When Kylee Hallows and Blake Lundell opened Lavender Vinyl, they always had plans to open up a sister bakery. “We always wanted to open a bakery, but we just had to take it one step at a time. After I met Lisa, it worked out we could launch it from there,” Kylee said of her wife and baking partner, Lisa Hallows.
Both Kylee and Lisa have always loved baking, but Lavender Kitchen is not your average bake shop. “We’re all vegan,” Kylee said. And she means it. All of their baked goods are 100% vegan: no eggs, no milk and no butter. But that hasn’t stopped their sales one bit. “The market for vegan food has started to explode in the last few years, and Ogden is always willing to be a part of that new kind of stuff. And we felt that there really was a need for it here,” Kylee claimed.
“Cuppa opened up after we got started, but they sell our products there too. So there is a real growing community for it,” Lisa added.
When it comes to developing their all vegan menu, real life vegans Kylee and Lisa said it’s all about knowing the science of cooking. “It’s knowing you need to substitute a fat for a fat. It’s fun, it’s experimenting and it’s all about the challenge of trying to figure out ‘How can we do this?’” Lisa said. And sacrificing quality is never an option.
“I want to make the best apple pie that, if I set it next to one with butter and milk, no one would know that mine was vegan. Anyone can enjoy our stuff because it’s as delicious as a non-vegan treat.”
They seem to be hitting their goals in that regard, as many patrons marvel at their treats’ lack of animal products. “They think it’ll be dry or not good, but that’s never the case,” Kylee noted. For those skeptical of the vegan goods, Kylee said, “Don’t knock it till you try it.”
Lavender Kitchen doesn’t have their own storefront, but rather entered into a partnership with Kaffe Mercantile to share space in their new downtown location on Washington Blvd. “The timing worked itself out because I used to bake [Kaffe Merc’s] in-house baked goods. When we wanted to start Lavender Kitchen, I came back and they suggested we open it in their new shop,” Kylee said.
And the duo is all about Ogden. “We have a woman out in Plain City who grows the lavender we use in our lemon lavender scones. We even have the O-Town cookie which has a coconut base and then we use O-Town jam. They’re an Ogden company that makes really unique jams, like mango habanero or pineapple wine. We fill the o-shaped cookies with their jams. We use as many locally sourced ingredients as we can get ahold of,” Lisa added.
If you’re eager to try some of their treats, but don’t know where to start. Kylee recommended their Brookie—half brownie, half chocolate chip cookie—and Lisa recommended their apple cinnamon muffins. Personally, I’d steer you towards their chocolate chip espresso muffins made with Kaffe Mercantile’s coffee.
Lavender Kitchen also takes custom orders, really custom: they don’t even have a menu on their website. They just want you to order whatever it is you’d like, and they’ll figure out a way to make it for you, completely vegan. “We have orders from just a dozen cupcakes for a birthday party to 400 cookies for Weber State’s Fall Orientation,” Kylee said.
Ultimately, they want their food to be enjoyed by everyone, not just vegans. And they have some exciting plans for the future, but won’t divulge them just yet. “We’ve entered into a really exciting partnership with Kaffe Mercantile, and we’ll be expanding in the next few months,” Kylee said. Ogden will have to wait and see what this pair has in store.
