Val's Vegan Kitchen | Our Story

We both grew up on farms! Michael in Ireland and Fernanda in Brazil. Apart from a few spells of vegetarianism, we both ate meat and animal products regularly. Fernanda’s daughter, Valentina (Val!), has been vegetarian since she was 4 and vegan for the last 6 years. Her commitment inspired us, and it was while we were cycling around Ireland a few years ago and hanging out with beautiful farm animals that were in every roadside field that we realized it was time for us to make the same commitment. Fernanda didn’t even tell me (Michael) at first about her decision – one morning I noticed her not putting milk in her tea or ordering the usual Irish breakfast (sausage, egg, bacon, etc). I said “We’re vegan now?”, she nodded, and that was it, we have never looked back. We spent so much time re-learning how to cook and eventually were so happy with the results that we decided to start Val’s Vegan Kitchen!

When we started eating vegan we had to re-learn everything about the way we ate! We also felt emboldened to try new things and to indulge more freely in delicious food where we still could, now that we were making such a significant and, for us at first at least, difficult change. We went back to tastes we loved when we were younger and tried to recreate them in veganized versions. We spent a long time getting to know vegan products and finding all the many random products that just happen to be vegan that contribute so much to developing flavors to match the demands of a palete that is used to animals products. We found that mixing vegan faux-animal-products with deliciously prepared vegetables in particular combinations and with the right seasoning helped to deliver the meat, cheese and egg-like experiences of the vegan products without the fakeness that sometimes accompanies them. Now that we have figured out how to cook in a way that makes us happy again, we are happier with food than we ever were, we get to enjoy eating what we want and at the same time indulge in our love for animals knowing that we’re finally all the way on their side and never going back. Our food lets us be vegan without it feeling like a sacrifice. We’re excited to share it with you, whether you’re vegan or not, we’re sure you’ll love our playful, indulgent food, packed with flavor and made with love!!