Meet the Alexandria, Ont. business turning cashews into cheese

Natural and sustainable food products have been growing in popularity, with one business southeast of Ottawa finding success making cheese thanks to trees.

At Fauxmagerie Zengarry in Alexandria, a weeklong process is underway to turn tiny bits of cashews into a wheel of creamy cheese.

"We use cashew-based milk instead of dairy-based milk so it's a similar kind of process with fermentation, aging, flavouring and packaging," said founder Lynda Turner.

Turner started the business out of her kitchen in 2013 after moving to a plant-based diet in 2010.

"Back then, there were not a lot option for plant-based cheeses, and cheese was something that I really missed," Turner recalled. "So, I started experimenting with a lot of different recipes, using cashews in particular, I had some great success.

"I experimented with the fermentation process, learned to grow my own probiotics and then we organically kind of launched Fauxmagerie Zengarry and we've been growing across Canada ever since."

Now she runs a full-blown business, employing 10 people and using all natural products.

"It's a natural process, unlike a lot of other vegan cheeses. We really care about what we put into our product," Turner said.

Being sustainable was also key, she noted, with the tagline 'The Cheese That Grows on Trees' popping up when visiting her website.

"Obviously cashew nuts grow on trees so it's a kind of a fun way of thinking about how this is a more sustainable product. It grows on trees, it's renewable and it's just better for the planet," she said.

Turner also grows all of the fresh herbs used in her cheeses in house, including parsley, basil, dill and rosemary.

Fauxmagerie Zengarry grows the herbs for its vegan cheese in-house. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

"Vegan food in particular is more sustainable than animal agriculture. Animal agriculture takes up a lot of water, a lot of land, a lot of carbon and it's just not as sustainable for food systems."

The result is a creamy cheese in texture, perfect for wine tasting or charcuterie boards.

And when she says success, she means it.

"We have our Creamy Swiss Cheese that last year was voted the best vegan Swiss in the world," Turner said with a smile.

"We were one of the first companies in Canada to start making cashew cheese. There are a few others now I would say maybe five or six total brands that are doing similar things to what we are doing," Turner noted.

The cheese factory was one of 10 businesses that benefitted from a $10,000 grant offered in 2022 in North Glengarry.

My Main Street was a $23.5 million investment in local economic recovery funded by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).

The project aimed to revitalize 200 neighbourhoods across southern Ontario, and to help small businesses recover from the pandemic.

"So they were able to put that $10,000 to use, buy new equipment, do some renovations to their business like Lynda did, provide that real storefront presence," said Darrell Cox, Township of North Glengarry Main Street Ambassador.

Fauxmagerie Zengarry in Alexandria, Ont. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

"(Turner) turned it from more of just the kind of manufacturing facility, she has a storefront presence, she's been able to use the money to make a better tasting area for clients," Cox said.

"That's just going to overall make a better awareness of her business, better awareness of Alexandria Main Street, bring more people to our community and increase the health and vibrancy of our Main Street," he added.

Eight businesses in Alexandria and two in Maxville all received non-repayable grants, including Tom's Pantry, Muir's Bakery, Waikato Pizza and A&C Upholstery.

"What we really wanted to offer was private samplings here in our facility so that people could come and we could show them how to pair the cheeses, how to serve the cheeses, how to store the cheeses, and how they are made," Turner said.

Multiple flavours of cheese are offered, like herb and garlic and smoky jalapeño. They're available from select retailers in Ottawa and SDG Counties for around $10.

"They are 150 grams, so that is pretty comparable to some luxury dairy based cheeses," Turner said.

The name of her business, also a play on words, and done on purpose according toTurner.

"Fromage, I'm from Montreal so I really wanted to play up those French roots, so we call it a Fauxmage, Fauxmagerie, it's just kind of a fun way of saying that it's a faux cheese," she laughed.

Turner says vegan cheese has come a long way in the past decade, and says no one should be afraid by the word 'cashew' on the box.

"People need to try it to experience it because I think vegan cheese has gotten a very bad reputation over the years," she said. "Back 10 years, the cheeses they had on the shelf were no where near as delicious as we have available to us now.

"You wouldn't know the difference at all so I would definitely recommend you try it," Cox agreed.

A comprehensive selection of cheeses can be found on the Fauxmagerie Zengarry website, with shipping offered throughout Ontario and Quebec.