There’s a Vegan Mac and Cheese Contest Happening in Philly Next Month


You know what heaven looks like? A room filled with vats of mac and cheese. And that’s exactly what you’ll find at the Rotunda in University City on Sunday, May 1st. Table after table of of vegan mac and cheese, that is.

Here’s the deal: Carlo Giardina and Carmella Lanni, the husband-and-wife duo behind online vegan shop V Marks the Shop, are hosting the Philly MAC-Down, a contest where home cooks and kitchen pros alike will put their vegan mac and cheese in the running to be named the best vegan mac and cheese in Philly. And if you don’t want to join in the cooking, not to worry, you can still get involved by eating your face off.

As Giardina says, “It’s not just the mac and cheese you grew up with. We’re getting some really interesting recipes. I don’t want it all to just be like the Kraft that you grew up with.” Well, Kraft if it were vegan, he means. Attendees will try all the mac and cheeses and vote to name one mac and cheese the fan favorite, while judges (one of them being Rachel Klein, known for her delicious vegan mac and cheese at Miss Rachel’s Pantry), vote on the winner. They are still accepting entries for competitors if you want to throw your hat in the ring.

A ticket for the May 1st event will cost you $20, and gets you tastes of all the mac and cheeses plus some vegan swag (cookies included!). And if this kind of vegan shindig is so your jam and you wish more stuff like this happened around the city, good news: Giardina, now based in New York, tells us he and Lanni have a vegan pop-up flea market planned for Philly (more on that soon), and they’re hoping to open a community-oriented vegan convenience store — “Like a vegan 7-11,” Giardina says — in Philly in the next year or so. AWESOME, right?

You can find out more about the Philly MAC-Down here. And note: Be Well Philly readers get 15 percent off their tickets with the code BEWELLPHILLY. Happy eating!

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