Going vegan is not a diet—it is a lifestyle to Amy Elkhoury. In a small licensed kitchen on Hong Kong Island, Amy soaks up cashews overnight so they are ready to be pulsed into a paste the following morning. She moulds artisanal vegan cheese with this paste, leaving them to age for three weeks.

Her dairy free cheese business, Nuteese, started in 2020. It was a year after she moved to Hong Kong from Canada, when she started creating vegan cheese without compromising form and texture. One of her cheese wheels, the Cam meets Brie Aged Plant-based Cheese, has the same look and taste as a regular camembert or brie—only without milk.

She retired as a yoga instructor and found her true calling in crafting ethical cheese. To Amy, Hong Kong is the best place to start a brand. “Everything is fast-paced, which is incredible when you're trying to open a business,” she explains. “But it can get overwhelming if you're not very grounded.”

In 2019, she moved to Hong Kong with four cats and a dog, following the footsteps of her ex-husband. Now, she single-handedly runs a vegan business and introduced a healthier way of living to the city. For her, collaborating with local farmers in building her brand would be a dream.

“For me, being healthy is basically feeling everything within my body, being anchored,” she says. “Healthy eating is quite important, but physical exercise also plays a big role.”

For over two decades, Amy has lived as a vegan and loves cooking at home. Back in Montreal, where she is originally from, home cooked meals were the norm. Here, not so much, she finds it a cultural shock to see locals eating out daily.

Trained as a plant-based chef in Bali, France and New York, Amy has explored vegan cheeses from around the world. She draws inspiration from her travels, but there is something magical about Hong Kong that keeps her rooted—the people, the vegetarian food fairs and everything in between this concrete jungle-slash-nature haven.

Every morning she walks her dog up to the Peak or heads to the studio for kickboxing. She also has a reformer machine at home for Pilates. “It's very easy for somebody to stay active here. The hikes being in nature,” she says. “There are a lot of Pilates, martial arts studios, and gyms, which are very accessible and within walking distance.”

“There's this hustle and bustle city aspect,” she adds. “And there's also nature, the beaches, and beautiful places where you can retreat after working hard.”

No matter how tough her artisanal business can be, Amy stays rooted in her mission and beliefs, bringing Nuteese to the table for both older and younger generations to come.

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