Maidstone Vegan Festival 2016

On Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the first ever Maidstone Vegan Festival, hosted at the Union St. Methodist Church. Kent had been a bit lacking in celebrations of the lifestyle until 2015, so it’s wonderful to see another vegan event spring onto the scene.

As with most vegan festivals, the range of products included a dazzling array of foods, plus clothing, beauty products and even ceramics. The highlight for me was Ponga Foods, a vegan cheese company recently founded by Alternative Chef Steph. It’s the most realistic vegan cheese I’ve ever tasted! Locals will recognise it from Maidstone’s Fortify Café, Steph’s previous employer, although the recipes seem to have been improved since then. Compassion Cakes were selling adorable tiny cupcakes, and the food at St Best Caribbean Catering smelled so good. Unfortunately, my tight budget meant I couldn’t try half the stuff I wanted to!

There were also a lot of stalls for charities and activism, including The Retreat (my personal favourite of the local sanctuaries) and national organisations such as Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd. Although it’s lovely to see relevant causes being promoted, I worry that it could put off the vegan curious in the crowds, as the bias towards activism could come across as “preachy”. Hopefully there will be even more amazing products and businesses next time. I must add that the layout of the venue was a little confusing at first. The stalls were spread out across three rooms, but it wasn’t very clear how to get to two of the rooms. If there’s one thing I’d suggest for next year, it’s improved signposting.

Despite limiting myself to £8, I wasn’t going to leave without treating myself to some food! I decided to grab a mushroom and walnut slice from The Fat Carrot. It was lovely – similar to a sausage roll, but with a more complex taste and texture. I also got a chocolate orange cheesecake from Shambhu’s Catering, because I physically can’t leave if there’s vegan cheesecake around. It was beautifully creamy, and tasted exactly how I remember Terry’s chocolate oranges do! I ate these in the grassy area outside where bands were playing, which was a lovely touch.

Overall, it was a great event with loads of great products and information available! I hope it returns next year, bigger and better.

Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful day!

- Bethan