HERE'S MY STORY.
It was December 31, 2014 and I was in need of a New Year’s resolution. I didn’t feel like going gluten-free, and committing to a regular gym routine has never worked out (pun intended). I wanted to think bigger, better, and bolder this year. I wanted to think beyond my own bubble. A resolution is about creating change, so if I could change anything, what would it be?
Back at Berkeley I was known for throwing the wildest parties on campus. REWIND - brunch parties, complete with a fresh-squeezed juice bar, pancake & waffle station, and a make-your-own vegan omelet bar that wrapped around my tiny apartment. Friends and neighbors would smell the meat-free maple bacon and chocolate blueberry pancakes and form a line around the block while my roommates played the role of bouncers. Sharing vegan food with friends and family has always been the best part of the experience. There’s nothing like hearing the words “I can’t believe it’s vegan”.
After college, I headed for New York City to attend The Natural Gourmet Institute. I fell in love with everything New York had to offer; the food, the farmer’s markets, the people, the passion, and the energy. A wise woman once said this “concrete jungle [is] where dreams are made of”, and Ms. Keys, you were right!
Despite my love for the Big Apple I moved back home to California after culinary school. In that time I got busy - competing in, and winning Food Network’s reality-competition series “Cupcake Wars”, and writing a few vegan cookbooks - but shortly after, New York pulled me back. This time around, I started throwing larger and more elaborate dinner parties. In the middle of one of the snowiest winters in NYC I threw a pan-Asian vegan buffet with hand-rolled sizzling dumplings, build-your-own-vegan-moo-shu-station, fried rice with homemade tofu, and personalized vegan fortune cookies for each guest.
Once again, people would say, “I could be vegan if you cooked for me everyday!” And I started to wonder, what if I really could cook for people everyday? What if my New Year’s resolution was to open a restaurant where people could enjoy affordable, wholesome, delicious and exciting vegan food everyday? #kaledit.
A friend told me that everyday his office is faced with a difficult lunchtime decision: to order a “healthy” lunch or a “real” lunch, as they call it. The “healthy” lunch is always something bland and lifeless and the “real” lunch is typically burgers or wings. It’s this sort of stigma that inspired me to create the in-between: food where healthy meets delicious, without the compromise.
Drum roll please… Welcome to by CHLOE. This is my very personal attempt to change the way people perceive and experience vegan food. It’s my dream to show even the most diehard bacon lovers that plant-based eating is not just for hippies. It’s a new and experimental cuisine, not just a trendy label (thank you Bey).
So there you have it. I look forward to taking you on this journey, right here on the blog. Armed with my Test Kitchen team you’ll be provided with recipes, travel tips, and some pretty cool content. We look forward to learning a lot together along the way. Ask us anything at [email protected]. Send us suggestions, tell us what your resolutions are. Let’s build a community and learn from each other. Cheers to change!
Remember: Eat Well. Eat with Purpose.
by,
CHLOE.
