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Bristol Vegfest 2015

June 4, 2015 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

Yummy catering
Yummy catering
Fantastic outreach by TEEN VGN
Fantastic outreach by TEEN VGN
Grow your own herbs
Grow your own herbs

Where on earth do I start with Bristol Vegfest?

Vegans don't have to miss out
Vegans don’t have to miss out

 

 

Over the weekend of 23rd/24th May this year, over 14,000 people passed though the Amphitheatre venue in the Harbourside area of the city to experience, celebrate and discuss all aspects of the vegan lifestyle.

Yum...
Yum…

The emphasis this year was on the environment, to coincide with Bristol being the European Green Capital, as we all know what a devastating effect animal agriculture has on our environment.

CAPS stall
CAPS stall

In addition to promoting a vegan lifestyle to combat this, the Vegfest also had countless recycling bins for waste and measures in place for a festival that was low in environmental impact. Everything from the posters and flyers to the generators and marquee build and breakdown was sustainable – even the loos were environmentally friendly!

Many body builders are vegan
Many body builders are vegan

The number and range of stalls was certainly impressive. This is the biggest vegan festival in the country after all. Walking in at opening time on Saturday, it was easy to feel overwhelmed by choice. It was a hot day and perfect for the outdoor venue, but I did feel for those stallholders in the marquees, as they chugged down water and wiped their brows.

vegan cake, you can't go wrong
Vegan cake, you can’t go wrong

Many major and also some lesser known animal and environmental charities were represented. Amnesty International was there, as well as Greenpeace and Population Matters. There were vegan lifestyle stalls that sold everything from shoes to perfume, make-up and clothes. However, the sheer range of food stalls and catering options on site was enough to turn one’s head. I mean, in the ‘real world’ as a vegan I’m not normally given much choice. It’s normally a case of ‘Can I have that but without the cheese?’ or ‘What, not even your bread is vegan?’ but here, well, as George Takei might say ‘Oh my…’

Viva! stall
Viva! stall

So, I began with the animal charities, as I’m a sucker for a good cause and it also makes me feel virtuous about spending money. Cruelty Free International were there, having now merged with the BUAV to become one large anti-vivisection charity.

Among the well known charities represented were Viva! who are one of my favourites. You could sign up for membership at the stall, as well as obtain all sorts of useful literature. I got a leaflet on going dairy free for my friend who is doing just that at the moment following medical advice. Their leader Juliet Gellatley gave a few of talks on why you don’t need dairy, how a vegan diet can help with menopause symptoms and the one I attended, how to become a school speaker. Their food and cookery co-ordinator Jane Easton also gave a talk and cookery demonstration – she is the author of the Viva! cookbook, which I can thoroughly recommend.

No more shark fin soup
No more shark fin soup

Animal Aid were also a presence, not only doing talks, but they also had a stand with loads of goodies on it (I may have spent a bit too much, but a lot of it was on presents…) Have a look at their gift range here. An additional stall was present on behalf of their education department, so it seems school speaking is a real growth area for these charities. Get them while they’re young.

The League Against Cruel Sports was also present and they were of course highlighting the proposed lifting of the fox hunting ban by the new Tory government, as were the Hunt Sabs.

Wood Green campaigned for unwanted pets
Wood Green campaigned for unwanted pets

It was lovely to see several smaller charities do talks and have stalls, among them Wood Green Animal Sanctuary. Wood Green has four centres in England, which re-home every type of animal, from dogs and cats to farm animals. Their particular focus at the moment is on unwanted pets and the importance of rescue over buying. They are particularly concerned with puppy farms which supply pet shops, and irresponsible sellers on websites such as Gumtree and those who sell dogs in newspaper ads or even down the pub. Lisa Mitchinson gave an insightful talk on this in the Campaigns and Lifestyle tent. It’s a great issue to be highlighting and I support them fully.

Protect a Pup offer free microchipping
Protect a Pup offer free microchipping

Another charity I noticed who was working on this issue was Protect a Pup, who work on free microchipping, low cost and free neutering and doggie food banks.

