Just because you’ve given up dairy doesn’t mean you can’t satisfy cravings for rich, melty cheese.

Making plant-based “cheese” from scratch can seem like a lot of work for a little bit of sauce and schmear. In this fun, participatory demonstration and tasting, Emily Zimmerman, the Dep’s OG plant-based maven, shows you how to make vegan cheese dishes in a snap: if you’re craving cheese in the afternoon, you’ll be eating it for dinner. Most of these cheeses can be whipped up in under 30 minutes. And for anyone with more patience, who wants something they can slice, there will be tricks and techniques to set or even cure the cheeses.

Emily does the cooking, and guests are invited to pitch in: there will be opportunities to lend a hand at the counter as the cheeses come together. Along the way we’ll prepare a cheeseboard for snacking, then sit down to a lunch of baked potatoes and caesar salad, both topped with you make together, including:

Coconut milk “gouda” or “stilton” • Smoky tofu “mozzarel’”
Cubed tofu “feta” • Cashew and kimchi “potted cheddar”
Hempseed parm • Old-school hippie-style cheese sauce

…and everyone gets to take home a shaker of vegan parm, and a mini-wheel of coconut or tofu cheese.

🌱 Menu is plant-based/vegan
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Emily Zimmerman is a chef, community worker, food justice activist, cooking up deluxe, delicious vegan dishes and retro comfort food like whoah. She can be found at food events around the city and at The Depanneur hosting the occasional vegan Supper Club or Workshop. She comes from a large family of loudmouthed, pinko-commie, Brooklyn Jews, who relocated to Toronto 50 years ago, but still root for the Mets. She also occasionally appears on the cabaret circuit as ‘Goldie Luxemburg’, Toronto’s Yenta of Burlesque. @goldieluxemburg | @spiceboxsoirees
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The Depanneur is where Interesting Food Things happen. For more than a decade The Dep has been showcasing Toronto’s remarkable culinary diversity by hosting unique food events. @thedepanneur