Packaging Update - A fan has brought to my attention that local councils (well, the Bristol one at least) remove the cheese film (that's home compostable) from collected green waste and place it into general waste. Though this is quite annoying to find out, it potentially costs the council in extra costs to sort through recycling. I need to find out the outcome to the packaging in how it degrades outside of compostable environments. For now, please can you try and add the packaging to your home compostable waste that you use for gardening, if you have one. Not the green waste that is collected by the council. There are commercial composters around the UK but I'm unsure on the details at the moment. The creators of the packaging claim that if it's added to general waste and incinerated, it will produce clean energy. However, I think some councils don't incinerate. Please correct me if I'm wrong! As you know, all my retail packs are plastic free, but compostable packaging isn't entirely the solution if it can't degrade outside of limited parameters. Will keep everyone posted on what I find out!

This fella behind me is how I feel today 😂 Me dead tired. Least it's stopped raining for now and the sun's out. I'm set up at the @tfsundaymarket today till 2.30pm. This will be the last sighting of me this month till the 30th June! Remember you can find a few stockists dotted around. Check out my website, though it's worth contacting the stockist ahead to ensure they have the cheese you want/need!

Think I should be charging for selfies with my Cheese Wheels 😂😝 I won't, don't worry. Never be afraid to ask for pics 😉☺️ . It was a killer day today at @houseofveguk. Sold out on quite a lot of stuff! Will be back tomorrow at @tfsundaymarket in Southville, Bristol if you missed me today. There's no Blue but I'll have the classics (Original, Feta & Smoked). . Thanks to everyone that saw me today. Before to take lots of photos, share them and tag me in 😄

@thebigkebabski is running around with blue cheese at @houseofveguk. They gave me a wrap with their new faux chicken and it's bloody awesome! It legit has that chicken texture & vibe. We are all here till 5pm!

Don't judge 😂 It's the Pug's fifth birthday which to me is a big milestone and I wanted to celebrate the day with cake 🤣 . (Video of the dogs eating it can be found on my Instagram Stories. Excuse the partially squished cake, that's my fault when I brought it home.) . As you may know, one of my favourite people and bakers is Lauren from @happybunnybakery. I got her to make a custom doggy friendly cake which is naturally vegan (and not loaded with sugars to upset the poor doggies). Lauren said it was safe for humans, so naturally I had a slice or two (four. I had four slices. I said don't judge!). I did have to sweeten it with a bit of maple but it was pretty good for a dog cake 🤣 What did the dogs think of it? Well they went mad for it, making a mess of it all. They are pretty well trained so wouldn't take it off the plates initially but it all ended with the Labrador somersaulting off the chair to grab the crumbs off the floor 😂 If you ever need a custom cake either for you or your dogs then please give @happybunnybakery a buzz. She deserves a lot of recognition for putting up with me as well as doing some amazing bakes ❤️

Remember that Vegan Blue Cheese wheel I rolled in with last Sunday at Clevedon? Well, it's been sliced, diced and tightly wrapped. All for tomorrow's event @houseofveguk in @pennywellproject (Bristol), this version has much more of a creamier affair compared to Sunday's special. Samples are available along with my standard vegan cheese range. There's also some left over Washed Rind Cheese if you need something stronger in smell & taste 😉 As usual, no plastic here. All packaging is home compostable!

With the many questions & requests I receive, I noticed I have not explained the reason behind making my own cultures. There is also a bit of "fake news" going around too 😉 So, let's have a quick talk about bacteria. This topic is quite vast so will only cover a tiny bit about cultures. I'm a Natural Cheesemaker. Basic form: it entails creating my own starter cultures of bacteria to develop cheese instead of using lab-created cultures in the way of probiotics. This is not something I did when making dairy cheese. However, I think it is important (and fun) for vegan cheesemakers to do. Vegan cheesemakers often use lab-created probiotics, which is fine. However, due to probiotics being weak, they will have to add in other flavours (spices/nutritional yeast) to make it more like cheese (with a few additional drawbacks). There are a few instances where the act of making your own cultures is seen as a negative by those who don't understand real cheese & biomes. A natural stance to cheesemaking is safe and can offer stronger flavours, complex ranges, and do science magic with changing properties and textures. Yes, this is from a better understanding of cheesemaking, though it is not something I can do from an off-the-shelf probiotic capsule. When done right, the final natural cheese will be unique to that cheesemaker where it cannot be replicated. This is because the flavours, and the power of the cultures, is dependant on the ingredients used to make it, where & how they are grown, and more. The cultivation of the cultures plays a big role. The overall balance and make-up of this indigenous microbial community will be exclusive to the location, and each cheese created. How they are used makes quite an impact too, which is why my feta tastes drastically different from my washed-rind cheese - intense unrivalled flavours. And this is cheese in its purest form – a true reflection of where it is made — not a mix of spices and artificial flavours, but a heritage of bacteria doing their work. Sidenote: Affinage microbes in cheese-caves are also essential, but that's another story for another day as there is quite a lot of misconceptions about this too!

