celebrate it rapidly becoming veganised, I wanted to give you my top ten reasons why Hackney is the most-vegan neighbourhood/district in the UK and one of the finest plant-based destinations in the world.

10 Essential Vegan – Vanessa lives in Hackney and now has launched a six-week kitchen takeover with her Essential Vegan goodness in trendy neighbourhood bar, Haunt. If you love seitan burgers and cheesecake, head here as soon as possible.

Redemption Bar – I’ve never been to this venue but it does seem to be a popular choice for a lot of vegans on Instagram. Diners can get their fill of wholefoods and non-alcoholic drinks.

What The Pitta – if you need something to fill you up, this is the place. Actually, the kebab wraps are so huge you might actually struggle to finish one. What The Pitta now have a second location in Croydon, but the original location at the PUMP food court in Shoreditch means Hackney will not have to miss out.

Club Mexicana – this street food vendor has become a legendary staple of the London food scene and now with this ongoing residency inside Kingsland Road bar Pamela, Mexican-inspired cuisine is in Hackney to stay. While at their street stands you can enjoy tacos, burritos, loaded nachos and fried cheese sticks, this residency is taking things up a notch with handmade tortillas and fancy desserts. All drinks and cocktails served by host venue are vegan, too.

FED by Water – this Italian gourmet dining restaurant changed London forever when it switched from a meat and dairy laden menu to one that is now 100% vegan. Last time I checked, they even had a pizza named after me!

Made in Hackney – a crucial component of Hackney’s plant-based revolution, this charity funds community education and support work centred around vegan eating by hosting paid-for cooking lessons that can be attended by anyone.

Black Cat Café – this café is one of the food champions of the UK. If comfort eating is your thing, you will adore the regular and rotating dishes including burgers, cakes and breakfasts.

CookDaily and HOME – imagine two of the best vegan eateries in London being 10 metres apart. Both of these fast food outlets are packed solid with bowls of irresistible cuisine created by genius Chef King. Located upstairs at Boxpark Shoreditch.

Temple of Hackney – nothing has taken the UK by storm quite like this vegan fried chicken shop. The shop frequently sells out completely before the end of the day and you’ll often find a line of hungry customers down the street.

Hackney Downs Vegan Market – I know it’s a bit unfair to put my own new monthly market at number one, but it really does feel like such a big deal. This is the very first vegan monthly market in London and it is packed solid with some of the best vegan traders in London. The third Saturday of each month at Hackney Downs Studios with plans to have 10 or so food vendors on site each time we fling open the gates.

What do you think? Is Hackney the vegan capital of London? Is there another borough with more plant-based options crammed inside its borders? Have I missed any vegan Hackney landmarks?

The list above features only 100% vegan outlets. There are of course many more that are vegan friendly. There are also vegan places just blocks outside the Borough of Hackney boundaries, such as the wonderful Just Fab.

Get busy in Hackney!

Vegan wedding website

I often get emails from readers who are looking for advice on where to turn for vegan wedding supplies and services, so it’s great to know I can now point them to this new website launched by Becky Jones.

Becky has set up Vegan Weddings, an online space on which she has started curating UK businesses that are in the business of plant-based weddings.

The website isn’t swamped with listings at the moment, but I like how Becky has made it searchable by region. As she starts to add to the site, users will be able to see what is nearby.

If you or someone you know runs a business linked to weddings, you can have it listed on the site for just £12 for 12 months. That’s a great price and just one booking would more than recoup your advertising investment.

I don’t currently see anything stating that all businesses must be inclusive of same-sex weddings (or any representation of same-sex weddings in the images), but hopefully that is something Vegan Weddings will be asking of their advertisers moving forward.

You can visit the Vegan Weddings website here.

Follow Vegan Weddings on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Vegan burger at London kitchen takeover

You all know about my buddy Vanessa and her delicious food business called Essential Vegan, right?

Over the past few years, Vanessa has taken her incredible brand of hand made plant-based cuisine to all corners of London and beyond. She works so incredibly hard.

Remember her triumphant pop up café on Portobello Road? Or may you dined with her at her stand in PUMP Shoreditch. Of course a lot of you ate Vanessa’s food at VegFestUK London.

Now Vanessa has announced her next food adventure and you should put this one in your diary.

Essential Vegan is launching a 6-week kitchen takeover in Hackney at popular food and drink venue, Haunt, from March 14, 2017.

Haunt is a super chilled out bar that is beautifully decorated and only a short stroll along Stoke Newington Road from either Dalston Kingsland or Stoke Newington Overground stations. Click here to see where Haunt is located thanks to Google Maps.

Look at how beautiful this venue is:

Not only will you be able to devour and savour gorgeous, gourmet vegan food made by Essential Vegan, but it will be the ONLY food being served inside Haunt for this 6-week period. So you won’t have to sit next to anyone chomping down on animal products.

Ready to see the menu?

