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VIDEO: Kelowna91Ƶs one of a kind 91Ƶfauxmagerie91Ƶ set to open in September

Maple & Manchester sells vegan fare including cheese, pasta sauces and other charcuterie necessities

Kelowna91Ƶs newest vegan shop is ready to open next month.

Maple & Manchester, located at 438 Lawrence Avenue, is a one-of-a-kind shop: owners Natasha Davis and Damian Chalmers call their store a 91Ƶfauxmagerie91Ƶ, a play on the French word fromagerie meaning cheese shop.

But, don91Ƶt let the name deceive you because it doesn91Ƶt sell fake cheese.

Davis and Chalmers use organic cashews, culturing and fermenting it just like dairy to make their vegan cheeses. So how do they do it?

Davis and Chalmers soak the cashews first, then crush them, in essence making cashew milk. Then they use a vegan lab culture to start the culturing and ageing process.

91ƵCashews can be cultured in a very similar way to how you would culture a dairy cheese,91Ƶ Davis said.

91ƵSo we use a vegan lab culture and it91Ƶs just a fermentation process (after that). We let it sit in the culture, give a little bit of heat and then at that point, we91Ƶll put it into a mould, add flavouring and let it culture longer.91Ƶ

The result is a cheese wheel not unlike charcuterie cheeses available in grocery stores, they said. The process takes about two to three days but they said the cheese can be left to age for much longer if you want a sharper quality to it.

Currently, the flavours available include the Manchester sharp cheddar, balsamic glaze, black truffle, caramelized onion camembert, pepper jelly brie and bleu cheese.

Before they got to making cheese, the duo actually had the idea to start up a vegan food truck well before the pandemic hit. Chalmers said with the number of vegans living in Kelowna, as well as people with dietary restrictions, he and Davis always wanted to offer up plant-based food for them. The food truck idea didn91Ƶt quite make it, but one time, Davis decided to bring vegan cheese she made to a family dinner. Everyone loved it and it seemed like a sign.

Then, Davis said, she had another sign.

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91ƵOn Boxing Day last December, I had a dream that we opened a vegan cheese shop called Maple & Manchester. I told Damian about it and he said it was a great idea,91Ƶ she said.

91ƵThe name is a little bit of him and a little bit of me. Damian is from Manchester (England) and I91Ƶm Canadian so it works out.91Ƶ

After months of setbacks as the approval process through the City of Kelowna and Interior Health were slowed down by the pandemic, then renovations and a heatwave, Maple & Manchester is finally ready to serve customers on Sept. 1.

The shop will offer vegan cheeses, cakes, pasta and pizza sauces, as well as other plant-based food items.

Davis and Chalmers said they want everyone who walks in through their doors to feel warm and welcomed.

91ƵWe want people to walk out the door thinking 91Ƶyou know what? Vegan cheese isn91Ƶt that bad,91Ƶ he said.

91ƵWe want people to walk in through the door and be able to grab everything they need for a plant-based charcuterie board,91Ƶ Davis said.

More information on Maple & Manchester can be found through their page and their .

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twila.amato@blackpress.ca

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Twila Amato

About the Author: Twila Amato

Twila was a radio reporter based in northern Vancouver Island. She won the Jack Webster Student Journalism Award while at BCIT and received a degree in ancient and modern Greek history from McGill University.
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