If you walked into my childhood kitchen in Canada, you’d be hit with the mouthwatering smells of lasagna, chicken parmesan, and fresh ricotta — all made from scratch. Coming from an Italian and Maltese family, food wasn’t just part of life — it was the heart of life. Clean pantry staples, no processed shortcuts — just real food, real flavor, and a whole lot of love.
Some of my fondest memories are standing side-by-side with my grandmother in her kitchen, learning the techniques, traditions, and secrets of true home-cooked meals. She didn’t just teach me how to cook — she taught me how to feel the food, how to listen to it, and how to bring people together through it. Those lessons would stay with me forever.
Fast forward to my early 20s. I was living in downtown Toronto — a city bursting with food innovation — when I made the life-changing decision to go vegan. I did it for my health, for the animals, and for a better future.
But there was one small problem:
I had no idea how to cook anymore.
Meat? I could live without.
Dairy? That was heartbreak.
I rolled up my sleeves and made it my mission to recreate the foods I grew up with — plant-based lasagna, vegan chicken parmesan, dairy-free ricotta. Little by little, I found my footing again.
But there was one thing I could never quite replace: parmesan cheese.
Every plate of pasta felt...incomplete.
I scoured Toronto’s mom-and-pop shops for a decent plant-based parmesan. Every option was either flavorless, weirdly textured, or priced like liquid gold. Eventually, I just gave up. Pasta without parmesan would be my new normal — or so I thought.
Until one night, everything changed.
I was sitting on my couch, half-watching a spaghetti commercial, when they sprinkled that beautiful snow of parmesan over the pasta.
I shot up off the couch, marched to my pantry, and thought,
"That’s it. I’m making my own."
I grabbed whatever I had on hand and started experimenting.
The first batch? Honestly, it wasn’t pretty — yellow, crumbly, definitely not parmesan.
But I kept it in a mason jar in my fridge. I kept using it. I kept improving it.
Batch after batch, year after year, it got better — whiter, fluffier, more dissolvable, and downright delicious.
Before I knew it, I wasn’t the only one hooked.
I brought it to work to sprinkle on my lunch, and coworkers started asking for "orders."
I served it at family gatherings, and nobody could get enough.
It wasn’t just a cheese replacement — it was a little piece of joy on their plates.
Even with a solid business career, I knew deep down: my passion lived in the kitchen.
Creating plant-based foods that didn’t feel like sacrifices — that felt like celebrations — lit me up in a way nothing else did.
Then, fate stepped in.
In 2020, during the pandemic, I was navigating a long-distance relationship with my now-husband, Ryan, who lived in Rochester, NY. On one of my visits, Ryan tried my homemade cheese — without me even mentioning it.
The second he tasted it, he practically fell out of his chair.
"WHAT IS THIS?!" he shouted.
I shrugged. "Oh... that’s just my cheese."
"No," he said. "This is a business."
At first, I laughed it off.
I was a single mom in Toronto. Starting a business seemed like a pipe dream.
But Ryan — a serial entrepreneur — wasn’t about to let it go.
Eventually, I moved to Rochester, enrolled at RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology), and earned my Bachelor of Science with a minor in Entrepreneurship. I worked Panacheeza into my coursework, and to my amazement, the university rallied behind it — awarding grants, scholarships, and a spot in their competitive business incubator, Venture Creations.
Thanks to RIT, my dream wasn’t just alive — it was thriving.
In May 2023, Panacheeza officially launched — and we haven’t looked back.
We sold out online almost immediately.
We opened our first official office in Brighton, NY.
We launched on Amazon.
We earned a coveted spot on Whole Foods’ Northeast shelves.
And we’re just getting started.
We released a new Spicy Panacheeza, are working on a Truffle Panacheeza, and have plans for limited-edition flavors, parmesan wheels, creamy sauces, decadent dressings, and more.
The future is bursting with possibilities.
Panacheeza started with a craving in my kitchen — and now, it's about to change the way people experience plant-based eating forever.
Stay tuned. This is only the beginning. 💛
Janessa
