You can call it a vegan awakening. That’s what happened to Trent Falldien in October 2019 after watching a series of documentaries on the food industry.
“One of the movies was ‘The Game Changers’ and it became just that for me,” Falldien said.
A lawyer by day, Falldien is the owner of Vegan Ready on Notre Dame Boulevard.
Housed in the former Greyhound bus station that most recently the location of Space Craft Brewing, Falldien is hoping to give people options that he was not afforded when he started his whole foods and plant-based transformation journey.
“I wanted oil-free, sugar-free, process-free with low salt because when you commit to being a vegan, there are few options in the Sudbury market,” he said.
Falldien took possession of the building in September and opened the doors early last month for take out only.
Soon, Skip the Dishes will be added with the goal to open the dining room to patrons in May.
Falldien said the most talked about and purchased feature is the chili dog. Instead of a meat-based dog, it features a boiled carrot that is marinated and served with a vegan chili and a nooch sauce on nutrient dense homemade buns.
Made with nutritional yeast, nooch sauces often taste cheesy or nutty.
Falldien is adding a zucchini lasagna to the menu, as well. He said his nutritious pizzas and nooch burgers are also popular with customers especially with a side order of fat-free potato wedges.
The wedges are partially cooked in advance and coated in pea crumbs before being placed in the air fryer upon purchase. The pea crumbs also coat the breaded caulies or cauliflower bites.
“I went on this kick a while back where I would go to the grocery store and promised myself I would try one new item each week. Pea crumbs (made from pea flour) were one of those ingredients that then became a staple,” he said.
Falldien had already started cooking vegan food for others before opening his flagship restaurant.
He and friend, Jennifer Jusic, were experimenting with a whole foods and plant-based meal plan and serving it to others in the basement of Grace Family Church.
The benefits of the diet have been worth it for Falldien.
“I look better and feel better. I was having a lot of joint pain and realized that was all linked to what I was putting into my mouth,” he said. “I work out at the gym and have more energy and need less recovery time between workouts.”
For now, Falldien is spending 60 hours a week at his two job sites, but he wouldn’t change it for the world.
“I am eating the healthy food options I want and really trying to change the stereotype.”
Falldien added a gorilla to his signage in an effort to get the conversation going. “If the gorilla can live on a plant-based diet, why can’t we?” he asks.
While the food is labour intensive to make, he wants a vegan diet to be mainstream, cool and healthy.
That message coincides this month with Veganuary too. The 31-day, plant-based pledge many people around the world take.
Vegan Ready is open everyday but Mondays from noon to 7 p.m. at 854 Notre Dame Ave., next to Sudbury Kartways.
More information, including the menu can be found at VeganReady.ca along with Instagram at @veganready.sudbury.
Anastasia Rioux is a writer in Greater Sudbury. Let’s Eat! is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.
