Vegan Goes Italian

When Liz Barrett’s partner, Steve Davis, decided to “go vegan” a few years back, she said, “Count me in.” But when she decided to bake lasagna, she couldn’t find good vegan alternatives to its key cheeses of ricotta and Parmesan. So she set about making her own versions and, when her co-workers at her sign-language interpreting job asked for more, Barrett’s Garden was born. In the spring of 2017, she took classes at Hope & Main and began to make two products called Farmesan (ground cashews with nutritional yeast, garlic powder and salt) and Fauxcotta (tofu with nutritional yeast, oregano, basil and glucono delta lactone (GDL), a vegan preservative). Barrett’s products are dairy-free, gluten-free and non-GMO. She has moved production to a bright new kitchen facility in a former mill in Pawtucket, and she is working on a third product—sriracha-lime cashew spread—that already has a loyal following at farmers markets and should be ready for wider sale this spring. Her products are available at more than 30 specialty markets in RI, MA, NH and NY, plus multiple farmers markets in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

401.369.1904; BarrettsGardenFoods.com