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I gasped when I saw a Facebook post that Knoxville is a host in the Vegan Chef Challenge. I recognized the implications immediately. What a wonderful way to introduce vegan food to our area and encourage vegan chefs and those chefs who want to expand their culinary offerings.
I prepared to let out my belt buckle.
What is the Vegan Chef Challenge?
The Vegan Chef Challenge is a month-long promotion of vegan specials at participating restaurants. The Knoxville list includes restaurants, bakeries, and pop-ups.
Diners vote on their favorite dishes and have a chance to provide detailed feedback. That way the chefs can see what worked well and what might need to be tweaked in the dish.
The challenger organizers provide the businesses with materials, templates, and social media advertising.
Start a vegan chef challenge in your area.
My Vegan Chef Culinary Experiences
I want to support all restaurants that participate in the Vegan Chef Challenge. So far, I’ve discovered dishes at old favorites, including the only fully-vegan restaurant in East Tennessee, Kianga’s Kitchen. And I’ve also discovered restaurants that I didn’t know existed.
My favorites (so far):
Beans Greens Potatoes Tomatoes at Kianga’s Kitchen
Berry Bacon Ricotta Melt and Vegan Slaw at Southland Books & Cafe
Seoul Fresh Rolls at Seoul Brothers
Truffle Pie at Bluetick Tavern
I spoke with the chef at Knoxville’s only vegan restaurant, Kianga’s Kitchen. He was pleased with the turnout and sales of his dish, “Beans Greens Potatoes Tomatoes.” This is a black-eyed pea fritter stuffed with collard greens pan-fried in olive oil with sweet potato sauce and tomatoes. He named this dish after the viral video of the Vegan Rapper Grey. How fun.
What are the Benefits of the Vegan Chef Challenge?
The Vegan Chef Challenge website provides statistics on the challenges across the US. The majority of participating restaurants kept their vegan dish on the menu after the challenge was over. Awesome!
Restaurants are starting to realize the importance of having vegan options on their menu. The number of vegan diners is rising, and so is the number of omnivores reducing their meat consumption. Adding vegan options is good business.
The challenge allows omnivores to try delicious vegan food and, hopefully, encourages them to try more vegan food. To assist them, the challenge links to the program 10 Weeks to Vegan. This support program helps you switch out animal products gradually and provides recipes and nutritional support.
What challenge dishes have you enjoyed?
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