I spend a lot of my time reading and thinking about food. Like every long-term chef I also have a pretty good idea about what I do and do not like on a plate.
Since eliminating animal products from my diet I have been researching vegan fine dining pretty much constantly, and i've come to a few conclusions.
#1) There is no reason that vegan dishes should be of less quality than equivalent omni dishes.
#2) Unless you are a health resort or a specifically healthy eating establishment we need toThe ditch the flavorless low salt, low GI, not fat crap.(Gluten free i'm all for however, allergies should be taken seriously)
#3) We need to stop veganising omnivorous dishes, the vegan versions are poor imitations, and don't really convince anyone. Vegetables have their own beautiful language and should be allowed to speak for themselves.
#4) There are a whole bunch of new ingredients and techniques that are only just now being explored, things like sous-vide, vacuum evaporation and various vegetable gums are opening a whole new range of textures and flavors not previously attainable. These areas have some massive possibilities for vegan food.
#5) The tide is turning, plant based cuising is becoming more and more acceptable.
The #1 restaurant in the world for the last 2 years is a restaurant called Noma in Copenhagen and, while being a far cry from even vegetarian, is very plant centered. They choose to showcase their local plant life and animal parts tend to only play a secondary roll. ( http://www.noma.dk/ )
I can seriously foresee a time in our gustatory future when some of the top restaurants in the world are vegan.
Honestly, I can't wait.
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