‘NOT WEIRD, JUST GOOD FOOD’
Vegan recipes gaining mainsteam popularity
Fresh restaurants have been serving vegan fare for more than 20 years. A Toronto mainstay for vegans, vegetarians and those with food allergies and sensitivities, not to mention those just looking for good eats, Fresh has been at the forefront of plant-based food in Canada. Fresh began as a travelling juice bar and has expanded to include four Toronto locations, two in Moscow and more planned for Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
Founder and co-owner Ruth Tal says, it wasn’t always easy being first. The mainstream has become more open to the merits of veganism, with the likes of Bill Clinton, Beyoncé and food writer Mark Bittman choosing plant-based diets.
What started as an effort to create an alternative — a restaurant that was hip and healthy — is appealing to more and more people.
“It’s fantastic to watch what was once niche and, according to my parents, a ‘fanatical’ lifestyle and diet choice, shift to the mainstream, without making any compromises,” Tal says. “People’s awareness around the impact of what they put in their bodies has changed. They understand the positive consequences of a plant-based diet, even if it’s one day a week, for the planet, the animals, and their own health.”
When Tal and executive chef/coowner Jennifer Houston published their first cookbook, Juice for Life (2000), they were advised against describing it as vegan.
“Now, if you’re vegan or your restaurant is vegan or your cookbook is vegan, you’re loud and proud about it,” Tal says.
The pair recently published their fifth cookbook, Super Fresh (Penguin Canada, 2015), which includes more than 200 recipes for juices, smoothies and vegan meals.
“Together we can come up with ideas that are better than either of us would come up with on our own,” Houston says. “We don’t collaborate on every single thing. But when we do, it’s magical alchemy.”