Well its been the busiest week for so many reasons that we ran out of time to tell you all about our visit to the Northern Vegan Festival on Saturday the 13th of April, we (along with just a few other people) made our way to Sasha's Hotel in Manchester.
We had been looking forward to this for ages but didn't really know what to expect as we hadn't been to a Vegan Festival before, we were more than pleasantly surprised, had such a great time and bumped into many people we knew from WI ladies to Prestwich friends.
There was such a range of different things to take in and it was at 10.30 (the event opened at 10.00) when we got there already packed
There is a list of stallholders on their website
We wanted to talk about every stall as they were all great but as it took us way over 2½ hours to get round, it may be too long of a post so we decided to show you some of our favourite things.
That Old Chestnut The Vegan Bakery are a Leeds based vegan bakery, not only was their stall beautifully styled, we loved the hessian with bold print logo and the cakes on various cake stands and plates, but the cakes looked and tasted amazing as well.
There website is also pretty nifty too and you can order online.
So sad I missed these Chocolate and Peanut Butter Tiffin, three of my favourite things together, especially after seeing them on their website.
The cakes and treats on Ms Cupcake's stall looked to die for, so much choice and variety,
The stall was maned by Ms Cupcake herself and a colleague of hers, they were both lovely and very friendly.
They have a new book which comes out on the 9th of May,(amazon link)
They had a number of copies on the stall and of course we had to get one, and of course have it signed. We will be reviewing the book really soon because we just have to bake some of the things in there, they look delicious.
This sugar (admittedly sugar is a weakness of mine) was amazing, Coconut sugar has a lower GI and still packed with the nutrients of coconut. the sugar smelled delicious like that rich demarera warm smell.
The Manchester Vegan Society were selling lovely looking cakes for Animal Aid.
They meet at the Thirsty Scholar on Oxford Street (by Oxford Street Station) the last Saturday of the month at 1pm, they are a really informal group who just get together to drink a pint, eat the very tasty food at the Thirsty Scholar, and chat (not just about veganism) anyone welcome just an open mind needed, if you are curious about veganism, any aspect of it, for health reasons or simply a greater knowledge of what's in your food, pop along they are very welcoming, friendly and great fun.
Cakes and Sweet things.
One thing that is definalty true about vegans (I am generalizing, I know my mum hates sweet things) is they love anything sweet, cakes, biscuits, ice cream really anything, If you search vegan on amazon or waterstones most of the vegan books are on baking or cakes, We know we own most of them, There is so much room for experiment and creativity in vegan baking. Here are some highlights of just a few of the sweet treats on offer.
(They do the much missed pink chocolate, lovely)
www.animalaid.org.uk
www.cottagecupcakeco.com
The lovely Cottage Cupcake Company based in Chorlton, this was as close as I could get to her stall which is because her cakes are so tasty and they don’t look too bad either.
Really lovely people running this stall and their cakes were rather lovely to, we took some home to enjoy later. This was their first stall so we were glad it went well for them. visit their site to order them online.
The best vegan marshmallows in fact the best marshmallows I have ever had. They are sold in packs which you can make up at home or you could buy some ready made up, so gorgeous give them a go you can buy them here
There were many restaurants there along with caterers and food producers all with amazing looking and tasting goods.
Greatfayre
Need to try this restaurant out when I'm next anywhere near Leeds or Hebden Bridge. It's based at 16 Town hall street, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX6 2EA, Great name as well.
Great looking sandwiches from V Revolution on Oldham Street in Manchester.
Some other Highights
There were beauty and make-up stalls, pet food, charities and dogs homes and all maner of things related to vegansim. We had a really great time and on our way out were very greatful we had gone early, as this was the line to get in.
For anyone who knows Manchester the line was inside Sashas hotel, around the corner and all the way onto Oldham street and it was packed inside as well. We are really glad it went so well and was so well attended and hope it can continue to grow bigger and better next year. There are other vegan festivals through out the year and country mainly VegFest which has dates in brigton, London and Bristol www.london.vegfest.co.uk.
Finished off the day with Paris When it Sizzles and To Catch A Thief marathon, Bundt cake, ice cream and a green tea to relax after such hard work.
