Lokal Babes | The Conscious Kitchen
WORDS: Stef Richardson + PHOTOS: Alyssa Joline Photography
Oh baby, there is a new meal delivery service comin’ to town. Meet THE CONSCIOUS KITCHEN CO ~ a prepared meal, recipe box, and grocery subscription service founded and operated by Celeste Lopreiato. Everything offered is organic, sustainably harvested + sourced and 100% plant-based. I’ll tell you from my experience, Celeste makes everything from scratch - including her take on “feta” and falafels. Both FREAKIN’ DELICIOUS. Celeste and her partner Simone recently moved to Grey County and now reside on a spacious farm (living the good life!) and have recently added Kimberly, Markdale and Collingwood to their delivery route. OK OK OK.
The team at TCK takes pride in sourcing as much as they can locally while creating waste-free, healthy + vibrantly delicious vegan meals for their community. All meals come in returnable containers and the delivery fee is waved upon membership as long as you order a minimum of $40 in meals.
So, if all that sounds pretty darn good, you should check out how you can get on their delivery list. In the meantime, check below for a Q+A with Owner, Celeste. Lokal Diggin’ YOU!
Q+A
What is your favourite ingredient to cook with?
Local & Organic Corn! The flavours are so bright, and it adds a great pop of colour to dishes.
Who is on your team and what are their roles?
Celeste- Founder & Owner / Head Chef / Pro Dishwasher
Simone- Co-Owner / Delivery Driver / Spreadsheet Master
Emily- Prep Chef / Marketing Manager / Reusable Container Cleaning Wizard
What was your favourite meal growing up?
My Grandma's fried zucchini. Breaded & deep fried - enough said! Alongside spaghetti with home-made tomato sauce from the fall!
Tell us your about your vision for The Conscious Kitchen and if it's evolving? What do you want people to think of when they think about your biz?
We are excited to be expanding to the Collingwood & Grey Highlands community - our final stop! We recently moved our production kitchen to our farm, outside of Markdale, and are ready to start serving locals! We also are still delivering to our previous home- Guelph & Kitchener-Waterloo.
We have lots of plans to grow more of our produce right here at home, on our small vegetable farm, Slow Growing Farm. Whatever we can't grow here, we will continue to source from our organic farm partners, Cedar Down Farm, out of Neustat. We hope to evolve into hosting small events here at the farm (think barn dinners & wood-fired farm pizzas!) and run a yearly homesteading course.
What sets TCK apart from most delivery services?
We deliver fresh & healthy meals. Nothing we send out is ever frozen, vacuum-sealed, or processed. You can know that everything in your order was cooked from scratch and with love! We also have a small customer base, with about 100 weekly customers. We know most customers by name, and take pride in knowing what their families want & need.
Fave album to cook to?
It varies! Right now ashnikko- Demidevil (the best pump-up music!) or anything chill by Kacey Musgraves or Clairo
Fave board game?
We are a Settlers of Catan Household!
You have the morning off. What 3 local spots are you visiting and what are you ordering?
Gibson & Company to start for the BEST FREAKING OAT MILK CAPPUCCINO IN THE WORLD and a Holly Dolly Bakes doughnut (the chocolate one please!). Then Susan's Deli for lunch, probably a vegan picnic hoagie, a house-made iced tea, and another baked good! And last but not least, Low Down for all of the Crispy Tofu Baos (seriously I can eat like 7) and their take-home cocktail kits (those puppies are strong!)
DIG IN: https://www.theconsciousfarmkitchen.com/
INSTAGRAM: @theconsciousfarmkitchen
