1. By Joey Hamburger
W
hen people discover
someone is a vegan or
vegetarian, it’s almost inevitable
that they ask: How can you not want to
eat a hamburger? It’s an understandable
inquiry.
But axing meat is becoming increasingly
common. Close to 16 million Americans
opt for a meat-free diet, and about half
of those vegetarians are vegans, notes a
Harris Interactive study commissioned
by the Vegetarian Resource Group. Even
the food pyramid, with its recommended
servings of meat, is no more, replaced by
the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “My
Plate” in 2011 that simply has a “protein”
wedge. Locally, thousands of people
turned out for the Twin Cities Veg Fest this
past September where they celebrated all
things plant-based.
This all prompts another question: When
someone drops meat or dairy, are they
looking for a similar replacement? Kale
and Aubry Walch learned that answer is a
resounding “yes.”
As the creators of The Herbivorous
Butcher, which this brother-sister team is
billingasthenation’sfirstmeat-freebutcher
shop, Kale and Aubry began selling—and
selling out of—their vegan meats this past
June at local farmers markets in the Twin
Cities.
“On the first day we didn’t think we
would sell anything and thought: ‘Hey, at
least we’ll have some good leftovers for
ourselves,’” remembers Kale. Instead, they
sold everything. The next week they sold
out again. And despite moves to quadruple
orsometimeseven,asKaleputsit,“sixtuple”
their stock, they continued to sell out of
products such as pinto bean-based Italian
sausage and bologna made with tofu and
vital wheat gluten.
Kale and Aubry have perfected their
meat-free creations through years of
experimentation and plenty of trial and
error. Aubry has been a strict vegetarian for
18 years, while Kale just became a vegan
four years ago.
“I did it as a health thing. I was
exceptionally fat and wanted a fresh start,”
he says. As a result, Kale lost 60 pounds, his
skin cleared up and he reports he no longer
needs a nap every day. Giving up meat was
quite a challenge. It was a food group he
once enjoyed and an essential part of his
family’s Guamanian heritage.
“The first thing I did was learn how to
make vegan BBQ ribs,” Kale recalls. “I had
eaten meat so I knew the texture and what
it taste likes. They were bad at first, but then
I got really good.”
The standout feature of Herbivorous
Butcher meat-free meats, besides their
Herbivorous Butcher Aims to
Satisfy Vegan Appetites
After gaining popularity at local farmers markets, Kale and Aubry Walch
are bringing their meat-free meats to the masses when they open The
Herbivorous Butcher in April.
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2. taste, is the texture. Their most popular item
is Italian sausage, which has been lauded
for its authentic flavor and the familiar
unevenness of meat products.
Kale is also partial to his vegan hamburger.
“I take vegan steak and grind it into beef. It’s
unlike anything on the market. It’s so good
that I can fool my carnivorous dad, which is
the ultimate taste test,” he says.
WiththehelplastNovemberofasuccessful
Kickstarter campaign—an online funding
source where strangers pledge various
amounts to fund creative projects—that
brought in more than $60,000, the siblings
aim to open a brick-and-mortar storefront in
Northeast Minneapolis in April.
“Kickstarter is a cruel mistress,” says Kale.
“It was probably the most stressful month
of my life, because it’s an all or nothing roller
coaster.”
Kickstarteroffersmanybenefitstoastartup
in terms of fundraising and awareness, but
the work that goes into maintaining and
running a successful campaign amounts to
morethanjustacoupleofpostsonFacebook.
The most challenging aspect is Kickstarter’s
all-or-nothing approach. Even if a project
raises a significant amount of money, if the
stated goal isn’t met the creators don’t get
a penny for their work. Only 30 percent of
food-related projects attempted through
Kickstarter have reached their funding goal.
To run a successful campaign requires time,
effort and patience.
“The worst part of it is the middle … we
had a strong start and finish, but you get
to the middle of your timeline and you
just don’t think you’re going to make it,”
explains Kale. He and Aubry reached their
$50,000 goal November 22, and when the
campaign ended November 30 they had
raised $61,806.
“The oxymoronic title is sort of what has
brought us this far,” Kale admits.
It’s also how they got mentioned by
Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show: “I read
about a brother and sister in Minneapolis
who are opening the world’s first vegan
butcher shop. Yeah, at the vegan butcher
they promise to kill all the flavor, but in a
humane way.”
And it’s what has sparked the interest of
many others. Visitors to the farmers markets
will usually find a crowd, and fans of the
meatless meats know to arrive early. It’s
the demand from these same people—and
many more, Kale and Aubry hope—that
will help The Herbivorous Butcher expand,
eventually, and get their products on
restaurant menus. A senior- living company
has already recruited them to supply
products for its 30 locations nationwide.
The duo is also tackling vegan cheese,
debuting a Camembert last month. Using
organic, non-GMO coconut oil that’s been
refined to remove coconut flavors and
aromas, Kale and Aubry then incorporate
a soy milk base and add truffle oil, among
other ingredients. It appears to be perfect
timing for the cheese addition, with vegan
cheese sales reaching $30 million in 2014,
an almost 23 percent increase from the
previous year.
It’s clear there’s a serious appetite for
vegan products and The Herbivorous
Butcher is poised to satisfy.
Kale Walch preps meat-free Chamorro
BBQ Jerky, one of the rewards for
Kickstarter backers who donated $50
to the Herbivorous Butcher campaign.