Meet Christina and Rad, they are the brilliant minds behind new vegan catering company, Knifey Spooney. For anyone who is vegan or has ever dined with a vegan, they know how difficult it can be to have a solid dining experience in Kingston that does not involve a salad. Christina and Rad felt this frustration and decided to take matters into their own hands. Just recently in September of 2017, Knifey Spooney was born.

Thanks to Kingston’s beautiful community-over-competition mentality, business was booming from the very start. “We were encouraged to enter Vegfest and it really took off from there,” says Rad. Christina adds, “We were asked to do a wedding and a cooking demo before we even had a business. The vegetarian community basically gave us a business and we just had to show up. Every single step of this has been in the works forever and it was never the right time to do it and there just comes a time when all of your dreams and ideas come together and you just kind of have to take the leap.”

Christina brings the perspective of someone who has been vegan for ten years and Rad brings a rich culinary background. After completing culinary school, Rad worked at a few of Kingston’s finest restaurants, AquaTerra, Chien Noir as well as Riva. Together, they bring the perfect balance of vegan knowledge and well-versed food knowledge to knock the socks off of Kingston’s food scene. “I have forgotten what meat tasted like after not having it for 10 years so Cait was really great at helping me get the flavour profiles tasting proper because I couldn’t compare anymore so that was very helpful in bringing our cuisine up a level,” says Christina.

Together they are taking on some of the most common misconceptions surrounding veganism. Rad says, “Often times it seems like everyone is really surprised and astonished at the fact that it tastes like real food. It tastes delicious and is still good for you at the same time.” Christina shares that besides the myth that vegans only eat salads (their favourite hashtag is #youdontmakefriendswithsalad), they love protein and don’t incorporate soy into everything, “ We just like food. Hearty food with protein. And everything is not made with tofu. As soon as people hear vegan the soy police come out and it’s just not…we don’t use it [soy] hardly at all.”

They are so passionate about sharing their knowledge with the public that they started offering cooking classes by popular demand. They share the basics and help those interested in going vegan.

Knifey Spooney is just getting started with its influence on our community. They will be featured in a tasting menu at Atomica this week (the event has already sold out!) and will be involved in a lot more collaborations over the course of the next few months. “Coming up on March 8 for International Women’s Day we are going to do a tasting menu paired with local beers. Our friend Marissa is interning to be a beer sommelier so she will be leading us through and Cait and myself are going to be hosting.”

Keep up with Knifey Spooney:
Facebook: Knifey + Spooney
Instagram: @Knifeyspooneykingston