Fatgayvegan

FGV’s Christmas Market @Guildhall

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I really enjoyed the market Sean (Fat Gay Vegan) put on at the Guildhall in the summer (which I wrote about here) that I had to go to the Christmas edition, especially when I saw the line up.

I hadn’t had breakfast so I headed down early to beat the queues. My first stop was Vausages. I had seen these folk at different events I had been to but this was my first time sampling their delights they had two Christmas hot dogs on, a Cumberland and an Apple and pork style. I went for the Cumberland which came with caramelized red onions and garlic mushrooms, I asked for it to be topped with their trademark blue garlic mayo.

Although it looks like toothpaste it actually tastes delicious! The bun was nice and soft and the sausage had a lovely flavour on the outside and I surprised to see it was filled with quinoa in the middle. I’ll definitely be heading back to them when I see them in the future.

Next stop had to be Vegan Delice. If you’ve read my posts from previous events you know I always stop by these peeps! I had to get my fave Viennese whirl as well as a peanut chocolate brookie for my Husband and I couldn’t be left out so I had to get a peanut butter and jam brownie for myself. Chanel was nice enough to let me try their raw cake which was a bit different.

After mains and dessert I had to have something to take home for later so I bought some cream cheese and lox from The Kinda Co I love their dairy free cheese and thought this one with marinated carrot (to taste similar to salmon) would be perfect on a cracker over the Christmas period.

I was pleased to see that FGV is bringing the market back to Guildhall in January and March although I am unfortunately unable to make the January date.

Its great to have a vegan market in the city especially so close to work. I would love to see this become a monthly (or even more frequent) event.

Do you work in the city? Would you welcome a lunchtime vegan market close to where you work?

Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

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FGV’s Christmas Market @Guildhall

City Vegan Lunch Market

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I have visited City Lunch Market in the past which takes place on Thursdays at the Guildhall in the City of London (7 minutes from my workplace!) they usually have a few vegan options amongst the more meaty offerings so I was over the moon when I saw that my friend Sean AKA Fat Gay Vegan had organised an exclusively vegan market to take place this week at the Guildhall.

I arranged to meet Mitsu (of To Happy Vegans) who works even closer to the Guildhall for our monthly vegan lunch.

I had spied on the FB event which caterers were going to present and I was excited to see there were quite a few I hadn’t tried before.

I decided to try out What the Fattoush! Palestinian vegan food and got their meal deal of fattoush bowl, side of fried okra and drink for £10. The okra was fab and reminded me of fried pickles (I ate them while Mitsu was getting her food so I didn’t take a pic oops!) The fattoush was your middle eastern fayre and a very well done version of it. My understanding of fattoush was that it is a bread salad which usually includes pomegranate so I was a bit surprised that this version omitted both these ingredients.

Mitsu chose the ramen from Fussy Chilesauraus, these noodles are served cold which was welcome on this 34°C day!

Mitsu also bought some pizza from Pickywops to have for dinner. I’ve tried their pizza before and their bases are something special.

For dessert we bought a doughnut each from new kid on the vegan doughnut scene Bear’s Dough. I loved my classic sugar and cinnamon it was light and chewy and delicious!

We were melting at this point so definitely needed some ice cream to cool down (that was my excuse anyway!) so we headed over to Black Milq. Mitsu chose the black sesame and I have the blackberry crumble, just what I needed!

I tried a seitan wrap from Cafe So Vegan at Hackney Downs Vegan Market which I wrote about here and lots of people were keen to get their hands on one as the queue demonstrates!

The crowd looked to be the general city crowd rather than specifically vegan peeps so I’m glad how well they were embracing the market and hopefully it will become a regular event. How wild is it that I could be going to a vegan market so close to my work, I almost didn’t want to go back to my desk (almost).

We couldn’t leave without getting a selfie with the man himself before he too melted into a sweaty mess. (This is an Australian man who spends six months of the year in Mexico and was complaining about the heat!)

What are vegan lunch options like near your workplace? How jealous are you of me right now?! Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

City Vegan Lunch Market

Hackney Downs Festive Vegan Market

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This weekend Hackney Downs Studios hosted Fat Gay Vegan’s three day Christmas Vegan Market extravaganza so we certainly couldn’t miss out.

