GREEN AND GRATIFYING
Veggies rule at family eatery
What started as a family experiment has turned into a family business for the Robinsons.
Michelle Robinson, a chef, has been the driving force behind Good Stock (11409 40 Ave.), a new vegan and vegetarian restaurant in Petrolia. But it took the combined effort of Michelle, parents Deborah and Brian Robinson, and younger brother Alex Robinson, to get the business off the ground. Open since June, the 50-seat restaurant also does a thriving takeout business in everything from fresh smoothies, to toothsome desserts, savoury soups and comfort food mains.
Good Stock joins several other plant-focused restaurants that have opened of late in Edmonton, including the pizza spot Die Pie, The Moth Cafe and An Chay, an all vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant.
The idea of Good Stock started to percolate when Michelle Robinson, 27, a 2010 graduate of NAIT’s culinary arts program, took a job at Noorish, a raw, vegan and vegetarian restaurant on 109 Street.
“I was a traditional chef, and started out cooking with steak and cheese,” Robinson says. “But my energy was really low and I was in my early 20s and looking for answers. I was working out, but it wasn’t happening.”
After stumbling onto the documentary Forks Over Knives on Netflix, she began to think about eating in a different way, with a focus on plants and whole foods.
“Within a couple of weeks, my energy turned around and I felt so good,” she said.
Robinson preached the gospel of good eating to her family and slowly, all four of them converted to a diet that excludes animal products almost entirely. (They still use honey at home and in the restaurant.) Her father, diagnosed more than 10 years ago with Crohn’s disease, is now free of symptoms of the serious digestive disorder. Her mother, who suffered from chronic low iron, is feeling peppy enough to put in 16-hour days at the restaurant.
Alex Robinson, 25, was “the last to join the party,” he said.
“But when you are surrounded by this environment, and understand the health benefits, it’s time to change.”
The Robinson family takes the initiative seriously. Both mother and daughter took an extensive online course in plant-based nutrition through Cornell University in the United States. Although Michelle Robinson was already a chef, she had to learn new ways of thinking about food preparation. In the beginning of their family experiment, the Robinsons found themselves eating a lot of beans, rice and smoothies.
“It was a lot to take in all at once,” Deborah Robinson said. “But now there is no going back.”
The family pulled together to launch the restaurant, tackling jackhammering, drywalling and painting. It took a year of hard work, but now all of them work at the restaurant full time.
Good Stock offers a refreshing change for even diners who have no interest in turning their backs on beef burgers — especially for residents of the south-side neighbourhood of Petrolia, who have few restaurants and takeout options in the area.
Many dishes on the menu start with a protein-rich, whole-plant food like quinoa. Creamy textures from dairy products can be mimicked through butters and sauces made with nuts such as cashews. Michelle Robinson took more than two years to perfect the restaurant’s Cheeze Burger (made with more than 20 ingredients including chickpeas and walnuts).
Winter favourites such as lasagna and shepherd’s pie dot the menu. Robinson makes a variety of vegan cheeses such as dill and onion and smoked paprika, and prepares four fresh soups a day, including tempting concoctions such as butternut squash sage.
The restaurant calls itself “gluten-wise,” which means it has a host of dishes that don’t contain gluten, but the owners stop short of promising a restaurant entirely free of cross-contamination (they do sell bagels made with wheat flour). They have cream on hand for coffee for customers, many of whom are not vegan eaters, but rather are interested in “tasty food that’s good for you,” Robinson said.
Brian Robinson thinks 2018 is the “year of the vegan,” noting there is increasing interest by the public in eating a plant-based diet, which he says has a host of health benefits.
“There are about 60,000 people living within a three-kilometre radius who realize we’re not just munching lettuce here,” he said. “You can have a delicious meal, and a hearty meal, and you’re not leaving hungry.”