Plant-based baking – sweet!
Words Nikita Oliver Metcalfe
Recent Matakana resident, Carine Claudepierre, brings with her a passion for vegan baking fueled by her love of the planet. Sharing her recipes online as a food content creator is something she’s been doing for many years, and now she’s looking forward to the opportunity to connect with her new community through food.
French-born Carine and her husband Damien moved to New Zealand 12 years ago and soon became pregnant with their first child. With a newborn in the house, Carine saw her eating habits change. After a warning from her doctor, and with little guidance on what to do next, she decided to put her master cooking and baking skills to work; eventually reversing her pre-diabetes with a low-carb diet she created for herself.
A qualified scientist, Carine enjoyed delving further into the world of food and creating her own easy and healthy recipes. Researching extensively, she embraced the challenges,
and when she decided to professionalise what had been a hobby, sharing her recipes online at Sweet as Honey, Carine embarked on another huge task, upskilling herself to become a food photographer and videographer.
Fast forward five years, and with one successful website under her belt, a new vegan diet, adopted by her athletic and planet-conscious husband, saw Carine back in the kitchen exploring, discovering and creating new recipes for The Conscious Plant Kitchen.
“Now running two successful websites, it became feasible for my husband Damien to come onboard; utilising his background in software development to assist with planning, analysis, marketing and technical support to grow our online publishing presence to 1,500 recipes and five-million page views a month between the two websites,” says Carine.
Known for her sweet recipes, Carine’s focus is on healthy baking, which is where her true passion lies. All of her recipes are simple, she prefers baking without too many steps and enjoys involving the whole family. “I like baking because it’s really about sharing love,” Carine says. “But it’s not as simple as heading to the kitchen to bake!”
Carine spends hours analysing food trends, seasonal planning and researching keywords and content before the baking begins. Just as many hours then go into post- production, editing photos and copy, and sharing her work online, via email and through various social media channels. In order to remain authentic, Carine chooses not to participate in brand sponsorships, believing everyone should have the option to choose the products they want to use.
For Carine it’s all about educating, sharing knowledge, and helping others. “Through my immense passion for plant-based recipes, I have discovered I can deliver delicious cakes, muffins, pies, and more, without the bad fat or the bad sugar, and my kids love it. People need to know about that, and it’s also costs less.” Carine believes a more plant-based approach to food is the future. Seeing the awareness and acknowledgement from her own children about eating meat and its effect on the planet, she wants us all to help support the next generation with this change.
Carine is looking forward to becoming involved in the local community, saying Matakana gives her a feeling unlike any other place she’s been in New Zealand, and of course she loves the food scene. “Healthy baking and cooking doesn’t have to be difficult,” says Carine.
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