We’re so glad you’ve found your way over here. If you’ve been here before, welcome back! And if you’re just discovering our page, welcome as well. With so many new faces, we figured an introduction might be in order… Well, it’s technically a re-introduction, which seems very fitting with spring just around the corner. We are Renegade Foods, and we’ve been crafting plant based salami out of Sonoma County for the past few years. We’re so grateful to everyone who has been a part of our journey, which in more ways than one, feels like it is just beginning.
We don’t consider ourselves a food for vegans… we are a food for everyone. Our plant based salami marries techniques and flavors that have been used for centuries with our passion for the increasingly pressing goal of sustainability. We want to help remove animals from the food chain, all while making foods that are every bite as delicious as the foods they were inspired by.
Our plant based charcuterie is a whole food product, with organic ingredients you can recognize and pronounce. It’s a versatile product that can go from a quick on-the-go snack to a charcuterie board to the centerpiece in a stir fry or sandwich. It’s a traditional food, reimagined with a modern approach. Smoking and fermentation have been used for centuries for preserving food… and now we use them to help preserve our planet and the beings that inhabit it.
Beginnings
So what was the spark that was grown into Renegade Foods? It was the time that our co-founder Iona, a lifelong vegetarian turned vegan, spent in Europe, exploring her culinary passions. Hands on alongside local chefs, she saw the time, tradition, and care that they poured into creating delicious cured meats… items that she herself had never even tasted before. She watched her peers use the time-honored techniques of smoking and fermentation, along with local spices and seasonal herbs, to create so many types of salami, a far cry from the sad supermarket slices that had previously come to mind when she thought of cured meats. And she began to ask herself- what if these traditional recipes could still be made, but without the animals? What if vegans and vegetarians and omnivores could sit together at the same table and all enjoy the same flavors? She spent the next 10 years learning and applying all the techniques and flavors of old world Europe to create products that sacrifice no animals and still have all of the flavor and tradition.
Our other co-founder, Kalie, has been making conscious food decisions since the age of 12, when she adamantly declared at the dinner table that she was never going to eat meat again, to the bemusement of her family. Definitely not the “passing phase” that some said it might be, she stayed true to her promise and eventually became vegan for environmental and personal reasons. After two decades of career success in the corporate world, she began to feel like something was missing… and after some searching she realized that what was missing was the chance to be making a difference. Sure, her personal food decisions were making a difference, but what if she could change her whole career to helping others better the planet with their food decisions as well?
ona and Kalie had been close for decades, and came to realize that their combined passions and complementary strengths could help them strive towards this shared mission. Before they knew it, Renegade Foods was no longer a dream but a reality. The mission was simple- to help remove animals from the food chain, while creating delicious products that would bring people together. And for almost three years now, they’ve been doing exactly that.
Our Products
So, what exactly do we make? For now, three distinct styles of vegan salami, and we plan to release more charcuterie items in the future. Each of our flavors is inspired by a celebrated regional specialty.
Our SOPPRESSATA is a Calabrian style salami influenced by the flavors of southern Italy.
The Calabria region in Italy is known for its spicy and robust cuisine. Because of the warm and humid climate, Calabrians have made an art of food preservation, and their dry-cured salami Soppressata is a perfect example of that. Our version is full flavored with Applewood smoke and black peppercorns.
Our TOSCANA flavor is a Tuscan-style salami with origins in the wild fennel fields.
Tuscany is a region in central Italy known for its fresh and simple cuisine. The region is rich in agriculture and the famed wild fennel fields are a quintessential part of their landscape. Our Toscana salami has a flavor profile full of sweet Italian herbs and roasted red peppers, with fennel seeds throughout.
The Spicy CHORIZO we’ve created is a
Spanish-style chorizo infused with the country’s defining spices.
Spain has a rich history of food preservation and the Mediterranean culture has a love of bold flavors and spice. With roots in old world ingredients, our plant based chorizo is brought to life with flavors of smoked paprika and garlic.
Well that’s all for now, thank you for taking the time to visit. We’re excited to use this space to share stories, recipes, thoughts, and more!
Cheers,
Renegade Foods