Quick update to say my remaining events for June are all in Bristol! . Saturday 15th @houseofveguk (Blue cheese & Aged Washed Rind Cheese will be available here) Sunday 16th @tfsundaymarket (rare possibility of blue cheese) Sunday 30th @tfsundaymarket (producers event so much more vegan grub here!) . For more events, check out foodbysumear.co.uk/cal

Couldn't help but just show off wheels today 😅 So grateful for my loyal following though 😁❤️❤️ I've made so much progress in a short space of time over the year that it's unbelievable. I keep getting told off that I'm too negative towards myself, or to actually believe the positive words that people say about what I do, but I am eternally grateful to everyone that helped me get here today 😁❤️ . Reposted from @ewa_hibberd - How wonderful to see the lovely Vegan Cheese Wizard, Sumear of @foodbysumear again at Clevedon @veganfairs today!!! 💚💚💚 My fridge is well stocked up now with his delicious creations. 😋🌱💚 . #vegan #veganfood #veganfair #clevedonveganfair #vegancheese #vegancheesemaker #plantbased #eatplants #govegan #vegansofig #veganofinstagram #instavegan - #regrann

I'm showing off today at Clevedon's @veganfairs 😝

Today's the day. First anniversary of my first market is today when I no longer hid my cheese from the world 🙈 Ignore the fact everything was dairy. I of course went fully vegan soon after. We all had to start from somewhere 😝 You can find me and many of my favourite people today at Clevedon's @veganfairs on Princes Road in the Community Centre. 10 till 3pm. It's going to be epic!

Today, I spent an astonishing 3 hours in Bristol's new chocolate shop/cafe, @pionkaschocolate by (possibly?) Bristol's only Bean to Bar choclatier, Mariusz Pionka (@cocoa.corner). Time kinda flew away as we ate chocolate, talked about chocolate, drank chocolate, talk chocolate politics, and ate even more chocolate 😅 One of the many things we tried was a proper pure 💯 hot chocolate. 100% chocolate is melted directly into a cup with a heat gun and then added with plant-based milk that is whisked & blended in. Dark chocolate is my weakness, though when made in this sort of style with milk, it still hit the spot. For those who don't like dark chocolate, there's a 70% version with plenty of sugar available 😝 If you missed my previous posts, Mariusz was one of the people that indirectly helped me decide to start my food business by being the experienced, skilled and passionate person that he is. As you many know, I am an overly opinionated blunt and passionate person myself. I like to think I know what good chocolate is, how it is made, and how best to enjoy it, etc. So I definitely got the snob thing down too. Without a doubt, Mariusz creates the best chocolate I've come across, by using his experienced, knowledge on different beans, flavours and skills. All by being humble and not arrogant at all (I'm throwing shade now 😉). . A lot of his range is naturally vegan, as all good proper chocolate is (dairy milk is used in cheaper chocolates as a filler, to be honest). He has got: pure dark chocolate bars (100% my fav), proper stone ground chocolate bars (also my fav), flavoured chocolate thins, truffles, soon to have vegan chocolate muffin balls, and more. He does all the chocolate making on his own but runs the new shop with his partner, Lisa. Highly recommend dropping by. You will not regret it. Just like my cheese. Quality trumps all. Supporting the independents is important and buying premium quality products little but often is better then buying cheap crap on a weekly basis. Check out the shop @ 192 Cheltenham Road in Bristol. P.s. It's pionka, as in Willy WONKA 😉

I have gone a bit lighter with the Vegan Blue Cheese again. Damn I'm good 😛 Trying different things out before I settle on a certain style hence the changes. This wheel is heading to the Clevedon @veganfairs (just like everything else at the moment). Even if I don't sell anything (I will, but hypothetical), it's gonna to be an amazing day. Will be surrounded by my favourite people like @happybunnybakery, @nutcessity, @eatdarkmatters and many more. Rumor has the Dino lady will be visiting (*hint hint nudge nudge wink wink @hungryherbieuk 😉). With over 30 stalls with a lot a variety, it will definitely be amazing. You can find at 2 Princes Road, BS21 7SZ, Clevedon and it runs between 10am till 3pm. On my menu you can find: Original Sharp Feta Maple Wood Smoked Aged Washed Rind Cheese (limited) Proper Vegan Blue (limited) Samples of everything will be available, but be early!