An exciting area was the Vervet Monkey Foundation, who were trying to recruit volunteers to help in the care and rehabilitation of rescued monkeys in South Africa. As long as you have the means to get to them, they supply vegan food and accommodation for a small fee and you’d get the pleasure of feeding baby monkeys. Seems like the dream job to me.

The Dean Farm Trust are a relatively young charity that I urge you to look up. I thought Fin Fighters was a fabulous idea, working specifically to end the use of shark fin. Marine conservation was very much in evidence with groups such as Sea Shepherd and The Black Fish both having stalls.

Fleecehaven rescue sheep and give them a loving home
Fleecehaven rescue sheep and give them a loving home

By far the cutest stall (and I don’t mean to be patronising, only wildly complimentary) was that of Fleecehaven, the sheep sanctuary. They rescue sheep for all sorts of reasons and give them a loving home for life. Sponsor a sheep here.

Of course we have to remember that plenty of non-vegans visit VegFest so there were plenty of stalls to show them how great the lifestyle can be. Veganuary are a great organisation who challenge people to go vegan for the month of January each year and it’s amazing how many who take part choose to remain vegan. The Vegan Lifestyle Association also supports those who wish to test the waters, as well as supporting more established vegans. The Vegan Society was of course present, being the oldest charity to provide vegan outreach, existing since the term was coined by their founder, Donald Watson, in 1947. I attended a great talk on activism by Dorset Vegan Lizzi Shaw, who has shown that if vegans don’t have much outreach in their own area, they can always create some for themselves! She is truly inspirational.

Wills shoes
Wills shoes

There was also an opportunity to see how vegan shoes (courtesy of Wills and Bella Storia) can be just as smart as leather ones, so you can look good with none of the cruelty. All my shoes now are non-leather ones and I enjoy the look of surprise when friends find out that you don’t need to kill a cow to get something waterproof and breathable on your feet.

Bohemian Chic Minerals have a fantastic range of make-up that’s not only cruelty free and vegan, but very suitable for even the most sensitive skin. This was great for me, as eczema has come and gone my whole life and this is the gentlest make-up I’ve ever felt.

Eden Perfumes give you a cruelty free version of top brands
Eden Perfumes give you a cruelty free version of top brands

Eden perfumes give you a list of famous brand perfumes and list an equivalent they have made without any of the harsh chemicals. Their stand was very busy during the show with lots of wrist sniffing going on.

Mount Purious have a range of skincare using various oils that I was very impressed with, as I tried some and my skin felt nicer instantly.

Hempish clothing and bags
Hempish clothing and bags

Clothing was everywhere too. Many of the charities sold t-shirts and so on, but there were also specialist designers, such as Hempish and Viva la Vegan, both of whom had apparel that was lovely and softly wearable.

 

Veganism Kings Cross style
Veganism Kings Cross style

Harsher in style, if not necessarily fabric was Vegan Cross, who are normally located near Kings cross in London. They were popular for their merchandise declaring legends such as ‘I Love Vegan Junk Food’ and also the vegan cheese and ham toasties they produced at the side of their stall. This was perfect for light hearted fun, in common with Vegan Sidekick’s satirical comics which you can view online, although of course it all does have a serious point to make.

Paradise Unbakery, just beautiful
Paradise Unbakery, just beautiful

 

The array of caterers and food stalls was, as I have said, phenomenal. It would take forever to list them all (but if you’re interested, the list of all the stalls is available here) so I’ll simply highlight a few. By far the prettiest stall belonged to Paradise Unbakery, a purveyor of raw cakes and other delights.

Rawsome cakes
Rawsome cakes

Coming close in the looks stakes were Rawsome cakes and chocolates, and of course the ever-welcome Ms Cupcake.

Ms Cupcake's wares
Ms Cupcake’s wares

There were many free samples by Life Food, Nectar Foods, Pulsin, Aduna, Sheese, Ananda Foods, Nakd, Koko, Beech’s and countless others. Needless to say, I partook of a fair few vegan cheeses and chocolates, but also foods which I’d never heard of before and was pleasantly surprised by.

