This was our first visit to the VegFest in Utrecht, The Netherlands. We left home with empty stomachs so we could eat all the delicious food at the festival. So, it was our first priority to immediately find food upon arrival. It was around lunchtime which was perfect for us, because it wasn’t too crowded yet. There was a big space in the middle of the venue where visitors could sit down and enjoy the food. It was very spacious with enough room to walk through the aisles.
Kofta balls, chickpea balls and satays
We looked up which stands would be at VegFest beforehand. One stand made us absolutely overjoyed which is Hare Krishna Rotterdam. We went straight up to them to devour our favourite Kofta balls. We ate this at the Vegan Food Festival in Amsterdam last summer and we couldn’t stop thinking about it. We also bought their chickpea balls and satays. They also let us try their meatballs and it was so good! The spices were very well blended and the texture is mushy on the inside but crunchy on the outside. They offered various sauces with different hotness levels. We loved the peanut sauce and mild hot sauce. Though it was too hot which killed the flavour of the balls a bit.
Lifebar
After we refuelled our bodies, we spotted the Lifebar stand. We were excited to see our favourite energy bar, but to our disappointment, the pistachio flavour was nowhere to be seen. Luckily there were lots of other (new) flavours available. We picked up the chia young barley, coconut and carob hazelnut bars. Let’s see if they can top the pistachio flavour.
Wilmersburger cheese
We ate the last bit of our Wilmersburger tomato-basil cheese and our mission was to stock up on our vegan cheese again. Too bad they only had the Classic flavour available in blocks. We bought one of it with an extra pack of the Hearty flavour in slices which is smoked. This vegan cheese is utterly delicious on a grilled sandwich. The texture is gooey when it’s melted and very similar to dairy cheese.
Heavenly Cupcakes vegan donut
We saw the donuts next to the cupcakes and decided to buy one before going to a workshop. The strawberry glaze was too sugary and sweet for us. It would have been better if it was a bit more ‘milky’. The donut itself was fluffy and super delicious.
Raw Bonbons by Lorenz
We walked by a stand full of raw chocolate bonbons in the shape of a muffin. At first sight, it didn’t look attractive, but we overheard a woman saying how delicious it was. It made us curious, so we tried a little piece and were immediately sold. The chocolate is so rich and it instantly melts in your mouth. The berry flavour is so pure and fresh; it blends well with the chocolate.
We also tried the ginger flavour. It has the same fruity taste with an additional gingery touch to it. The texture is like a moist brownie and the strings of ginger are visible inside. We absolutely loved the taste, even Wing M. who doesn’t like ginger. We really regret not buying more of this goodness!
Claudia’s raw kitchen vegan cake
Right at the entrance stood a raw dessert stand. It immediately caught our attention, because the raw cakes look so colourful and beautifully made. The desserts do not contain processed sugar, artificial flavouring and colours. Healthy desserts for the win! We bought the purple rose cake which was made of berries, coconut and nuts. The bottom layer reminds us of Rafaello. It really had a cheesecake flavour.
We also bought the apple tart which had a rich cinnamon flavour to it. The apple pie spices were very well blended. The swiss roll had a nice coconut flavour with a chocolate poppy seeds filling which was not too sweet. We were also given a mango praline as a gift. The filling had a very natural and fresh mango flavour that gushed out as soon as we took a bite in it.
Vegan speakers
Besides the amazing food we also listened to 3 inspiring vegan speakers. The first speaker talked about a few personal experiences as a vegan that sound oh-so-familiar to us. The room was full of like-minded people; it felt like we were sane for once in a world full of omnivores where we always need to explain and justify ourselves for not eating slaughtered animals. The second speaker covered the topic of being vegan and sports. The third speaker is from the non-profit organisation Plenty Food. They support plant-based food projects in third world countries with minimum impact on the environment and animals. The statistics were interesting, but it would’ve had a bigger impact if they went deeper into the topic.
Overall impression
It was a great day that refuelled both our bodies and minds. Secretly, we wished there was vegan ice cream or vegan chai latte. We ended the day with satays from Veggie Bites and another round of Kofta balls and meatballs. We’re already excited for the next VegFest!
