How did the idea of I AM NUT OK come about?

I wasn’t satisfied with vegan cheese, and it started as a necessity to fuel my craving. Angela [Chou, co-founder] showed me some good alternatives, and five years ago we started making cream cheese from cashew nuts, and I instantly fell in love with it. 

So, what exactly is vegan cheese? How is it made?

We make everything in-house. Almost all of our products are made with cashew nuts, except for two melty cheeses where we use soy milk. The process is pretty simple on paper, but complicated when you get around to doing it. We ferment the cashews with live cultures and blend them with a mix of herbs and spices. Some of the cheeses go through an ageing process of two to three weeks. For fresh cheeses, like feta and ricotta, they’re ready in one or two days. Once aged, they’re sliced, packaged and ready to go. 

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Okay, let's get real. What are some of your favourite products that you've made?

Oh, you can’t make me choose! It's like choosing your favourite parent.

How about a top three then?

One of our bestsellers and also my favourite is the Miner Threat, which is an aged smoky charcoal cheese that has a deep and complex flavour. I really love the vegan butters as well it reminds me of childhood of having a warm slice of buttered toast. I’d also say the vegan Parmesan because it’s quite addictive and goes well with everything.

What are dishes would you recommend putting these cheeses in?

Parmesan is such a versatile and wonderful thing. It can be eaten as is or melted and adds a lovely nuttiness to pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, risottos, soups and salads.

What were the early days like? Surely it must’ve been an uphill battle trying to explain vegan cheese before it was cool?

It was a challenge figuring out the market, getting feedback from customers and giving out samples. I still remember our first day trading in the market like it was yesterday. We were so happy because we were able to sell something we made a few hours before in our home kitchen and someone was taking it home that same day. We take great pride in being a homemade and natural product.

That must be such a heartwarming feeling. How has it been since you launched?

Kinda mad. We’ve had very organic growth in the last five years. From working endless shifts to opening our first production kitchen in Clapton and moving into a bigger space in Hackney Wick with our team of ten, we’ve been scaling up slowly with hard work and money. We’re constantly reinvesting back into the business. We’ve never had any investment and are still small and independent.

Wow, very impressive. Now that vegan food is everywhere, how do you stand out?

There’s a lot of highly processed stuff when it comes to vegan cheese. It was important for us to make a product that hasn’t been tampered with too much, and we’ve spent years developing the right taste and texture. One thing I really missed when becoming vegan was pizza. And that’s how we started working with Yard Sale Pizza; we’ve been supplying their vegan cheese for over three years now. 

That’s amazing. Who else do you work with?

Of course, REKKI who we just started working with again. We've added more products on our supplier site and added a widget on our website – I think it’s such a useful tool for restaurants and suppliers where you can buy directly. In terms of food service, we supply 400 Rabbits, Holy Carrot and Club Mexicana. Oh, and we also supply our new deli, Third Culture, which we opened a few months ago on Broadway Market. 

In what ways are you looking to grow your business?

We're trying to streamline production and reduce labour. For example, we used to sell our feta in glass jars with oil. It was taking a lot of time and there was too many components. We were able to simplify that process by getting rid of the glass, create new moulds for it and put it in new packaging. Usually, these things can take months.

Why do you get up in the morning? What motivates you?

I AM NUT OK is our baby, and it’s crazy to see how far we’ve come. We’ve always been about quality and consistency, and to hear our cheesy customers love our products, I think that’s more than enough to get up in the morning.

See the full catalogue and order I AM NUT OK on REKKI