Seasons 52
follow others’
examples
As you build your repertoire of
vegetarian/vegan dishes, learn
how others have found success
with entire meals, components
and ingredient substitutions.
perceive as vegetarian. For
example, don’t use chicken stock
in vegetable soup, says Cliff
Pleau, senior culinary director
for Orlando, Fla.-based Darden
Restaurants’ Seasons 52.
For Seasons 52, Pleau says two
of the flatbreads (artichoke and
tomato) are popular among
vegetarians, as is the Sonoma
goat cheese ravioli and the
steamed edamame. With the
popularity of the chain’s cedar
plank Atlantic salmon, Pleau has
been developing what will likely
be cedar plank tofu.
True Food Kitchen
Barbecue sauce is another
example. Worcestershire sauce is
a common ingredient, but Pleau
won’t use it because it contains
anchovies. For sushi, rather than
using seaweed wrappers that
contain vegetarian-forbidden
plankton, he uses soy wrappers.
top: Season 52’s artichoke
flatbread is a favorite
vegetarian item.
bottom: This Whole Grain
Hot Cereal at True Food
Kitchen uses coconut milk,
making it a vegan-friendly
brunch dish.
Consider a viewpoint of building
the plate according to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s
Dietary Guidelines for Americans
in which fruits and vegetables
make up half the plate, says
Schneider with SOL Mexican
Cocina, adding that most
global-cuisine cooks consider
meat a garnish or afterthought.
“We take meat and put things
around it. We should completely
reverse that.”
Pleau recommends learning
food science as a critical building
block. “Most of what I do is
scientific when it comes to flavor
matching,” he says. For example,
understand food combinations
that provide a safe amino acid
level, such as combining whole
grains and/or legumes and
nuts that, when put together
correctly, provide an acceptable
meat replacement.
Vegetarian and vegan items
on True Food Kitchen’s menu
are designated for easy identification. Among the most
popular appetizers are edamame
dumplings and herb hummus.
Teriyaki brown rice bowls and
spaghetti squash casserole are
