Plant-based cheese?

Yes, please!

Bonjour and happy Friday!

As I mentioned in a previous newsletter, this year we would be celebrating our first plant-based Thanksgiving … and boy was I nervous! Would I be able to tweak my traditional recipes? What about my sausage and cornbread stuffing? Or my creamy pepper gravy? And how would I make my pumpkin pie without eggs? Not to mention how the heck I would replace the turkey! Well, I am happy to report it all turned out perfectly and the food was as delicious as ever. We did not miss a thing. I even veganized my eggnog so well that my daughter said it was better than the original version!

I keep toying with the idea of penning some recipes again for a new book. There are so many misconceptions out there about plant-based eating. That it’s bland and boring. That I’m missing out on so many delicious foods. That my life now consists of burning incense and cooking tofu while listening to Jefferson Airplane (though I am quite partial to the latter and should actually listen to them again).

I recently started writing a weekly column for Bouillon, the Netherlands’ leading gastronomic journal (which will soon be launched again) about living the French life and eating plant-based. (What an opportunity, by the way!) I have learned so much in the last few months, but writing this column is giving me the chance to expand my culinary horizons even more. My two most recent columns, for example, were devoted to plant-based cheese, a product which people are generally apprehensive about. They try a few (usually some crappy stuff from a supermarket), dislike it and totally forget that as with real cheese, if you want the good stuff, you’re better off spending your money on an artisanal product that was made with pure ingredients, passion and know-how. The same as with regular cheese. You won’t find that quality at the average supermarket, at least not here in the Netherlands. For good cheese here, you should go to a cheese shop, delicatessen or, better yet, directly to the producer.

The image below shows AMAZING plant-based cheese. (Credit: Hans Westbeek MediaProductie)

Believe me, there is such a thing as excellent plant-based cheese, and the demand is growing. I recently interviewed David Vigent from Tyk, a French company that makes the most incredible affinés (the word ‘cheese’ can only be used for the real deal in France). I tried them a few weeks ago and was blown away. I can’t tell you much right now because the story is yet to be published, so stay tuned. In the meantime, check out TyK’s website and Instagram. If you live in the Netherlands, their affinés are available at the Willicroft Store in Amsterdam. They’re having a Christmas market this Saturday, which I just read about on Instagram. 

Bon week-end!