It all started with a cannoli.
A vegan cannoli, that is, created by Shawn Mack and his wife, CJ Rys.
The Ocean Township couple filled a crispy cannoli shell with a plant-based cream made from soy milk, non-dairy whipping cream, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon and mini chocolate chips, then Mack took the finished product to the Asbury Park Food Collective, a commercial kitchen where he works with vegan pizza shop Parmagianni Pizza. Owner John Razzano loved the cannoli and added it to his menu.
That was at the beginning of this year, and “I’m now being recognized as the cannoli guy,” said Mack, owner of Humble Roots, a vegan mobile kitchen hosting pop-ups around the state. “Most vegan cannoli are (filled with) a sweet buttercream. People say ‘I love that yours is not overly sweet, I love that yours is very airy.’ It’s almost like a new take on a cannoli.”
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‘A whole new world’
Mack and Rys embraced a plant-based diet seven years ago, a decision ignited both by their viewing of a documentary about the relationship between diet and disease and Mack’s diagnosis of Type II diabetes at the age of 30.
“It was a shock to my whole life,” Mack, now 38, said of learning he had the disease.
He and his wife dove into the world of plant-based food. They cooked from vegan meal kits, shopped at natural food stores, connected with local vegan groups and visited vegan restaurants.
“Every time we went to another restaurant, it just intrigued me more. (I’d think) how did they do that?” said Mack, a self-taught cook. “I just kept challenging myself.
“It literally opened up a whole new world,” he said of the diet change, “and it’s been the greatest decision we ever made.”
Within months of eliminating meat and dairy from their diet, Mack’s diabetes was in remission — and the seed of a business idea had been planted.
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Going into business
As he was learning to cook plant-based foods at home, Mack began sharing his dishes with friends, whose reactions gave him the confidence to take jobs with Parmagianni Pizza and Sprout House, a vegan and vegetarian food truck operating out of North Eats, Asbury Park’s summer food truck court.
These jobs, in turn, gave him the confidence to go into business for himself.
“I’ve always wanted to sell food. I’ve always wanted to do some form of giving food to the world,” Mack said. “My theory was if I can change my mind, if I can change my health, I want to share that with the world.”
Humble Roots opened in February. Cooking out of the kitchen at Gray Leaf Cafe in Freehold Township, Mack hosted pop-ups at Green Point Juicery in Morristown, The Plant Lady’s House in Ocean Township, Vegan in NJ markets in Neptune, and Betty’s Icebox in Asbury Park, and collaborated with Dale & Dollops, a vegan diner in Ocean Grove, on a cannoli milkshake.
Mack’s menu includes dishes like Caesar salad with kale, cashew cheese and gluten-free ciabatta croutons; cheddar broccoli potato soup; a roasted vegetable sandwich with cashew herb cheese and roasted tomato vinaigrette; and a wrap filled with soy curls, a vegetable protein flavored to taste like chicken, plus lettuce, tomato, red onions, plant-based cheddar cheese and Mack’s take on honey mustard.
He is also making a vegan version of the Gobbler Thanksgiving sandwich, which he calls “one of the best things that I’ve ever created.” His version has marinated tofu, vegan bacon and leek stuffing, orange cranberry sauce and mushroom gravy.
“We’re constantly coming up with so many things,” Mack said. “Creating these menu items that people don’t have easy access to and having them come back and say ‘this is so good’… I do it for the people who come back, the people who reach out and say ‘that was the best thing.’ “
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Where to find Humble Roots
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Sunday, Oct. 20: A fundraising dinner benefiting an animal sanctuary will take place at Gray Leaf Cafe, 58 Thoreau Drive in Freehold Borough; purchase tickets at veganinnj.com.
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Saturday, Oct. 26: Pop-up at The Plant Lady’s House, 1800 Route 35 in the Oakhurst section of Ocean Township
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Sunday, Nov. 3: Vegan in NJ monthly market at American Legion No. 346, 21 Gully Road in Neptune
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Saturday, Nov. 30: Pop-up and collaboration at Betty’s Icebox on the Asbury Park boardwalk
Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to [email protected], follow on Instagram at Jersey Shore Eats and subscribe to our Jersey Shore Eats newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Humble Roots, a vegan mobile kitchen that started with a cannoli