My Sister-in-law Gemma decided to drive so we missed the pushing and shoving on the bus, tube and Overground and parked near the downs.

We started off with a mulled wine to warm us up. I’m more of a mulled cider person but this went down in a treat in my travel cup.

We were hungry so we quickly headed over to Temple of Seitan. They had two Christmas subs on, I went for the beef wellington with bacon, mushroom duxelles and mustard and Gemma had the chicken with stuffing, cranberry sauce and crispy onions. Both were delicious and the hot English mustard really cleared my sinuses!

After that we needed something sweet and I had been looking forward to having Vegan Delice’s fresh hot doughnuts. We went with one lot with chocolate and nuts and the other with raspberry sauce and both were fabulous!

I also bought my Husband an Oreo cupcake and I enjoyed this gingerbread person with a cup of tea later at home.

I’m already a convert to bamboo toothbrushes but Gem had to pick some up for her and my Brother. This enterprise started as a uni project and is now a full blown ethical business that plants a tree for each toothbrush sold.

She also picked up some make up as a present and was gifted a little extra too! I won’t show the items in case the receipient sees this!

Viva La Vegan were selling Eden Perfume on their behalf so I brought my empty bottle to get a refill (and a discount!), I went for 78 which is similar to Paco Rabanne’s Lady Million.

I also picked up a candle from Vegan Bunny. I had seen these as Gemma had got some for her birthday in October. I love rose scents so I had to go for the rose blossom variety, I also loved the jasmine scent which I might go for next time.

I also grabbed one of Fat Gay Vegan’s tote bags which I love as the text can be read up-side-down as well. I also caught up with the man himself and congratulated him on his recent appearance on the Chickpeeps podcast which I would recommend you listen to straight away!

We finished up with some cheese fries from Club Mexicana. These are gooey and crunchy but don’t leave you feeling heavy and greasy like dairy cheese does.

We had a fab time and it was lovely speaking to all the vendors and being introduced to some new ones.

Did you go to the market this weekend? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Hackney Downs Festive Vegan Market

Hackney Downs Vegan Market

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On the third Saturday of every month Hackney Downs Studios plays host to the Hackney Downs Vegan Market. I’ve been once before with my Sister-in-law and this weekend my Husband decided he wanted to come with me.

He was most looking forward to having a burger from Big V (which I’ve previously reviewed here) and some doughnuts from Dough Society.

When we first arrived we realised how many people were there by the length of the queues! Temple of Seitan were showcasing their bacon cones which lots of people were interested in.

We made our way through the market to where Big V were and although there was a long queue it went down quite quickly.

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There is some seating in the market but due to the numbers of visitors it was all taken so we went and sat on the downs next to the market while we ate our burgers.

When we returned we saw that Dough Society had unfortunately (for us!) sold out. It was only 1pm when we arrived at the market (which opened at 11 and closed at 5) but it just goes to show the popularity of events like these.

We weren’t disappointed in the sweet side though as we headed to Vegan Delice‘s stall to pick up some goodies. My Husband chose a couple of these chocolate hazelnut biscuits. I took a cheeky bite and I must say it was delicious!

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I was visiting a friend later in the afternoon so I chose a lotus caramel cupcake and a bakewell slice to share. I really enjoyed both these cakes especially the cupcake with lotus spread running through the middle.

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The popularity of events like these go to show how many people there are interested in vegan food and Sean of Fat Gay Vegan has said he’s planning on opening another market in another part of London.

I also wanted to highlight Sean’s policy regarding the traders who are at the market.

In the spirit of inclusion and for the promotion of people often overlooked/sidelined at mainstream vegan events, I have earmarked my percentage of stalls for those traders who identify as BME, LGBTQ, people with disabilities and/or as women.

To clarify, this policy ensures that at least nine out of the twelve stalls each month will be owned or co-owned by someone who identifies as BME, LGBTQ, a person with a disability and/or a woman.

Have you been to Hackney Downs Vegan Market? What did you think?L Let me know in the comments below.

Plumes x

Hackney Downs Vegan Market