Last year me and my mum headed over to Bristol VegFest to try out some new vegan foods, this time round we decided to check out the one in Brighton on Mothers day.
It was held in The Hove Center, and first impressions were not too good... where the hell were we to park? The parking on the road side was for 2 hours max, so we headed for a multi storey. We had to drive round twice and got lucky just as someone was pulling out.... it was a nightmare! The actual venue itself didn't fare much better either. A confusing labyrinth up and down the stairs in various different rooms. It took us a while to work our what was where! Not a good venue choice!
First thoughts on our mind was lunch. We opted for a tempting chinese... and we were not disappointed! It was delicious, mock duck in a sweet and sour sauce with noodles... yummy! You can find their products online at www.gilliefoods.com.
Next I was determined to find a yummy vegan cake... and down on the lower floor we discovered it... and it went beyond all our expectations. Dozens upon dozens of cream cakes... hello there!! The poor chap looked incredible stressed, with a queue rapidly building he was rushing around like mad. He was definitely the most popular stall there! The selection of cakes was huge, and eventually we chose an eclair and a coconut king doughnut. At only £2.50 each for a huge cream cake they were a bargain! I have come to expect all vegan food to be inflated prices, but these were a lovely surprise. We decided to split them in two and share them. The icing was full of flavour, the pastry was light and the cream was... oh so creamy! Delicious! Wish I had bought a stash to bring home!
We then headed up the the main hall with the majority of the stalls and had a little browse. I searched out the Care for the Wild stall, the charity I am running the marathon for on Sunday, and I got to meet Nigel who I had been communicating with.. It was great to finally put a face to the name and we had a good chat about Sunday! My mum bought a vegan runners t-shirt and we tasted a few samples. There didn't seem to be as many options to taste samples than at Bristol, but then the whole event seemed smaller and a little more disorganized, still enjoyable though! We didn't bother with any of the talks or demos as there was nothing that appealed to us which was a little disappointing.
I would go again however I much preferred the Bristol venue, if Brighton got a better location it would be much better! I would like to try the London venue next
It was held in The Hove Center, and first impressions were not too good... where the hell were we to park? The parking on the road side was for 2 hours max, so we headed for a multi storey. We had to drive round twice and got lucky just as someone was pulling out.... it was a nightmare! The actual venue itself didn't fare much better either. A confusing labyrinth up and down the stairs in various different rooms. It took us a while to work our what was where! Not a good venue choice!
First thoughts on our mind was lunch. We opted for a tempting chinese... and we were not disappointed! It was delicious, mock duck in a sweet and sour sauce with noodles... yummy! You can find their products online at www.gilliefoods.com.
Next I was determined to find a yummy vegan cake... and down on the lower floor we discovered it... and it went beyond all our expectations. Dozens upon dozens of cream cakes... hello there!! The poor chap looked incredible stressed, with a queue rapidly building he was rushing around like mad. He was definitely the most popular stall there! The selection of cakes was huge, and eventually we chose an eclair and a coconut king doughnut. At only £2.50 each for a huge cream cake they were a bargain! I have come to expect all vegan food to be inflated prices, but these were a lovely surprise. We decided to split them in two and share them. The icing was full of flavour, the pastry was light and the cream was... oh so creamy! Delicious! Wish I had bought a stash to bring home!
We then headed up the the main hall with the majority of the stalls and had a little browse. I searched out the Care for the Wild stall, the charity I am running the marathon for on Sunday, and I got to meet Nigel who I had been communicating with.. It was great to finally put a face to the name and we had a good chat about Sunday! My mum bought a vegan runners t-shirt and we tasted a few samples. There didn't seem to be as many options to taste samples than at Bristol, but then the whole event seemed smaller and a little more disorganized, still enjoyable though! We didn't bother with any of the talks or demos as there was nothing that appealed to us which was a little disappointing.
I would go again however I much preferred the Bristol venue, if Brighton got a better location it would be much better! I would like to try the London venue next
