Chatting with Yvonne Ardestani of Yvonne’s Vegan Kitchen discussed how she’s always been passionate about food. From as early as grade school she had memories of cooking in the kitchen with her mom and having baking parties with friends in college. At one time she considered herself a food snob only frequenting restaurants rated 23 and above by Zagat. Throwing caution to the wind, one day she packed up her business clothes and enrolled herself in culinary school. She wanted to be doing something that she has passion for. After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu her culinary star continued to rise working for Chef Suzanne Goin at Lucques and Tavern, creating a popular food blog, a vegan cookbook app, Yvonne’s Vegan Kitchen and her list of accomplishments goes on and on…
In 2013 she initially became vegan to improve her health being proactive against disease and to promote wellness for longevity. Her inspiration came from the idea of longevity and overall wellness. Having a long family history of heart disease and her father passing away from a massive heart attack was all the push she needed to make the lifestyle change. Reading book, The China Study sparked many aha moments in Yvonne. When you think cold turkey, you think of breaking other habits not necessarily your diet. This was the approach that Yvonne took to eating vegan and it made her feel good. Going a step further and researching, she also watched documentaries including Forks over Knives and Vegucated. This led to her being a more ethical vegan for the protection of animals, betterment of the environment and our world!
With so much focus in the world creating more healthy lifestyles more and more people are conscious about what they eat. When Yvonne samples her products in stores, she always gets questioned about ingredients: is it dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free and refined sugar-free? With so much value being placed on these types of food this has been great for business. Increases in demand for plant-based desserts and people looking to find healthier alternatives without sacrificing taste. It’s awesome to see the plant-based movement making its way into mainstream. With new vegan pop-ups Yvonne feels hopeful that people are making decisions based on their health and our environment. Making conscientious choices today that affect tomorrow.
Food is one those things that touches all 5 senses: it’s visually appealing, fragrant aromas, taste, various texture and the sounds you hear when someone’s tasting your food for the first time. For Yvonne it’s important to make food memorable to elevate your mood and evoke feelings of trust, enjoyment and relaxation making life rich. Taking a moment to smell the roses engaging your senses while eating a meal can be a transcendent out of body experience. Here’s how Yvonne engages your sense with her food:
Sight: We eat with our eyes first. It’s important to create sophisticated, elegant, fresh drool-worthy creations. If she’s doesn’t drool, chances are her customers won’t drool either.
Touch: Mouthfeel is so important, everything should have good texture. Cheesecake should be smooth; chocolate cake should be moist and airy and pie crust should be flaky.
Taste: Rule of thumb for chefs Taste Everything! Yvonne is no exception she tastes everything she creates. She wants her customer to savor each bite.