Hi! Welcome to the first issue of The Vegan Gazette.

We’re a weekly newsletter where you can discover vegan people—their stories, what led them to veganism, and whether it’s a political, ethical, or lifestyle choice; places around the world where cooking is innovative and plants are medicine; dishes you can share with non-vegan friends; sustainable and ecologically conscious destinations; pioneering news from around the world; feature articles; and, of course, curated guides to neighborhoods worldwide.

Here’s a sneak peek at our first issue before you dive in:

The Vegan: Meet Hazal, founder and creator of The Vegan Gazette, a Londoner who resides in the neighborhood of Peckham.
The Place: Where fluffy pita bread and crunchy green falafels unite.
The Latest News: Telezzüz, Istanbul’s first vegan fine dining restaurant, has been awarded a Michelin Green Star.
The Destination: A sustainable, plant-based hotel in Pigalle, Paris, where mornings start with yoga classes.
The Plate: Introducing Taquiza, a hidden gem in Southeast London.

Enjoy!

I recently found inspiration wandering around Southeast London. A walk from Peckham to Nunhead, followed by Brockley and Deptford, introduced me to an array of Kurdish, Iranian, Georgian, Jamaican, Ghanaian, and Ethiopian veggie restaurants.

After years of trusting doctors who insisted that vitamin D and iron must come from animal products, I’ve discovered a bounty of plant-based sources: beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas, spinach, walnuts, apricots, prunes, raisins, and more.

The dish I can’t live without: Pad Thai. A classic I can’t resist. Got a neighborhood gem, dish it out!

My favorite vegan hangout: Pocket’s in London Fields—a perfect marriage of fluffy pita bread and crunchy green falafels. You can read more about it below.

A vegan-friendly spot I like to go to with my non-vegan friends: Bubala, Soho

The book that made me vegan: Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach by Gary L. Francione and Anna Charlton.

I could eat fried noodles, sichuan style at Tofu Vegan every day.

After midnight you can find me at Jumbi, Jazu, or any other South East Hi-Fi bar discovered recently.

The thing that surprised me most as a vegan: The vast universe of mushrooms, especially recipes featuring lion's mane mushrooms (Hericium erinaceus).

I’m vegan, but I still wear wool products that I bought from thrift stores years ago.

A fellow vegan you must meet: Emel Ernalbant, my co-writer for The Vegan Guide: 50 Essentials, published in Turkish for Turkey’s audience. She now lives in Manchester and is creating Greens & Others, the city’s first plant-based community cookery school.

A vegan retreat: It’s still on my list to visit, and hopefully, I will in 2025—Ethos Vegan Retreat and Suites in Santorini.

My favorite vegan city: Brussels, just because i discovered Terter, there.

What do you think?

How did your journey to veganism begin and evolve?

I consider myself one of the lucky ones because, since childhood, I’ve practically removed meat from my dishes and never liked yogurt on top of my spinach. Aside from a period spent in Paris, where cheese plates and omelettes were part of my daily routine, I was never particularly interested in consuming animal products. I’ve been vegetarian for long stretches of my life but returned to a non-vegan diet after some doctors recommended meat as necessary for nutrition. Just before moving to London from Istanbul, the city where I was born and raised, in 2017, I began researching alternative sources of vitamin D and iron. which I had been lacking, as well as protein and B12, which I wasn’t lacking but wanted to be on the safe side. London, as one of the most diverse and vegan-friendly cities in the world, opened up a new perspective and way of thinking for me. Here, I’m not judged for what I eat, I can easily find information, proudly say I’m vegan, and don’t have to ask in detail about butter, honey, or possible traces of egg in a soup. As shown in my routine blood tests, I can be healthy—and even healthier, I believe—on a wholesome vegan diet. By choosing to be vegan, I also choose to learn about what, how, and why I eat.

Do you feel like you belong to a vegan community, who are the members of this community?

I believe being vegan teaches you not only about the immense world of legumes, fruits, pulses, and nuts, but also about tolerance. Once you learn to be patient with pre-existing ideas, you begin to listen more and express yourself more clearly. This ability to communicate and understand others strengthens all forms of relationships over time. This is the community I create—a group of people coming together, trying to understand each other, who, in time, will become "us."

What are the myths about veganism and fixed ideas you would like to transform?

The idea that vegans are condemnatory. I believe this is a misconception, as vegans, like all humans, have diverse values and interests. Being vegan is a way of living, believing, and acting upon what we perceive as injustice.

Veganism: A trend, lifestyle, belief, community, or political stance?
Veganism is a way of life where we give up pre-learned tastes and habits based on the belief that animals have as much right to live as humans do, in a world where we strive to reduce our carbon footprint for the future of all living beings. It is a stance, and I believe that in the coming decades, it will evolve into a political movement that unites empowered individuals.

Is there an ideal vegan neighborhood in the city you live in? If you were to create one or add to an existing one, what elements would it include?

I believe London is a boundless city where you can find a vegan version of almost any dish from faraway countries. Discovering cultures through taste feels like a sustainable learning practice to me. It reinforces my belief that veganism is about constant exploration—of new dishes, ideas, and perspectives throughout life.

Discover more of Hazal's journey here.

Pockets: The Union of Fluffy Pita Bread and Crunchy Green Falafels

Words by: Hazal Yılmaz

An average East Londoner's weekend revolves around two major events: strolling through Broadway Market, pondering what to eat, and cruising among the plants at Columbia Flower Market on Sundays. Veteran Londoners know the best time to visit the market is after 3 p.m. to grab half-price deals or ask, 'What’s your final price?' This is often followed by running into friends outside The Dove, or if you prefer, taking a short walk to meet acquaintances at The Spurstowe Arms. Beer is the glue that binds diverse groups together, while a Bloody Mary is the cure for the previous night’s hangover.

It’s rare to convince a hungry, hungover Londoner to wait in line for more than ten minutes for food. But that’s exactly what Pockets does. Starting with their delicacies at Oxford and then at Chatsworth Road Market, Itamar Grinberg and the Pockets team made their way to Netil Market and eventually settled at their new spot on Mentmore Terrace. Since then, Londoners have been queuing up to achieve the ultimate goal: a falafel pita.

It’s not just the falafel; it’s the union of fluffy pita bread, crunchy green falafels, the classified sauce we finally dared to ask about and learned was mango-based, hummus, tahini, garnishing, cabbage slaw, sumac onions, tomato, cucumber, parsley, and the final touch: a boiled, roasted, fried potato slice we dream about while counting how many people are ahead of us. It takes about two minutes to layer one falafel pita perfectly. Yes, we timed it!

What to order? Falafel, obviously! Although you can choose spicy or not. If you ask us, always go for the one with chile!

Where: 367 Mentmore Terrace, London E8 3RT

Heads Up: Since they moved to Mentmore Terrace, Pockets is open from Wednesday to Sunday. The good news is that the queues are shorter. No bad news.

Word of mouth: Saint Monday Brewery across the road is where you can enjoy a good pint, and they have a vegan smokehouse run by LD’s Kitchen. A tip for the next time you’re in the neighborhood.

Hoy Paris, where mornings start with yoga classes.

Why go? Purple corn pancakes at breakfast, roasted onion tostadas with cashew cream and dill at dinner, indulgent organic French-made beauty products, yoga classes with YUJ YOGA—the first French studio offering infrared-heated yoga—vegan recipe workshops with Francesca, and floral scents from La Florería.

Can't-miss: Be sure to check Hoy’s events calendar, where you're likely to stumble upon pop-up kitchens like H VEGAN BENTO.

Where? 68 Rue des Martyrs, Paris