Serving up a vegan ‘chicken’ soup

Chicken soup has always been a staple of Jewish cuisine and now its traditional flavour is available to vegans, thanks to Caulfield North mother and businesswoman Charmaine Broons.

During the COVID-19 lockdown Charmaine, who is vegan, created her own soup range which hit the market at the end of last year. “It always infuriated me that I missed out on the chicken soup, especially the matzah ball soup, at Pesach, and was being served minestrone soup instead,” she told The AJN. “I wanted to enjoy the same flavour and joyous Jewish recipes, so I created my own soup range.”

Charmaine enlisted the help of her daughters Jemima, 18, Aviva, 16 and Romy, 13 in the business, called Three Daughters Food, which sells a range of soups prepared in the St Kilda Shule kitchen called The Original, Noodle, Matzo Ball, Dumpling and Delicatessen.

They also sell packs of vegan matzah balls and kreplach. “It had been in my mind for a while to create a chicken soup for vegans, but it was when I was stuck at home during lockdown that I decided to have a go and it turned out better than expected,” she said.

Charmaine said there were numerous recipes available, but the challenge was to make it as traditional as possible. So she gave it the same time and attention to produce a clear broth that would be spent in making a traditional chicken soup. “I didn’t want to include anything that you would not find in a traditional chicken soup apart from the chicken,” she said.

“The result is a very satisfying and enjoyable taste. My husband Simon, who is not a vegetarian, loves it and is a big fan, as are others I know who are meat-eaters.” Charmaine said that last year she and her daughters had planned to team up in another business under the name Three Daughters, but did not proceed with that idea. “When we did our research for the first business it proved to be too challenging, and the idea for a vegan soups business came off the back of that,” she said. “They were so excited that they immediately assumed roles in the business.”

In addition to the vegan soups, matzah balls and kreplach, Three Daughters Food also bake challah for Shabbat dinners, with two varieties available – the everything challah (salty and sweet with seasoning) and cloud challah, with flour sprinkled over the top. “My aim is to keep producing these traditional foods for the community,” said Charmaine.

The products are available at two Melbourne delis – Lenny’s Deli, North Caulfield and Bambra Deli, South Caulfield – as well as online from the Three Daughters Food website. “A lot of people have shown interest in our products and we will look at branching out with more outlets,” she said.

The range of soups is certified by Kosher Australia. Chairmaine has had experience in small business but not in the food industry. “I have always enjoyed cooking, but have not done it professionally. Now I’m keen to find all the vegans who love chicken soup.”

For her next challenge, Charmaine is considering making a gluten-free version of her soups. “I have been experimenting with gluten-free recipes but they have proved to be harder than the vegan recipe to make it tasty,” she said. “But I will keep working on it.”

Enquiries: threedaughtersfood.com