This Chef Is Attempting to Open a Vegan Bakery and Latinx Social Justice Café In Seattle

Seattle-based vegan baker Lara de la Rosa recently launched a campaign on the crowdfunding website GoFundMe to open Casa del Xoloitzcuintle (Case del Xolo), a vegan bakery and Latinx social justice café. De la Rosa’s mission to make veganism easy and affordable for the masses while advocating social justice is the driving force behind Casa del Xolo.

While the café menu includes the Lazy Cow Bakery’s cakes as well as new sweet treats like macaroons and croissants, de la Rosa is most excited about the new savory products that are currently being developed. “We’re currently testing quiche recipes,” de la Rosa told VegNews. “There’s only something about cheesy vegetables, roasted with them, in a fluffy egg filling. I promise our quiche will be just as satisfying but without animal exploitation. “

A café for culture

With a donation goal of $ 30,000, de la Rosa plans for Casa del Xolo to be more than just a vegan bakery and café. Overlooking a room in the city’s university district, Casa del Xolo will also be a Latinx cultural center with a stage for events, pantry, communal fridge and Spanish classes.

“We see veganism as another branch in the tree of social justice reform,” said de la Rosa. “Our pantry will be 100 percent vegan. We don’t have to exploit part of our population to help another segment when we can simply help both by offering a plant-based pantry. “De la Rosa goes a step further and hopes to offer free, ready-to-eat meals to people affected by homelessness, a reality that de la Rosa has witnessed for himself. “I want people to get used to the idea that food should be free,” she said. “While pantries are known to have pantry clips, I’ll try and eventually [stock] Ready meals. Pantry staples are great for those who have access to kitchens, but many homeless people don’t. “

In addition to the programming geared towards Latinx, veganism will also be a common thread in the work of the center. De la Rosa plans to host free lectures, debates and documentaries at Casa del Xolo to educate customers about veganism.

Latinx in Seattle

According to the US Census Bureau, seven percent of the Seattle population was identified as Latinx in 2019. To Mexico-born de la Rosa, it’s obvious that the city’s resources are not being devoted to Latinx cultural events and centers. “From Swedish cultural centers to Finnish museums, [Seattle] has these grandiose, multi-million dollar buildings in prime real estate areas for countries a million miles away and an extremely small percentage of the population, ”said de la Rosa. “If only [the city] had the same strength for the brown majority country [the US] notifies a limit. “

Casa del Xolo will be a place where de la Rosa aims to both celebrate Latinx culture and take a “critical approach” to issues that activists have struggled and debated with for decades. “There is so much beauty and depth in our culture, and I am proud of my roots. But I don’t want to blindly accept or even preserve every aspect of Mexican culture, ”said de la Rosa. “We have some of the highest rates of femicide in the world, even within Latin America. Machismo culture and anti-blackness are omnipresent. For so long, black majority countries like Haiti have been culturally excluded from the Latin American roof. That’s what I mean when I say we are taking a “critical approach” to celebrate our culture. “

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