This is me, Sumear. I've been your cheese maker for the last 363 days. Though I was doing dairy cheese for much longer than that, doing 100% vegan cheese has been much more rewarding in all honestly. The love of my cheese has been amazing with my sales always increasing month upon month. Though I am still paying myself below minimum wage. It is improving. I enjoy what I do but I always push myself to be better and do more as I'm a people pleaser. It's both a positive & negative. I do kinda run myself into the ground with long hours and then feel worse when a very small few whinge at me for not doing better 😅 I have big plans for the future of my Vegan Cheese (as I keep telling you). I think I will always keep my business small. Rather than have a factory and a team, at the moment, I only see myself making cheese on my own, with my own proper cave. A lot of they is due to personality, though who knows what the future really holds! I did originally write this post more about myself as a person, as a few people been asking for it. But I deleted it cos it seemed too much 😂 So instead, have a photo of me with a piece of cheese photoshopped onto my face!

It's a bit wiffy. Aged Rind Washed Vegan Cheese special heading to Clevedon @veganfairs this Sunday.

Last sappy post, I promise. I'll go back to being sassy & cheesey soon! I just wanted to say thanks to everyone that bought from me in the last 361 days. An extra big thank you to everyone that shared their experience with my Vegan cheese with people in real life and online. Sharing helped fuel my expansion around the Southwest and beyond and allowed me to do bigger and better things. Instagram & Facebook groups have been a life changer! Keep sharing online and I'll keep growing. I have big plans for the future for even bigger things 😉

Spreading more love before my business-birthday hits! One of the things I love about trading at the markets are my fellow traders, despite me being a social mess 😂 Warm welcomes, friendships, mental support, gorgeous food more. Calling out few... @calm.and.kind - one of the first people I met in my early days of trading. Such a fabulous, relaxed kind hearted person who has some amazing refined sugar free, wholefoods treats. Given the food fear I was still facing, she and her food were amazing! @happybunnybakery - Facing her own problems with food as well, she's helped mentally by telling me to be kind to myself and even goes far as to say at least one nice thing about myself before she will give me a slice of her yummy cake. Both real and selfless. @nutcessity - Genuinely found Mike scary when I first met him (though I find a lot of people scary 😂). He's really really confident and outgoing that I find it intimidating. However he's really nice, supportive, and hands down his nutbutters are the best! Though saying that, he's been lecturing me recently 😂 In a nice way of course! @thebowlshed - Super cool dude. I miss his Smoothie Bowls. Nuff said 😜 I tagged as many traders as I can but there's probably more that I forgotten. If you are one of them, I'm sorry 😅😬 All of them are definitely worth checking out!

So for the run up to my first #birthday/anniversary of when my food business launched (9th June), I thought it would be good to share a few things. Today I'll be sharing about some people that indirectly inspired me to start my business. Excluding the artisan dairy #cheesemakers in Somerset that helped & inspired me with my cheese (being vegan more, rather not mention them 😅), the two Bristol based small business are @cocoa.corner & @moistbristol. With the mess of a love/hate relationship I had with food, I was in the first stage of #EDrecovery when meeting these people for the first time. Being at somewhat of a cross roads in life, I needed a "new beginnings", which ended up being in the food industry for some reason. Strange at first, considering my past, however it's helping me 😬 Both companies are small #independent traders that started life at the markets. They didn't directly help me, nor do they really know me personally. However, given my curiosity at the time with food, I was entranced by their enthusiasm with their food, quality, and their business overall. With what was going on in my life; what they were doing was one of many signs that gave me a push to dive into something new. Sounds like crazy talk looking back at it since starting a new venture is risky and I new literally nothing of running a stall 😂 Over the last year, it's amazing how much we have all grown. @cocoa.corner went from trading at markets, to owning two shops (@artandchocolate.bristol & the new @pionkaschocolate). The owner, Pionka, is such a lovely guy and really does make the best Bean to Bar #chocolates that I've come across. @moistbristol peeps has been getting bigger, better where they are now started to stock independent shops! Their #hummus is my go-to breakfast when we are trading on the same dates at markets 😁 So yea, I'm grateful for meeting these guys. They give me the feels. End of story 😬 I highly recommend these guys if you are in the Bristol area if you need a chocolate or hummus fix! Tomorrow (or whenever I can be bothered), I'll be sharing a few other market traders that have helped over the year with my insanity!

