I’ve written about Naturally Kind Food in some of my previous blog posts. They are a family run vegan business making delicious baked goods in South Wales.
During the lockdown period, they have started introducing more into their repertoire which has included doughnuts.
I was lucky enough to catch a post on Facebook a few weeks ago which allowed me to buy a spare box!
As you can see, they look absolutely incredible. I can barely remember what the flavours were as I devoured them so quickly but from memory I believe they were Biscoff, Lemon & Raspberry, Cherry Bakewell and a Sugared doughnut. All of them were filled with delicious jam or curd and it was amazing.
My personal favourite was the Cherry Bakewell. I already love Cherry Bakewells, but combining it with a doughnut was absolutely ingenius.
The doughnuts were so fresh and delicious. The fillings where incredibly and the doughnuts were still soft on the inside but firm to grip on the outside. They were the perfect combination!
All the other doughnuts were fantastic too. Full of sweetness and were delightful.
I highly recommend visiting the Naturally Kind Food facebook page where you’ll find lots of information. Give them a Like to keep up to date on their products and to make sure you don’t miss out on any opportunity for some delicious vegan goodies!
You can read my other Naturally Kind Food blog posts here:
I wrote about Naturally Kind Food a few weeks ago after winning their cakes and I have seen their cake boxes with no-contact delivery plastered all over my social media, so I thought I’d treat myself.
I contacted NKF on Facebook to arrange a delivery date and payment. You are confined to the delivery dates available as they are running everything themselves from the baking of the cakes right through to the delivery service!
The box is £20 and filled with SO many goodies from different flavoured cakes, brownies, bars and tarts. And so instagrammable!
Tom and I have made our way through everything now and it was honestly so delicious. My personal favourites include:
Lotus Brownie
Chocolate Hazelnut Cake Slice
I mean, it was all amazing to be honest with you but those 2 were particularly highlights.
There are so many treats in the box and it comes with a note which includes everything that is contained in the box and their ingredients. Not every box will be the same as it can change depending on what they bake but I can guarantee you that each one will be absolutely delicious.
We’ve even been lucky enough to receive a second box from Tom’s mum and dad as a treat! What I did spot was that some of the cakes were different so I’m really looking forward to trying those out.
I truly recommend taking a look at Naturally Kind Food if you’re in the South Wales area. The treats are absolutely delicious and it really brightens up my day. And for £20, who could possibly say no?!
Make sure you follow them on Facebook and Instagram too to get updates on any delivery areas and dates!
Naturally Kind Food are a small, local business based on South Wales. They make vegan cakes for the masses! You can find their cakes in various vegan hot spots around South Wales, but they also make occasion cakes on request. Check out their website for details!
At the very beginning of the month, I entered a Facebook competition to win a Naturally Kind Food cake and I won!
I don’t live far from the Naturally Kind Food HQ so I went to pick up as soon as I found out. I was greeted by the lovely Sara who passed over 2 cakes! I was absolutely spoilt. They were cakes that she had been experimenting with sugar paste decorations, which I must say, were absolutely beautiful.
As you can see from the images, the cakes look amazing. My personal favourite was the more colourful one as I like bright colours that catch my eye. This one was a smaller one.
The second cake is the one you can see on the right and it was much bigger. There were beautiful flowers on the top made with icing which I actually crushed a little bit with the box so they’re much flatter than they’re supposed to be!
Aesthetically, both cakes were absolutely beautiful. I felt so lucky to have won them. Let’s get down to the important stuff, the taste!
The cake, as pictured above, was filled with cream and jam. The entire cake was covered in a chocolate ganache and fondant icing on top. The layers were perfect and it cut beautifully.
The sponge was still moist, even a few days after being baked and decorated. We continued to have servings during the week and it remained delicious, and drying very slowly. It was absolutely delicious.
I was good and I did share with Tom and his family and everyone enjoyed their share of the cakes!
I highly recommend Naturally Kind Food for any occasion cakes you may be looking for. Take a look at their website as they make a huge range of flavours of cakes so it’s definitely worth dropping them a message.
So you have your venue sorted… What do you do next?
The Wedding Planning list is absolutely endless and is also completely dependent on what you want from your wedding day!
