It’s Veganuary! Veganuary 2023 is a registered charity in the UK that began in 2014 as a pledge to encourage people worldwide to try vegan food for January. It has become an international movement with organizers assisting brands, supermarkets, and restaurants in creating year-round promotions.
After sharing space on Kerr Street for years, Revel Foods owners Margie Cook, chef and creator, along with business partner Asta Dvořák delivered their brand of freshly prepared and packaged vegan foods across the GTA.
In April 2022, they opened a gourmet vegan food shop offering their homemade brand of fresh and frozen packaged plant-based food in West Oakville. A fully equipped test kitchen in the new location allows Cook to explore and develop new delicious plant-based recipes.
Her specially curated recipes are available as delicious meals, dips, spreads, desserts and soups. The gourmet handmade plant-based products at Revel Foods are made with the freshest ingredients in small batches and have no preservatives or chemicals.
Cook has been vegan most of her adult life, long before formal vegan culinary education was available.
Featured in an Edible Toronto article, she is self-taught from her experiences as a cooking class teacher in restaurants like IL FORNELLO, a blogger, a recipe developer, a recipe contributor to On Her Plate, and a caterer.
To prepare, she accredited herself as a registered holistic nutritionist, vegan lifestyle coach, and educator through Main Street Vegan Academy in New York City.
Margie Cook was more than ready for this new venture.
To achieve zero waste production, Revel Foods uses 99 percent plant-based packaging from Good Natured Products. Soups added to the menu provide an excellent opportunity to operate with zero waste.
To give back to the community, Cook and Dvořák partnered with Kerr Street Mission (KSM) with their IMPACT! Soup program. For every soup sold by Revel Foods, one soup is donated to Kerr Street Mission.
“This initiative is especially important to us. We want to do our small part to help. KSM does so much to help others in the community,” adds Cook.
Over Christmas, Revel was able to get their products into three Rowe Farms locations in the GTA. Their goal is to be in retailers across the country. When this happens, they hope those retailers will also support their IMPACT! soup program.
Some of the most popular foods on the menu include the $10 Smoked Carrot Dreamcheese, similar in flavour to smoked salmon cream cheese.
Cook shares, “We discovered during the holidays that people who came in weren’t all vegan but wanted to buy a delicious meal for a guest who was.
"Nothing makes us feel happier than knowing that those hosting a meal take as much care and consideration to ensure that the vegan guest enjoys their meal as much as the rest of those who would be dining that day.
"We are so happy to have our business based out of Oakville. It is a special place for me. My family is here.
"Everyone we’re meeting is so welcoming and so kind. We’re not just a place or destination for plant-based people. We’re a destination for people who are trying to add one or two plant-based dishes a week to their diet or just want guidance on how to eat healthier.”
Revel Foods Canada
503 Pinegrove Road
PHONE
1-833-738-3587
HOURS
Tuesday through Friday from 11 am to 6 pm, and Saturdays from 9 am to 2 pm.