Getting food envy over here 😬❤️ . Reposted from @hi_pathetically - Would you believe me if I told you the base for this creamy tagliatelle sauce is potato and onion? With my homemade spicy tomato sauce, roast courgette, roast red pepper and a sprinkling of cheddar style hard cheese by @foodbysumear

**GIVE AWAY BELOW** . Sunday the 9th June will mark my 1 year birthday with the launch of my food business at the food markets & events. Though the business started as non-vegan with my dairy cheese range, it all switched over to 100% vegan in August. However, it is still be special day as regardless of how it all started. Itt changed everything for the better for myself, and eventually led me turning vegan. I'll be celebrating the day at Clevedon's @veganfairs event (event details at the bottom) where I'll be doing another giveaway (for collection only). This time I have something truly special. A one of a kind Vegan Cheese that cannot be replicated anywhere, not even by me! Photoed is a take on the Original Sharp vegan cheese. It's a twist on the very first version back in 2018 of the recipe that has been lost to time. Do you know what that means? This cheese has been ageing 9 MONTHS! With a very soft salty protective rind, this cheese has a firm, smooth and a bit creamy & dry texture. Gone is the sharp notes. Still tangy, the 9 month aged cheese has a long lasting complex flavour notes with a richness & nuttiness to it. Definitely hitting the savoury & uumami notes. To those who think what I do is not cheese making then please let me know what is! . The giveaway! The prize is only available for collection at Clevedon's Vegan Fair (though if you ask nice enough, I could allow collections elsewhere). Deadline is Friday 7th! To win this cheese, complete all of the below: 1. Follow me at @foodbysumear. 2. Comment on this post with what you will do this special cheese if you one. 3. Tag someone in. The cheese is roughly less than a 1/4 of my usual wheels. I'm keeping the rest for myself 😜 . Event is at 2 Princes Road, Clevedon, BS21 7SZ. 10 till 3pm. . . . . . #bristol #bristolfood #bristolfoodie #bristolvegan #bristolvegans #veganaf #eatplants #cashewcheese #cleaneating #cleanfood #ukvegan #entrepreneur #foodblogger #ukvegans #foodinstagram #foodlover #foodphotography #healthyeating #healthyfood #plantbased #instavegan #smallbusiness #veganbristol #vegancheese #veganfood #veganfoodporn #veganfoodshare #vegansofig #veganuk #whatveganseat

It's my first birthday next week Sunday (9th June). A full year launching the food business at local markets, albeit it did start with me being non-vegan. The vegan birthday is in August! Anyway! I'll be celebrating my first birthday in Clevedon for the Vegan Fair (hosted by @veganfairs; more info to come). Is it too soon to do another giveaway? 😉 I may have something special but need to make sure it's too my satisfaction before I share it. Watch this space ❤️ . . Photo is my silly husband on our first year wedding anniversary back in 2018 where I got a pinata that I filled with his favourite sweeties.

Been chasing @greenandgrainy around the Southwest for months now wanting to try her refined sugar free treats. Finally our paths have crossed at the Frome Vegan Market (@veganfairs) where I have had a bunch of treats already! I am a happy bugger 😁❤️

Been out joy riding with @nutcessity and just about ended up in Frome with no thanks to his sight dodgy satnav 😜 We are both here at the @cheeseandgrain for the Vegan Market hosted by @veganfairs. Plenty of healthy and sugary treats and other things (@bathculturehouse, @belleislebotanicals, @darkmoonvegan, @greenandgrainy to name a few). Here till 2pm.

I have a whole host of living organisms used to culture my cheese. I'm far from an imitation cheesemaker. I'm an old school natural cheesemaker. But I'm an overly opiniated crazy person too. So what do you think? . P.s. No digs at the article. Everything else I agree with in the article. Why bother imitating stuff (unless you are me and know how to make cheese 😛). Good food is good food and we can create many new and exciting things with plants rather than "not so good" similar foods.

Very grateful for the sunshine today. The only way to get the best smoked flavour in Vegan cheese is to traditionally cold smoke it. However, this week's rain meant I couldn't get the smoker out till now. Thankfully I won't be running out of Smoked Cheese as i first feared when I saw the forecast last week. Though I am behind schedule now despite smoking a lot of stuff last week 😅 I don't make life easy it seems.