Our highlights from Bristol Vegan Fayre
This weekend we headed to the Bristol Vegan Fayre at Document, a restored storage warehouse in St Judes that provides a space for artists, workers and events like Bristol’s vegan festival. The two day festival is hosted by VegfestUK, an events company who combine their Bristolian love of live music with animal and environmental advocacy.
The Bristol Vegan Fayre hosted an abundance of grassroot activists, independent sellers, local Bristol DJs, comedians and over 20 vegan food vendors from across the UK. The event was free entry and only a five minute walk from Bristol city centre.
The first, and best, stall we came to was Gillie Vegan Foods from Manchester. They specialise in vegan oriental cuisine and use wheat or soya to create mock meats that are packed with protein and seriously delicious. We were quickly sold by their vegan chicken drumsticks which were layers of mock meat wrapped inside what we thought must have been fried rice paper. We also tried their steamed bao, filled with Omni’s plant-based pork strips, fresh lettuce and spring onions. Gillie Vegan Foods were incredibly generous with their portions, and we paid less than £5 for both items. We could not believe they came all the way down from Manchester.
We enjoyed some Biscoff doughnuts from Doughnutz, a Birmingham-based company who sell mostly vegan doughnuts. We simply could not miss their bright pink stall which had rainbow sprinkles, identical to their strawberry doughnuts! We made sure to grab several of their sugary ring doughnuts, coated in a rich Biscoff spread and crushed biscuits.
It was fantastic to speak to volunteers at the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation and learn about the conservation of the Bornean rainforest. We took part in an interactive experience using VR headsets, and through our lenses we watched volunteers at ‘jungle school’ care for baby orangutans and teach them how to look after themselves and find food. It felt truly bizarre to be immersed into the thick, green forests of Borneo.
We even spotted several vegan delis which had baked goods like cheese straws, onion bhajis, samosas, and vegan Italian classics like arancini and orange polenta cake. It has never been easier to be vegan in Bristol. We were spoiled for choice and even treated ourselves to some live music outside in the sunshine.
Bristol Vegan Fayre is a great vegan festival if you’re a Bristol local or if you are willing to travel the distance. It is an accessible and community-centred event which brings like-minded people together to learn, share ideas and enjoy a plethora of vegan cuisine.