Vanessa is adored for her seitan burgers and as you can see in the menu, she is launching her new Essential Gourmet burger.

It’s like her original burger but taken to the next level with aged vegan cheese and special sauces. Check it out:

I’m drooling.

The menu also features a special line up for weekend brunch, served between midday and 3pm.

If you have the means to enjoy this food, make a special effort to join Essential Vegan for this limited kitchen takeover. As it is less than a 10-minute walk to Hackney Downs Vegan Market, I predict that area is going to be EXTREMELY busy on March 18.

Visit Essential Vegan online (super rad recipes), like them on Facebook and follow via Twitter and Instagram.

Find more info on Haunt on their website.

Vegan revolution in Sudbury

Need some anecdotal evidence that veganism is on an unstoppable roll in the UK?

The English market town of Sudbury, Suffolk now has two 100% vegan eateries. Yes. Two vegan food outlets in a regional town with a population hovering around the 20,000 mark.

Incredible!

First up is Cradle. This restaurant is a social enterprise which ploughs profits back into community-minded projects such as food waste solutions and local gardens.

Take a trip to the Cradle Facebook page and scroll through some of the cuisine photos. It all looks delicious, creative and rather fancy. You can also visit their website.

Next up we have Kind Cuisine, a more relaxed looking café serving soups, salads, cakes and drinks.

Owners Linda and Mark are on a mission to show locals how to eat plant-based foods in order to protect animals and the planet.

You should follow Kind Cuisine on Facebook and Twitter.

If Sudbury can do it, so can your town.

Get active and start vegan food opportunities, especially businesses that fold back into the community. And if you can’t start your own business, make the effort to support the businesses that do spring up when you have the means.

If you don’t live in Sudbury but have the means to visit for a few days, put some cash into the economy by dining with these two vegan establishments. If you can’t make it along, consider a kind word of support on their social media pages to let them know their commitment to veganism and their local community is appreciated.

New products from VBites

VBites are gearing up to launch four new products into the UK market very soon (maybe some of them are out there already?), so I wanted to give you some warning. Start your engines!

Of course each new product is 100% vegan, as is the entire VBites range.

The new products are:

  • BBQ pulled ‘pork’
  • piri piri burgers
  • lemon and black pepper scampi style bites
  • vegetable bake fingers

Here is a sneak preview of the piri piri burger.

What do you think of the new products? Are you excited to try them?

You can visit VBites online.

All new products will be showcased at the huge IFE Show taking place in London next month (trade show/not for public).

All Bar One keeps vegan menu alive

Money talks.

Do you remember when I blogged about the vegan menu being promoted at UK chain pub All Bar One for Veganuary?

Click here to read that post and see full menu.

Well, it seems that the vegans (and non-vegans) of the UK did such a stellar job of buying everything on that special menu during January, the company has decided to keep the plant-based options alive for another month.

Michael Duffy, who is the marketing manager at All Bar One, commented:

The feedback we received from the new vegan friendly menu has been extremely positive and we’re really pleased that we are reaching new audiences and continuing to impress our regular All Bar One guests. With one in four of our guests now being a vegetarian or vegan, we created the pop up menu in partnership with Veganuary to serve this increased demand for plant-based dishes.

One in four customers don’t eat meat? That is huge!

This decision is clearly driven by the financial rewards the company saw during Veganuary and I wouldn’t be surprised if the vegan menu stays permanently. Maybe they have already decided to keep it but are stringing out the attention they are getting from people like me. LOL

Have you tried the vegan menu at All Bar One? How was it?

You can find your nearest All Bar One via their website.

Best vegan donuts in London

London. You are onto a good wicket.

(Does ‘good wicket’ actually mean anything? Am I using that term correctly?)

After a short time away from the action, the glorious Peanut Butter Bakery is BACK to its usual weekend haunt at The Boiler House market on Brick Lane (see location on Google Maps).

Peanut Butter Bakery caused an absolute sensation at my vegan Christmas market, with people lining up for an extremely long time to get hands and lips on their sensational donuts.

If you think you would enjoy eating the best vegan donuts in the UK, get along to The Boiler House on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 February, 2017. You will be unbelievably happy if you make the effort to get along.

To inspire you, here is a photo just posted by Peanut Butter Bakery detailing some of the things you should be excited about this weekend.


You need to follow Peanut Butter Bakery on Instagram.

Non-profit vegan clothing company

Did you know there is a 100% not-for-pofit vegan clothing company in Sheffield?

This news is too important to put through the FGV word wringer, so I have asked HeartCure to give me the precise rundown on what is taking place in their neck of the woods.

Based out of Sheffield, HeartCure are the only completely non-profit vegan clothing company in the UK. They donate everything they can to Brook Farm Animal Sanctuary and in their first 6 months they raised over £1,000 for the sanctuary.

They have recently relaunched their website with all new designs including an all new kids range! They always try to be more design based than just text and ignite curiosity in those who see the clothing to help spread a positive vegan message.