Aduna foods' samples of Moringa and Baobab, which I'd never tried before
Aduna foods’ samples of Moringa and Baobab, which I’d never tried before

 

The caterers were flawless and on the Saturday it was so hot that it came as no surprise to find the Pimms tent and the Ice Cold Lemonade stall had healthy queues all day. The vegan ice cream and ice lollies disappeared as well and personally, I headed for the beer tent.

Says it all really...
Says it all really…

Pitfields had a rather groovy set up with a record player – dare I say, rather a hipster vibe. Being in Bristol, there was also a healthy amount of cider provided by the bars.

Hipsters welcome
Hipsters welcome

Of course I’m not one to drink on an empty stomach (no ‘eating’s cheating’ for me) so I was forced to choose from the many and varied caterers onsite. Well, my first choice was a good ‘un as the pizza, baked before your eyes in a wood-fired oven, provided by Pandemania Wood Fired Pizza was sublime. Although not a vegan company, all their ingredients are fresh and veganising their superb product is easy.

The pizza menu
The pizza menu

I also managed to fit in some macaroni cheese from The Spotless Leopard van which was fab. Before the weekend was over I managed to sample some of Bangwok’s glorious Pad Thai, which was heaven in a cardboard container.

Pad Thai was a specialty
Pad Thai was a specialty

There were of course plenty I didn’t have time, or indeed room in my stomach, to try. Everything from paella, sushi and subs to curry, churros, kebabs and seitan sandwiches was available and certainly appreciated by the stream of hungry vegans (and non-vegans) who populated the festival on both days.

Heehee
Heehee

 

 

On the main stage, a variety of acts performed during the day, and after many of the stalls had shut down around 5pm the music kept going till 9pm, creating a real party atmosphere. I must admit I felt the funnest act was The Captain’s Beard on Sunday, who had the crowd in the palm of their hand from their rendition of Whisky in the Jar to the ever popular (and appropriate, given their pirate costumes) What Shall we do with the Drunken Sailor?

The Captain's Beard got everyone dancing
The Captain’s Beard got everyone dancing

Kids and adults alike were up dancing and as the day wore on and I sipped on my can of Red Stripe, I couldn’t help but reflect on what a friendly, positive and hopeful vibe had been created. Looking out at all the people having fun and not feeling restricted at all by their choice of lifestyle was a happy sight indeed.

Ice lollies were needed on the very warm opening day
Ice lollies were needed on the very warm opening day
Who ate all the - never mind.
Who ate all the – never mind.

If you’ve never been to a vegan festival then chances are you might be worried it might be populated by terribly worthy people having intense discussions over a bowl of kale and some herbal tea, but nothing could be further from the truth. We like food, we like booze, we like fun. Living the cruelty free life shouldn’t make you miserable, it should give you joy. Vive le Vegfest!

(Apologies for the quality of some photos. There was a mark on my camera sensor which I didn’t discover until it was too late. Hope you enjoy them anyway.)

Filed Under: Vegan News Tagged With: Bristol, clothing, festivals, food, lifestyle, Vegfest

No 1. Harbourside, Bristol

June 1, 2015 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

No 1 Harbourside
No 1 Harbourside
No 1 Harbourside

I was steadily losing hope. The Harbourside area of Bristol has plenty of places to eat, but it seems that most of them are of no use to you unless you like pork and you like it pulled. (As an aside, there is a vegan pulled pork alternative made from Jackfruit. Doesn’t sound promising I know, but it tastes like the real thing, honest.)

So, stomach rumbling, I was passing the chain pubs and restaurants where the best I could hope for was a disappointing salad, when I happened across No 1 Harbourside, which not only had vegan options as part of its main menu, but vegan beer too! I’d hit the jackpot.

Chess board outside tables
Chess board outside tables

The picnic-style benches outside had all different decorations, one with chess boards and snakes and ladders, another with some kind of emperor in glorious robes. The huge indoor space was welcoming, despite its size and had plenty of interesting decor to gaze at while waiting on your food to arrive. A sizeable collection of books was in one corner, striped pillars and fun blackboards elsewhere.

All locally sourced produce
All locally sourced produce

One of the blackboards outlined the restaurant’s commitment to sourcing produce locally and even had a map drawn out. The bar area itself seemed packed with liquid options and inviting bar stools were there for anyone just popping in for a quick drink.

