I started eeeking out dairy and animal by-products in January. Milk and yogurt were the first (and easiest) to go. Chocolate and cheese have been tough… especially when you’re on a lunch break and don’t want to spend £7 on an avocado wrap in Pret!!! Vegfest kept showing up on Facebook every year, but it wasn’t until now that I pulled my finger out to go enjoy vegan cheese (Gary??) aplenty… and just enjoy being able to eat everything on offer!
Vegfest is one of Europe’s top vegan festivals, combining vegan food, education and entertainment, without any preaching… meaning you can happily take along your non vegan buddies/partners/crew. With tons and tons of stands (packed into an arena) to choose from.. here were my faves….
Mel’s Kindness Kitchen
Cheese. The largest of vegan struggles. Finding an alternative in a normal supermarket environment is tough. The high street offers are pretty poor, with the ‘melting’ aspect being the main issue. There were loads of ‘cheese’ stands at Vegfest, but this wonderful lady, Mel, was by far my favourite. Her cheeses were the cheesiest, and she was by far the most engaging about her own brand (I get really annoyed at those who don’t). At £10 for 3, her prices were no more than what you’d pay for actual cheese, and she was chosen as one of the speakers on the day, giving away her secrets to how to make your own MELTY cheese!!!
The Flying Duck
I’ve never been to the well known Glasgow vegan bar/restaurant, so I was pretty excited about what they had on offer. Vegan bacon and cheese burgers??? YES PLEASE! These folks definitely live up to their hype, in fact, I actually felt a bit unnerved about how accurate the texture was.
Almighty foods
Think of Nutella, and then times how amazing it is by like 100! Almighty foods do all sorts of vegan goodies, from chocolate to fudge (‘fuj’). However, my Vegfest favourite was their cashew caramello! Dear god the taste!! Slop it on whatever you want, or eat it clean out of the jar!!
Blitz Patisserie
I’m usually not a huge fan of ‘raw’ cakes. I find them a bit pretentious, and I’m usually left disappointed by the sawdust taste, after being lured in by the aesthetics. Cakes are usually like Coca Cola, if you’re going to have one, have it with the sugar!!!! ‘Blitz’ are definitely bucking the trend, with my Turkish delight flavoured cake completely hitting the spot… and the smell of them was to die for.
Naturally Smart Skincare
I wasn’t really on the hunt for beauty products at Vegfest; with their ever growing vegan range, Lush tend to have me pretty sold (plus I’m a sucker for their quirky themes). I got chit chatting to the duo from ‘Naturally Smart‘ whilst sauntering about with a coffee. I definitely fell for their passion for their product, before checking out the products themselves. Don’t be fooled by their low key packaging. Their face creams, all natural and vegetarian, are just the right consistency for an all round, mid weight product. I picked up one of their Luxury Frankincense face creams, falling for it’s delicious Turkish delight smell. My top beauty pick from Vegfest.
My Veggie Travels 