Over the past decade, vegetable forward food has really started to get the recognition it deserves. That’s due to a handful of Chefs who took the attention away from meat before it became the “cool” thing to do. Today’s guest is Chef Richard Landau, an early pioneer of the plant based trends that have been rapidly gaining in popularity. His first restaurant, Horizons, opened in Philadelphia back in 1994. His talents in the kitchen have earned him accolades by the James Beard Foundation and he starred in the Food Network series Chopped. Along with his wife, Chef Kate Jacoby, he’s authored several plant-based cookbooks, including Vedge: 100 Plates Large and Small That Redefine Vegetable Cooking.
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What we covered in this episode with Richard Landau
- Chef Richard Landau explains why the traditional restaurant model isn’t working (4:42)
- The romance versus the reality of working in restaurants (7:37)
- Chef Richard Landau and a simplified vision of the future restaurant experience (11:20)
- Shifting away from the brick and mortar concept (14:40)
- Why vegetables deserve more praise says Chef Richard Landau (16:46)
- Kicking the carnivore habit as a meat lover (17:57)
- Chef Richard Landau shares the top plant-based food trends to watch (23:05)
- How to add complexity to vegetables (24:54)
- Local seasonality versus global transportation of produce (28:24)
- Creative cooking rules to live by (29:42)
- The star of the menu at Vedge by chef Richard Landau (31:31)
- How to step up your taco game (36:38)
- A series of rapid-fire questions.
Links to other episodes in Philadelphia
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- zucchini trapanese. A simple dish of sauteed shaved zucchini in a tomato, almond, basil and calabrian chile pesto topped with grated almond.
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- Carrot steak with carrot sauerkraut puree on pumpernickel and a kimchee kraut.
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- Corn chowder – creamed corn with a seared potato “scallop” and a tomato, pepper and parsley salad.
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- House smoked tofu over a fava bean hummus, with dukkah spice and a green olive salad.
Veggie taco recipe
First, find a really good tortilla that you love.
Don't limit tacos to Mexican food.
Korean tacos are very popular nowadays, and also Chinese tacos.
You can go to Peruvian or Brazilian cuisine influences.
Really stretch yourself out and just have some fun.
You can use tempeh, seitan, or strictly veggie with cauliflower or shredded mushroom.