HeartCure plan to support more Sanctuaries this year and donate all they can to help the vegan movement grow, involving collaborations with activists.

They started HeartCure as a way to help raise money for animals while also supporting fair wear and ethical trade standards. It’s always been about making change, not profit.

The owners are officially Jordan & Georgia but HeartCure is made up of everybody involved, from the photographers to the models and everyone who has supported the brand.

They are also launching the UK’s first vegan social centre which will be launched this year called HeartCure Collective. The social centre will be at a warehouse in Sheffield and will include a cafe and bar, ethical clothing store, weekly activist meet ups, youth meet ups, a stage for speeches and live music. You can get involved via the Gofundme campaign by clicking here.

They are aiming to make the warehouse space a social hub for all vegans. It will be a place they can hang out during the day, meet friends in the evening, a space to organise their own events and discover more about activism.

The collective will welcome vegans and non-vegans as they believe it will be a great place for anyone interested in veganism to find out more about living ethically and sustainably.

That is a lot to take in, right?

Brief overview? HeartCure is a rad clothing brand raising money to save animals.

Visit their online shop here, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter and follow them on Instagram.

Sainsbury’s is stepping up on veganism

Hey, have you all noticed the shift happening over at Sainsbury’s in regards to promoting vegan food?

Within the space of a week, the UK grocery giant has posted three vegan cooking videos to their Facebook page.

Check them out here:

Wow. Three pretty spectacular vegan recipes shared by one of the biggest retailers on the planet. They have even gotten two leading vegan food personailities to help with the videos (Heart of Cake and CookDaily).

This is a clear indication of how powerful veganism has become in the UK. These companies do not undertake anything without market research and a lot of consideration.

That they are making vegan options a big part of their current advertising campaign says volumes. Times are changing and if they don’t get on board, they are going to miss out and they know it.

In related news, Sainsbury’s have apparently teamed up with a group of scientists to redesign their store layouts to encourage customers to buy less meat.

The following is lifted from a story in The Guardian:

Oxford University scientists will work with Sainsbury’s executives in a programme that will see supermarkets redesigned. Proposals include: placing vegetarian alternatives on the same shelves as meat products; giving vouchers and loyalty points to shoppers who choose vegetarian products; and providing recipes and leaflets that outline how shoppers can eat less meat.

What do you all think of this push on plant-based consumerism by Sainsbury’s?

Non-vegan café switching to vegan

I simply ADORE sharing news about non-vegan food places switching to plant-based offerings.

Slowly but surely, small victories for animals are turning the world just that little bit more vegan… and victories rarely come more uniquely planned out than what is going down at The Fields Beneath.

The Fields Beneath is a much-loved coffee shop and café situated at Kentish Town West station in North London.

Owner Gavin gave me some VERY interesting insights into how he is easing his loyal customers into veganism. I absolutely love his plans for 30 plant-based coffees for £30.

Let me step aside and give Gavin some more space to explain:

At The Fields Beneath, we’ve been open a little over four years and started transitioning to a vegan menu in December, cutting out meat first. The exciting opportunity we’ve got with the shop is that a vast majority of the customers are not vegan. They don’t get it in the way I feel only vegans do; I certainly didn’t myself until about this time last year, and the cafe has the chance to introduce customers to many parts of the vegan journey.

We started the conversation two weeks ago by offering a program where a customer can get 30 coffees for £30, the catch being no dairy! As of yesterday we’ve signed up 100 people. ‘What’s wrong with dairy?’ comes up a lot but the aim is to cut out dairy completely by the end of April.

As for the food, we’ve aimed so far to replace things with their vegan counterparts; our cakes, our croissants and sandwich ingredients. The hot dishes have been vegan for over a year.

From February we’ll be pushing the possibilities with food, choosing not just plant based menus, but leaning on as much seasonality as we can. On top of the team we’ve got, led by Helena Vieira, we’re building one for the future and have welcomed back old friend Avneet Padda after two years away working for the likes of Silo in Brighton and Cafe Oto in Dalston. She’s bringing a wealth of experience with baking, fermenting, pickling, seasonal produce and so on. So we’re very much at a ‘watch this space’ point.

We roast the coffee ourselves at Tate Britain, and have plans to make our own oat milk so that a) our costs don’t go up by moving from dairy to Oatly, and b) to make sure people don’t need to spend more money to be vegan.

What a well-thought out and inventive way to ease people into accepting vegan café choices as an everyday occurrence.

I can’t wait until my London return when The Fields Beneath will be 100% vegan. Who wants to meet me for a croissant?!

Please follow The Fields Beneath on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Extra note: The Fields Beneath is a London Living Wage Employer. Fuck yeah!

Extra extra note: The Fields Beneath are running a hot water bottle drive. If you have a hot water bottle that is spare, drop it off with the café. If you are currently on the streets, you can drop in to collect a hot water bottle that has been recently filled. You are also welcome to return for hot water refills when needed.