It was a little easier for us as Tom’s sisters had either just had their wedding day or were getting married very shortly so they had experienced everything they already could!
We decided to try a Wedding Fayre as Tom’s sisters had been to a few and enjoyed them. We booked and paid for tickets to The Big Welsh Wedding Show in October 2019 which was held in The Depot in Cardiff. I asked for a list of exhibitors from the organisers and I was interested in seeing what was there.
I found the whole thing incredibly overwhelming. As someone who’s just started planning a wedding, the event seemed a bit much and very ‘pushy’. We arrived and I had to fill out a form with my personal details. I remember specifically opting out of marketing e-mails, and yet somehow I ended up on the marketing list and receiving e-mails from various exhibitors as a few weeks went by.
There were A LOT of exhibitors which was great for window shopping. However, I felt a bit bored as I wandered around as I found that exhibitors were either too pushy and keen to talk to you, or couldn’t be bothered to make an effort with you at all.
I would like to take the time now though to rave about one company I saw there, Pretty Little Pictures. They are a lovely couple that run a photo booth company and they were so nice! They demo’d their photo booth box and back drop and we walked away with a cute little photo strip. I highly recommend dropping them a message if you’re interested in having a photo booth for any occasion.
Other exhibitors included:
Various venues, including Oldwalls
QuirkIt – A styling, rental company with the loveliest owners!
Photoboth companies with included PLP (as mentioned above) and Ultrabooth
And many more that I don’t remember the names of but included cakes, celebrants, car services, accessories and a string quartet.
We started talking to exhibitors just as the first catwalk of the day started. The catwalk was just models walking up and down in wedding attire, which is all well and good, but none of them had the same body shape or size as me so didn’t really encourage me . Additionally, the music was blasting so loud in the venue, it made it impossible for me to talk to any exhibitors at a reasonable volume.
As much as I would like to recommend everyone to go to a wedding fayre, from my first experience, I wouldn’t go again. I didn’t enjoy it, and you can usually find what you’re looking for online anyway!!
Saying that, I’m sure that there are plenty of you who would find it beneficial so don’t write it off just yet. I recommend checking the list of exhibitors and checking to see if any of them interest you. Go prepared with questions for those you do want to see!
Castellamare is located right on Bracelet Bay in the Mumbles in Swansea. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the beautiful area of Swansea, South Wales, you’re truly missing out.
Swansea is a truly beautiful part of Britain and the world. There are stunning views across the bay and to the ocean, and the Welsh are well known for their hospitality. Wales is a gem and I highly recommend every visit.
View from Castellamare
Anyway, moving back onto Castellamare. Even though I don’t live in Swansea, I’m a member of the Swansea Vegans Facebook page due to my proximity to the city. I found on the group the the cafe started offering vegan cheese for their pizzas!
Castellamare is made up of a restaurant and a cafe, but on this occasion we went to the cafe. I wasn’t 100% confident that the restaurant offered the same menu.
We perused the menu and there were lots of vegetables on offer. Tom ordered a vegan version of their vegetarian pizza which had lots of roasted vegetables. I ordered a vegan pizza and added mushrooms, spinach and olives. We also added a side of chips. I did ask what vegan cheese was used but the staff member wasn’t sure but she could confirm it was vegan which was good enough for me!
The pizza was lovely! For the 2 pizzas, 2 sides of chips and 2 drinks, it came to around £38 which is fairly reasonable. The pizza was a great size and the chips were lovely too. The cheese was lovely and creamy but you could tell it was different to the normal cheese they used.
There are many other vegan options in Swansea if you’re out and about. HappyCow will give you plenty of ideas! I would say, if you’re in the area then I recommend a visit, but I actually recommend you come and visit Swansea and then come here and also Boo’s Kitchen (which I’ve written about here) for your vegan food!
Tucked away in the nook of Cardiff in Pontcanna is The Lazy Leek. We needed to come into Cardiff to run some errands on a Saturday evening and thought we’d pop down for some dinner.
We drove down and spent a fair while looking for parking. A lot of the area is permit parking only so be wary if you’re driving. We finally found somewhere to park and walked over to King’s Road Yard where a little street food area had been set up.
