Vegetarian Star

Tal Ronnen was born to a New Yorker mother and an Australian father, so he had plenty of exposure to diverse, good food growing up. In fact, he says he keeps a jar of Vegemite in his pantry to make those sandwiches both he and his father love.

Describing his childhood experiences with food as one which had him holding chopsticks in his hand as a toddler, Ronnen recently gave the Broward Palm Beach New Times a glimpse into his vegan passion that led him to write “The Conscious Cook” and contribute to the development of Gardein faux meats.

On Gardein faux meat products which he helped developed:
“It’s the first vegetarian protein that chefs actually cook with. For a long time, [the only vegetarian meat substitutes were] just veggie dogs and veggie burgers. But the owner of the company created this new protein that you can really cook with — not just stick in between a bun. Gordon Ramsay even used it on an episode. It’s made of pea protein and ancient grains — not just soy. It’s sold at retail and for food service. I work on new product development.”

Is it cool to order McDonald’s without the burger?:
“Haha, never. When I used to eat McDonald’s,. I would order actual chesseburgers! Now Burger King is my go-to burger — I can get a veggie burger in a pinch, like when I’m traveling. But I prefer to find an ethnic restaurant, like Indian, Thai, or Chinese, that naturally has vegetarian options.”

Read more of the interview with Ronnen.

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