Founded by plant-based chef Margaux Riccio in partnership with Tim Wildin, former brand director and director of menu development at Chipotle, Vertage is a brand new vegan cheese brand that has landed on the menu of various restaurants in the D.C. area.
The inspiration for Vertage came from Riccio’s severe dairy allergy that she developed early in her career as a chef. Undiscouraged by this hindrance, she went on to create her own restaurant called Bubbies Plant Burgers and Fizz and exclusively served a vegan menu.
Through the success of her vegan restaurant, Riccio caught the attention of Wildin in addition to fine dining restaurant Eleven Madison Park and vegan food tech brand JUST. Together, Vertage was born.
“Cheesemaking is rooted in centuries of experimentation, innovation, tasting, and refinement. Cultures and fermentation have endured for hundreds of years as crucial techniques to mastering the mouth-watering cheeses we enjoy today,” reads the brand’s website. “Vertage cheeses are made in the blueprint of age-old cheesemaking, but with a fresh new twist: the embrace of emerging fermentation & bio design technologies that have the potential to positively impact how we produce food.”
Currently, Vertage’s offerings include mozzarella, cheddar, cream cheese, crumble, muenster, smoked gouda, and blue cheese. All of Vertage’s cheeses are gluten-free and non-GMO.