Inviting bar with plenty of choice
Inviting bar with plenty of choice

 

Particularly luxurious for me were the beers and ales on tap that specified quite clearly that they were vegan, and they were all from different breweries too. No more guesswork as you hesitate to give a local brewery beer a try. The ‘Spun Gold’ and ‘Funky Monkey’ caught my eye, but I could not go past trying the ‘Why Kick a Moo Cow’ pale ale, as I have family connections to New Zealand. It was a cloudy, pleasant ale that I happily sat on for an hour or so.

Why Kick a Moo Cow. Why indeed...
Why Kick a Moo Cow. Why indeed…

In each category of food there seemed to be at least one gluten free choice as well, so I was impressed that they seemed to be catering to a wide range of culinary requirements. Vegan options when I was there included: Lentil and quinoa BB ‘meatballs’ on toasted ciabatta, sweet miso slaw, Severn project salad; Farinata, carrots with cashew dip, pickled vegetables, hummus and fava tagine; Spiced potato fruit and nut brik pastry, dukkah salad, rhubarb and beetroot chutney and (what I ordered) Orzo pasta salad, summer radish, red onion and chilli, pesto and nut crumble.

I also ordered a side of Jersey royal potatoes which, although they came with butter on the menu, were very easily veganised, with no fuss.

Orzo pasta and Jersey potatoes
Orzo pasta and Jersey potatoes

I absolutely adored the food. Every mouthful was bursting with flavour. With vegans having to compromise so much when eating out sometimes, this was a blissful experience. I devoured the lot, which is not to say I didn’t savour it. With no room left for a dessert, I didn’t enquire after one, so can’t tell you if there were vegan options there too.

Interior of No 1 Harbourside
Interior of No 1 Harbourside

The staff were very friendly but left me alone to read and eat and just generally take the place in.

They have lots more information on their website and up to date menus can be found on their facebook page.
Follow No 1 Harbourside on twitter here.

 

 

Well quite.
Well quite.
Ahhh, a vegan pint.
Ahhh, a vegan pint.

Filed Under: Vegan Meals Out Tagged With: Bristol, pasta, potatoes, Restaurants

The Brigstow, Bristol

May 30, 2015 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

bohemian atmosphere
The Brigstow, Clare street, Bristol
The Brigstow, Clare street, Bristol

I stumbled across The Brigstow on Clare Street in central Bristol while I was out looking for a vegan feed the day before VegFest. I’d arrived from London at 2pm and was in the mood for a late lunch. It looks like an ordinary pub from the outside, but once you cross the threshold it is an altogether more bohemian and therefore interesting establishment.

Brigstow interior
Brigstow interior

A glance around the place with its table numbers felt-tipped onto wooden spoons and it’s spray painted, artistically pleasing walls (perhaps inspired by, but certainly more colourful than, one of Bristol’s favourite sons, Banksy) made me feel far more at home than I would be in any gaping, soulless gastro pub. And let me tell you, Bristol has its fair share of those…

bohemian atmosphere
bohemian atmosphere

I was greeted by an incredibly chipper bloke behind the bar who was very helpful. Despite its mostly meaty menu of burgers and sliders (am I the only one who finds the word ‘slider’ less than appetising? Just me then…) there were a couple of vegan options. Once I’d placed my order and was cosy at my rickety table, the staff were attentive but not overly so. The chef even poked his head out of the kitchen and asked if I’d prefer hummus to their normal mayonnaise, to which I enthusiastically nodded my ascent.

Falafel burger and fries
Falafel burger and fries

I chose the falafel burger and fries, which, in a manner I fear would disgust the plate society, or whatever they call themselves, was served on a plank of wood. The chips were in a poke, as Scots of the past would say, and the whole thing was totally yummy. Instead of coleslaw they’d made up some onion salsa kind of stuff (I’m afraid I’ve forgotten exactly what it was called) but it was a triumph.

Music, cocktails and good food
Music, cocktails and good food

All in all a very pleasant experience and a positive note on which to start my culinary experience of Bristol.

Filed Under: Vegan Meals Out Tagged With: Bristol, Burgers, Chips, Restaurants

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