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At Real Fake Meats, Chef Lauren Marshall brings joy, humour, and serious culinary skill to plant-based butchery and cooking. A classically trained chef and Top Chef Canada alum, Marshall was well ahead of the curve, developing vegan meats long before plant-based food entered the mainstream conversation. Her approach is playful but precise, offering a menu filled with donair-inspired staples to nostalgic comfort foods that Haligonians can’t get enough of.
Real Fake Meats doesn’t ask diners to give something up; instead, it offers food that is entirely satisfying on its own terms. Marshall challenges assumptions quietly and effectively, proving that plant-based cooking can be accessible, indulgent, and full of flavour.
You’re a classically trained chef who chose a plant-based path long before it became a national trend. What moment or insight convinced you that vegan cooking could be just as expressive, technical, and satisfying as traditional fine dining?
While I was in culinary school, my mother suffered from many health issues, some of which could have been helped with a healthier diet. That led to an “aha” moment where I decided to better understand food from a health standpoint. Many years later, I made a vegan donair for a friend’s birthday. Friends gathered in the kitchen and absolutely smashed the donairs. We thought, Halifax needs this. It didn’t matter that it was missing meat — it was delicious. And that’s how Real Fake Meats was born.
Top Chef Canada brought your talent to a national audience. What part of that experience still informs the way you run your kitchen or approach your food today?
As a younger chef on the show, I had a touch of imposter syndrome. But I always put on a brave face — which, honestly, has been my approach since I started my career. Looking confident, even when I wasn’t, gave me the strength to push through five quick fires and five elimination challenges. Diving headfirst into situations has given me the confidence to take chances in my restaurant and inspire my staff to do the same — whether that means creating new recipes or giving my team the space to bring any idea to life.
Halifax isn’t always the first city people associate with plant-based innovation, yet Real Fake Meats has become a destination. What makes Halifax a meaningful place to build this kind of culinary movement?
Halifax is my home — born and raised. After years of cooking and travelling the world, there is no place that feels as special to me. This city has a vibrant vegan community that I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of for many years, and opening Real Fake Meats and putting my own spin on things just made sense. There’s nothing we love more than sharing our food with people who come from away. Halifax has so much to offer.
A closing thought beyond the questions
Vegan food isn’t just for vegans. I want to encourage anyone who loves food to try a vegan recipe or support a local vegan restaurant that is doing something genuinely exciting. Vegan chefs are producing some of the most innovative cooking happening right now, and that’s an experience worth having, no matter what you normally put on your plate.