The Lazy Leek is on your right and you walk down the lane and is very clearly sign posted. Their menus are emblazoned on the wall on their chalk boards with various burgers and sides.
I’ve included images of the menus below for your perusal! I’m sure they’re available on their website as well. There are drinks available too! Don’t forget that everything here is vegan so you don’t need to worry about whether your food is cruelty free, because it will be!
I ordered a portion of Cauli Wings and Dirty Fries. My sister and brother both ordered a King Katsu burger each.
Loaded Fries
Cauli Wings
The portion size of the loaded fries was more than I expected. At £6, I thought it was very reasonably priced. The Cauli Wings came in at £4.50 which is quite pricey, especially with only 6 pieces, but there were delicious too.
The King Katsu Burger
Apologies for the average picture of the King Katsu burger! I can’t comment on it personally but my brother and sister enjoyed their burgers and it did look very appetising. At £8 a pop, they’re a little bit on the expensive side for take out burger but with the options and the size, it’s worth a try.
I highly recommend a visit to The Lazy Leek for those of your who haven’t already been. It’s all worth a try and I really enjoyed my loaded fries and cauli wings. I may not be making another visit straight away, but I’ll definitely be headed back in the near future!
I’ve never actually visited Who Cult myself before. I tried to once, only to be told that they weren’t open yet. What bothered me about this was that we arrived at 10:50am. Both Google and the opening times on the door said they were open at 10am but when we approached the door, someone came out to tell us they were opening at 11am. In my hanger, I drove away and got breakfast and coffee elsewhere.
Admittedly, my rage was unwarranted. I was impatient for food, but I feel like they should have corrected their opening hours before hand to save us the journey.
However, with Tom being the best boyfriend, he has delivered me Who Cult donuts on various occasions and they are honestly so delicious. Not only are they vegan, they are light and airy with bright and delicious icing sugar.
I haven’t had their coffee yet, but Tom says it’s lovely. Also, apologies for the missing donut in the photo on the right. Tom couldn’t wait to eat it so consumed it immediately!
Their store apparently sells Who Cult branded apparel alongside their coffee and donuts. Maybe one day, I’ll pop back to visit in a less hangry stage in the day to get a proper feel of the place and eat more of their delicious donuts.
Tom, myself and my lovely friend Emily made the trip to Swansea to stock up on some wares.
The mini market was held right in the centre of the indoor market so it was easily located. It ran from 10am – 3pm and there were various stalls there, which this time round included:
Babitas Spice Deli
Sustainibbles Ltd
Ahh Lovely
Bohemian Chic Minerals Vegan Cosmetics
Mr Nice Pie
Dark Matters
The Brontosaurus Tuck Shop
The Vegan Box Limited
I picked up a beautiful, and funny, hand-stitched tote bag from Ahh Lovely. Really, I only picked this up because I forgot to bring a reusable bag but it was only £5 and I really love it! Ahh Lovely sell beautiful ceramics and frames that you can also by on Etsy. I recommend looking at their online shop!
Next, I reached The Vegan Box Limited, a hot food company normally based in Caerphilly Market. They actually featured on an episode of BBC’s Dirty Vegan, showing Matt Pritchard how to make seitan! They have an extensive menu in Caerphilly Market, and they brought with them a reduced menu to Swansea. I treated myself with a Doner Kebap with garlic mayo and it really hit the spot. The perfect junk food!
This was followed immediately by Babita’s Spice Deli. We love these guys. As Tom works up and down the country doing vegan events himself, he sees these guys a lot and has built a good rapport with them. They’re lovely people but more importantly, the food is outstanding! The food is fresh and non-greasy and filled with so much flavour. We took some home with us which we had for dinner and it was delicious!
My final mention is for Dark Matters and their indulgent brownies! I wish I took a photo of the entire table because I struggled so much to decide which flavours of brownies I wanted. I personally decided on ‘Maple, Hazelnut and Pecan‘ and ‘Peanut Butter Swirl‘. Tom chose ‘Raspberry Double Chocolate‘.
Keep an eye out on future vegan mini market events. I believe they happen once a month. It’s a good opportunity to load up on treats and snacks and possibly try something you’ve never tried before!
VGN Annabel 