“We have to think about our food choices on a global basis,” says Miyoko Schinner, author, vegan-food entrepreneur and future Petaluma business-owner. “There are plant-based food choices we can make that still satisfy our taste buds, while making the idea of eating ethically an obvious thing, a sexy thing.”
Making a meatless diet “sexy” is what Schinner, the founder of Miyoko’s Kitchen, has committed her life to. A best-selling author and one-time restaurateur, she will be discussing her passions and successful career on Wednesday, March 29, as part of the monthly Veg-Curious series at the Petaluma Seed Bank. Described by Schinner as an “interview style” conversation - “Like City Arts & Lectures,” she says - the event will give the best-selling author a chance to share the story of how she came to be known as the Queen of Vegan Cheese.
“Basically, I wrote a book about artisanal vegan cheese, it became a kind of ‘cult bestseller,’ and I quickly established a reputation for being a vegan food guru,” she explains. “That’s when I was dubbed the Queen of Vegan Cheese. Personally, I think that’s a little over-the-top, actually, but if it helps people take a serious look at cheese and dairy alternatives, that’s all that really matters. That’s the short version.”
The long version begins in Japan, where she became a vegetarian overnight at age 12. After fully embracing veganism in the 1980s, she devoted herself to developing meatless dishes using traditional French and Italian techniques. Her first cookbook, “The Now and Zen Epicure,” was published in 1991. Since then, she’s written several books, launched a vegan bakery in San Francisco, transformed it into the restaurant Now and Zen, and watched it eventually morph into a natural food manufacturing company now known as Miyoko’s Kitchen.
Recently, Miyoko’s Kitchen has been receiving rave reviews for its line of fine vegan cheeses and butter.
“We make artisanal vegan cheeses,” Schinner explains. “Our cheeses are cashew-based, using cashew milk, made with traditional dairy cultures. This is real food, made using traditional artisanal cheese-making methods. It’s literally the fastest growing cheese alternative in the country. The very first day we opened, initially selling just on the internet, we sold $50,000 worth of vegan cheese on line in one day. We’ve grown rapidly ever since.”
Schinner’s European style vegan butter is now available at Trader Joes and a number of national natural food stores around the United States. To keep up with demand, Miyoko’s Kitchen will be relocating from Marin to Petaluma within the next few months, moving into a refurbished facility on Lakeville Highway, next to Tomales Bay Foods, home of Cowgirl Creamery.
“Petaluma is a good spot, with easy access to transportation, and a good pool of employees,” she says. “We like the idea of our company being located in Sonoma County.”
Miyoko’s Kitchen currently employees about 50 people, a number Schinner says could double in the years to come.
“The move will allow us to expand,” she says. “We’ll have larger pieces of equipment.”
Asked if Miyoko’s Kitchen could soon be added to the popular “Sonoma Cheese Trail” as a tourist destination, Schinner laughs.
“It’s very possible that we could make tours happen,” she says. “That would be fun.”
With the rapid success of her business, Schinner admits she now has less time to write cookbooks.
“My last cookbook came out in 2015,” she says. “Random House has asked me to write a new one, but I just don’t have time. Maybe next year.”
Schinner says that the success of Miyoko’s Kitchen is part of a world-wide sea change in the way people think about veganism and the availability of high-end, delicious, plant-based foods.
“There are certainly health reasons for eating vegan,” she allows, “but there are ethical reasons, animal rights reasons, and environmental reasons. The world is changing. In a very short time we’ve gone from people saying, ‘Vegan cheese, what’s that?’ to saying, ‘Where can I get more of this?’”
While Schinner can talk at length about the health benefits of eliminating meat products from one’s diet, she admits that her activism extends far beyond simply making people healthier.
“A plant-based diet saves on carbon output, too,” she says. “So, eating a plant-based diet can also help save the planet. It’s no exaggeration to say that food and agriculture are a bigger threat to global warming than any other industry. The production of animal products is the worst emitter of carbon dioxide in the world. A lot of older folks are reluctant to change, but fortunately, Millennials are making their purchasing choices based on such things.”
Though she says she’s not sure what questions she’ll be asked at the Veg-Curious event on Wednesday, she expects to be talking, at least a little, about her vision of how to save the world.
“The biggest trend in food right now is the shift towards a plant-based diet and plant-based food products, one of the fastest growing industries in the country,” she says. “A wider acceptance of vegan cheeses and vegan butter is growing very rapidly. We really are entering a whole new era for food.”
(Contact David at david.templeton@arguscourier.com)
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