Q+A with Co-Founder, Monte Casino
We’ve long been fans of Kite Hill‘s amazing line of plant-based dairy products. You may have seen our posts about their Almond Yogurts or Artichoke Ricotta Dip. Every time we try a new Kite Hill product, we find ourselves wondering, “how do they do it?!?!?!”.
We sat down with Monte Casino, the Co-Founder and Director of Product Development over at Kite Hill to learn more about their magical vegan dairy creations and how his knowledge of traditional cheese-making helped them create their innovative products.
Monte is also sharing with us #MeatlessMonday recipes all month long, inspiring us to use that cream cheese and yogurt to create a delicious spring meal. Check out his seriously delicious Pasta Primavera and Chive Cream Cheese Croquette recipes and see why we’re such big fans.
by CHLOE.: Introduce yourself.
Monte Casino: Hello. My name is Monte Casino, and I’m the Co-Founder and Director of Product Development for Kite Hill.
bC: What is Kite Hill?
MC: Based in Northern California, we are the first and currently only company that makes plant-based dairy products using artisanal and classic, time-honored techniques.
bC: What inspired you and your co-founders to create Kite Hill?
MC: We feel that everyone should be able to enjoy delicious hand crafted cheeses and yogurts no matter what their dietary restrictions or preferences may be.
bC: What is Kite Hill’s mission?
MC: We wanted to create the very best tasting alternative dairy products by using artisanal techniques and wholesome ingredients. We strive to create healthy and delicious plant-based products that are as good for the earth as they are for the consumer.
bC: Have you always had a passion for plant-based food?
MC: No not really. I come from a long line of Italian chefs who focused heavily on the use of meat and fish in their cuisine. In the past six years that I have been working with my partners Tal Ronnen and Pat Brown, I have gained a deep understanding of plant-based cuisine and now want to cook and eat practically nothing else.
bC: You come from a background working in top kitchens and teaching culinary technique, what led you to your current role as the product developer at Kite Hill?
MC: I was teaching Artisan Cheese Making at Le Cordon Bleu Boston when Tal Ronnen came to sit in on one of my classes. He liked what I had going as a teacher and cheese maker so he convinced me to move to San Francisco and build Kite Hill from the ground up. Here I am five years later!
bC: How does making nut-based cheese differ from traditional cheese making?
MC: What is remarkable and unique about Kite Hill is that the process is actually not that different from traditional cheese making. Once we cracked the code on how to make the proteins in almond milk bind and form a curd the way proteins in dairy milk do, we were able to apply the same culinary techniques to our almond milk cheese and yogurt that are used for dairy cheese and yogurt. We even use the same equipment, imported from France, that traditional cheese makers use.
bC: What makes your plant-based products unique?
MC: Our products are unique for their purity (for example our cheeses contain only 4 ingredients: almond milk, cultures, enzymes, and salt) and for the fact that the almond milk is actually cultured, giving that tang and texture that people love in traditional dairy products, and importantly, our almond milk yogurts have probiotic benefits just like dairy yogurts.
bC: What product are you most proud of creating?
MC: I am very proud of all of our products from our original artisan cheeses to our yogurts. The soft ripened cheese has a special place in my heart because in the beginning everyone thought it would be impossible to create, but after six months of recipe development, it performed beautifully.
bC: What can we expect to see next from Kite Hill?
MC: An amazing and savory unsweetened yogurt that will be an important ingredient to all kitchens, not just for vegans. We are always looking ahead and building new technologies that will broaden our cheese making direction for the future.
bC: What does “Eat well. Eat with purpose.” mean to you?
MC: To me it would mean to know where you’re going with your food choices. Start with a clear idea of health and ethics and choose from there. All the while love the food flavors of life.
RAPID FIRE
1. Nickname? Bacci
2. Emoji that best describes you? A hot bowl of tofu soup preferably with a spoon in it
3. Favorite place on earth? Alameda, California
4. Sweet or savory? Savory
5. Name one food you can’t live without? Crunchy bread
6. Kitchen appliance that you most identify with? The immersion circulator
7. Early bird or night owl? Night owl. I get all of my best work done at night
8. Weird personal fact? I love black licorice. It’s my biggest weakness
9. Choice super hero power? Being invisible or interchangeable with wild animals
10. Hosting a dinner with 4 people (dead or alive), who would you invite? David Bowie, Auguste Escoffier, Maria-Antoine Carême, Marilyn Manson
11. Stranded on an island, what 3 things do you bring? Fresh garlic, a firm pillow and my knife roll
12. Gym rat or couch potato? I’m a gym rat but outside walking ocean-side or curling rocks in the desert
13. Night in or night out? In California …always a night out
