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“
wentwith them.Asa result, I atea lot of vegetablesand
starchesandnoproteins.”
Thiswas in the1990s, andwhileplentyofvegetarian res-
taurantsexisted, the foodie inRonnen found theofferings to
beabit lackluster. “Theyweremadebyhippies, forhippies,”
he recounts. “And theydidn’tmindsacrificing textureorfla-
vor.Veggieburgerscame inboxesandyouhad toaddwater.”
Frustratedbywhatwasavailableandseeinganopportu-
nity forhimself,Ronnendecided toget into the foodbusiness.
At thispoint, during the late1990s, hewas in themidstof
attendingRochester InstituteofTechnology, intending toget
adegree inphotography.HequitRIT, spent timeasan
instructor forEastmanKodak, andhadhisownphotography
business inNewYorkbeforeenrolling in theNaturalGour-
met Institute.Despite thename, thisManhattan-basedcook-
ingschool doesnot focusonveganorvegetariancuisine.
Ronnen liked that.Hisquestwas to learnFrenchcooking
techniquesandapply them tovegancooking inaway that
nobodyhaddonebefore. “Ifiguredouthow tomake thefive
mothersaucesofFrancewithoutusinganyanimal products,”
he remembers. “Itwasa tough thing fora lotof chefs towrap
theirheadsaround.Theybelieve that everydish isbuilt
aroundprotein in thecenterof theplate, and, for them,
protein issynonymouswithmeatorfishorpoultry.”
Tofindother, tastyoptions, Ronnenadoptedaworldwide
perspective. “I did researchoverseasand learned that a lot
of Japanesepeoplemaynot bevegetariansbut theyget
muchof theirprotein from soybeans,”he says. “InMexico
manyof theproteins come fromblackbeans. I learned that
you canusea lot of these less-expectedproteins tomake
some really interestingdishes.”
Toget to thepointof
interesting
,Ronnen revertedback to
his formativeyears.He thought likea foodie rather than like
avegan, creatingdishes thatwouldbe interesting inanyset-
ting. Forexample, incomingupwithanew takeonoysters
rockefeller,Ronnendidnot focusoncreatinga fakeoyster.
Instead, he found inspiration inanartichoke. “Inoticed that
whenyoupull off the leaf of anartichoke, it looks likean
oyster,”hesays. “Then Ifigured that I couldnestle ina
cookedoystermushroomandmix itwithbreadcrumbs.”You
bake itup, haveabite-sizeportion inwhich thesumequals
more than itsparts, and, addsRonnen, “Youeat it likeanoys-
ter rockefeller. I’veshownpeople thatyoucandoa lotwith
plant-based foods. Itgoesbeyond tabboulehandhummus.”
➤
FOOD
The Greens Gourmet
Inoticed thatwhen
youpulloff the leaf
ofanartichoke, it
looks likeanoyster.
Ifigured that Icould
nestle inacooked
oystermushroom
andmix itwith
breadcrumbs.
”
© LINDA LONG
FAll 2012
celebratedliving.com
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