Meet Maria Alemann of Artichoke Foods (The Plantisserie)

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Alemann.

Maria, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started cooking since a very young age. I grew up in a family full of women, so the kitchen was a fun place to be! I remember seeing my grandmother, mother, and aunts, cooking and sharing recipes. I’m from Argentina so I grew up surrounded by meat, bread, and wine. However, while working on a Steak House in 2011, something inside me just clicked, and that’s when I knew I would never eat meat again. That’s when my vegetarian journey began and never stopped.

In 2014, I became pregnant, and that’s where I decided that I had to do something else than just eating healthy and compassionate, so I decided to start our own little project where I would prepare, clean, healthy and plant-based food for our friends and family, then we started to participate at several farmers markets and that’s how Artichoke Foods was born. First, it became a small meal plan company delivering frozen vegan food but now has become a wholesale for various dishes, burgers, empanadas, and others to several stores around Miami.

Finally, our next destination is closer than ever where we are opening our first deli-take out store where we are going to be delivering fresh, organic and plant-based food by the pound, our deli is going to be called The Plantisserie, in Little River, Miami.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I can’t complain, but there is never a smooth road when starting a very small family owned business from the very bottom up. Also being a plant-based and organic store, it’s a little more challenging as far as pricing. However, I don’t see any other way but cooking organic and plant-based.

There is so important to educate ourselves about what we intake, and also the ethical practices we use in our food industry. There are more illnesses than ever before, not only physically but mentally, and this is part of our food system. The stronger our organic farmers get, the healthier and stronger our communities will be.

I think the most important investment we can make on ourselves is to eat not only healthy but clean, real, unprocessed food.

Please tell us about Artichoke Foods (The Plantisserie).
I make artisanal, organic and plant-based food. We specialized in family style cuisine where our meals are prepared from scratch. We never order pre-cut produce. All our vegetables, seeds, fruits, legumes, etc. are prepared in-house, washed with no chemicals, and then cut one by one, each onion, each mushroom. Each almond is peeled by hand to prepare our ricotta cheese, our nuts and legume are activated (soaked overnight) to get the best nutrients from it. This is how we treat our food, the same way we cook for our family, we do it for our community.

I believe that Ethical Practices is what really set us apart from other food companies in our industry. Our dedication, compassion, love, and intention towards the honest ingredients that provide mother nature is what makes us unique. However, I believe in cooperation, not a competition, so I’d like us to see as a compliment toward our fellow food business where every one of us will bring something special to the table.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Being at my grandmother house, playing with my cousins and sisters, while smelling what’s was being prepared at the kitchen, usually some delicious ‘Tuco’ (tomato sauce for the pasta) where I would steel a fresh piece of bread and dig it into the pot! That was every Sunday!

Contact Info:

• Address: 7316 NE 2nd Avenue Little River, 33138
• Website: http://theplantisserie.com
• Phone: 786-478-8050
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @artichokefoods

Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.