The family member from a farming family adopts a plant-based diet, which he says has been easier than he ever imagined- apart from ditching the cheese.
Brad Willicroft has ditched the animal-based products in 2018 and found the transition more comfortable than he expected- apart from ditching the cheese.
He is a dairy farmer’s grandson and has moved away from his family’s history and launches a vegan cheese range. He used to miss cheese, and he was unable to find commercial alternatives in the market. Therefore, he started making his options by using traditional dairy fermentation techniques.
While exploring his vegan cheese making hobby, he created a business out of it; with his hard work and dedication, vegan cheese is available across Waitrose stores in the UK.
His cheese is available in three different options Cheese Fondue (£ 7,50 for 280g), Grated Cheese Italian style (£ 3.50 for 75g), and Classic cream cheese ( £ 3.50 for 135g).
In a recent interview with the Fauxmage, when he was interviewed about how he got into making vegan cheese, he said, “There was never a lightbulb moment for us three years ago when my partner and I moved to the Netherlands, and we watched various documentaries about turning vegan and realized that giving up meat and milk is good and there are great alternatives. The cheese had a totally different story; it was my favorite food until the transition point, and there was no quality replacement left to fulfill my appetite. Well, I give credit to my amazing partner Morgan; she used to make appreciative Mac n’ Cheese, which always used to blow me away how tasty the plant-based cheese can be. It was 2017, and I did some online research, picked up some recipes, and started experimenting with them. Initially, there were some questionable responses, but they inspired me. Then I started looking at dairy cheese making and replaced it with plant-based ingredients.
Although I got deeper into the process, and I really enjoyed it as it added a creative edge in my life. I started to think of it as a business after six months of starting. Both of us were having a drink with our friends, and we pulled out the cheese from the fridge. Everyone just loved them and lectured me on how I should quit my job, and the next morning I woke and decided to do it.”
In an interview with Plant-based news, he said, “ A couple of decades after Willicroft farm primarily supplied the Waitrose with Aberdeen Angus meat and it is pretty exciting to see that it is supplying the same store with plant-based cheese.”
In his excitement, he added, “It is super humbled to see that our fondue, Grated cheese Italian, cream cheese in the UK.”
Further, he says, “We have always believed that when we focus on the taste and our environment, we will be creating something special and are pretty sure that Waitrose will support us on this mission.”
