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While all good chefs bring creativity and artistry to the kitchen, you might contend that vegan chefs and plant-based chefs double down on that flair. These professionals know how to transform ingredients like beans, grains, and vegetables into satiating and delicious dishes, and many of them succeed in convincing mainstream diners to eagerly eat foods they might never have considered.
Some chefs have become celebrities, like Rip Esselstyn, the founder of PLANTSTRONG plant-based foods who appeared in the 2018 documentary Game Changers—one of the most-watched documentaries ever—which follows elite athletes who adhere to plant-based diets.
Many others are also well-known in their own right and work to teach and spread the word on the health benefits of following a plant-based diet, including Dr. Amy Sapola, the director of Farmacy at the Chef’s Garden in Huron, Ohio, who helps guide consumers towards a mindful relationship with food; or entrepreneur Chad Sarno, who helps bring vegan products to the masses.
Whether you’re looking to become a plant-based chef or just trying to find your next great meal, check out this list of some of the most accomplished and influential vegan chefs.
What are the differences between vegetarian, vegan, and plant-based?
While these three diets often get lumped together, each has a unique definition.
- Vegetarian: A diet that includes no meat, but may include animal products like milk and eggs
- Vegan: A diet that includes no animal products, including meat, eggs, dairy, and honey
- Plant-Based: A diet that prioritizes plant-based ingredients like vegetables, grains, and nuts; may or may not include animal products
1. Isa Chandra Moskowitz
Isa Chandra Moskowitz has brought a big personality to vegan cooking for 30 years, ever since she made her first tofu ball. An author, restaurant owner, vegan chef, and self-proclaimed “cooking show addict” who also plays guitar and loves eyeliner, Moskowitz is a big name in the plant-based and vegan worlds. She has authored or co-authored ten books, including Veganomicon and Vegan with a Vengeance.
Moskowitz opened her vegan restaurant Modern Love in Omaha, Neb., in 2014 and then opened a second location in Brooklyn, NY, in 2016. Both locations serve vegan versions of American comfort food, including dishes like seitan buffalo “wings” and mushroom fried chick’n.
2. Claire Vallée
Claire Vallée proved that plant-based restaurants could earn Michelin Stars, even in France—where meat, cream, and butter often play a major role in dishes. Her restaurant ONA (origine non animale, or animal-free origin) was the first vegan French restaurant to win a Michelin Star. The restaurant closed in late 2022, but her dishes demonstrated that refined French cooking techniques could be applied to plant-based ingredients, yet she’s also not afraid to experiment with creative new ingredient pairings.
She sums it up best when she says this on her website: “At the time I had very little money but I already knew that I had the audacity and boldness to shake up the established traditions. When you really want change there’s no secret you have to jump in feet first and go for the sacrosanct.”
Not everyone believed in Vallée’s vision. She struggled to receive financing from traditional banks, so she obtained funding for the restaurant via crowdfunding and from a bank that focuses on ethical lending. Her path can remind plant-based students that even if others doubt their dreams and goals, it doesn’t mean those aren’t worth pursuing. And that it’s possible to start a restaurant even if you don’t have much money to start with.
3. Ricky Saward
When Ricky Saward took over Seven Swans in Frankfurt, Germany, it was already a Michelin-Star vegetarian restaurant. But Saward’s culinary vision took the place to another level.
Saward sought to source all of the kitchen’s fruits and vegetables from a single farm. He stuck to this farm-to-table way of dining, even when the cold of winter limited his options to just a few root vegetables and cold-hardy greens. His approach to seasonality also extends to the native landscapes—you can find foraged items such as magnolia blossoms and juniper berries incorporated into Saward’s dishes.
Along with using unique ingredients, Saward also shows that plant-based ingredients have a multitude of uses as long as you employ a bit of creativity. Corn is served as sweet corn soup, whole baby corn, and corn miso, while wheat turns into miso, waffles, and puffed grains. Today the restaurant is advertised as vegan.
4. Amanda Cohen
Dirt Candy in New York City is a vegetarian restaurant, but chef Amanda Cohen makes the list for the innovative way she makes vegetables shine. Her restaurant’s name pays homage to Cohen’s belief that “vegetables are just candy from the dirt,” and it lays claim to being “one of only two vegetarian restaurants in New York City with a Michelin Star.”
Cohen is known for taking seemingly simple vegetables and turning them into innovative components such as tomato leather and sweet corn mousse. These components come together to form dishes that have reviewers raving and customers coming back for more.
“If there’s an underlying philosophy to what we do, it’s that we want people to crave vegetables the way they crave fried chicken and pizza,” reads Dirt Candy’s website. “So every day our chefs roll up their sleeves and try to do something with vegetables no one’s ever done before.”
5. Tal Ronnen
When celebrities and politicians are looking for plant-based fare for private events, they often call on Tal Ronnen. This plant-based chef has prepared vegan meals for Oprah, catered Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi’s wedding, and cooked the first vegan dinner held at the US Senate.
Ronnen is also the chef at Crossroads Kitchen in L.A., where he serves up approachable seasonal fare such as zucchini blossoms stuffed with nut cheese and eggplant filets with truffle potatoes.
The accomplished chef has also authored the bestselling cookbooks Crossroads: Extraordinary Recipes from the Restaurant That is Reinventing Vegan Cuisine and The Conscious Cook, and he serves on the board of the plant-based company Impossible Foods.
6. Chloe Coscarelli
Chloe Coscarelli first made a name for herself by becoming the first vegan chef to win the Food Network show’s Cupcake Wars.
A prolific entrepreneur, Coscarelli has opened a handful of restaurants and written a number of vegan cookbooks. She’s prepared vegan meals for Thanksgiving for Whole Foods and helped Club Med add vegan meals at its resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean in partnership with Beyond Meat.
7. Bryant Terry
Bryant Terry is an acclaimed chef, food justice activist, and author of several cookbooks focusing on plant-based cuisine of the African diaspora. He’s known for his work in promoting healthy eating, sustainable food practices, and food justice, particularly within African American communities.
Some of Terry’s cookbook titles include, Afro-Vegan, Vegetable Kingdom, and Black Food, and they emphasize the importance of cooking with fresh, local ingredients in a healthy, sustainable way.
As a food justice activist, Terry serves as the chef-in-residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco, where he curates programs and events focused on food, art, and culture.
Find Out More About Plant-Based Cooking
Vegan chefs get their inspiration and their expertise from a wide variety of places. If you’re interested in discovering more about plant-based cooking and potentially joining the ranks of vegan chefs, a culinary education may be a great place to start.
Escoffier’s Plant-Based Culinary Arts programs introduce students to ingredients and techniques unique to plant-based cooking as well as versatile skills like food safety and business planning. The program can set the path for you to pursue your dreams, whether that’s becoming a vegan chef or opening a vegetarian restaurant.
IF YOU ENJOYED THIS ARTICLE, READ THESE NEXT:
- What is a Plant-Based Diet? An Essential Guide
- Is Eating a Plant-Based Diet Healthy?
- What Credentials Do You Need to be a Plant-Based Chef?
This article was originally published on September 22, 2022 and has since been updated.
*Information may not reflect every student’s experience. Results and outcomes may be based on several factors, such as geographical region or previous experience.
