The Culinary Institute of America

Smoked Eggplant with Pumpkin Seeds and Tahini at Tendril Restaurant, London

Chef Rishim Sachdeva of Tendril Restaurant in Soho, London, prepares a smoked eggplant topped with lemon tahini, pumpkin seeds, Kalamata olives, and herbs. He chars the eggplant for about 40 minutes until it’s perfectly smoky, soft, and creamy. He then peels and opens up the eggplant, and adds an extra layer of smoky crispness by torching the flesh.
Watch the full documentary and find recipes here!

Interview with Chef Rishim Sachdeva of Tendril, London

Chef Rishim Sachdeva believes that the key to convincing people to adopt plant-forward eating habits is starting with the highest-quality fresh produce and perfecting the technique of preparing them. Tendril is Sachdeva’s “mostly vegan” restaurant in London’s Soho district. Having worked at restaurants like Chiltern Firehouse and The Fat Duck, Chef Sachdeva is inventive and deliberately non-conformist with his dishes.
Watch the full documentary and find recipes here!
 

White Asparagus “Bouillabaisse” at Gauthier Soho in London

At Gauthier Soho restaurant in central London, Chef Alexis Gauthier serves traditional French cuisine, on an entirely plant-based menu. In his dish of white asparagus with baby zucchini and vegan “bouillabaisse,” he creatively showcases the flavors of both the land and sea, treating  the white asparagus like a delicate white fish, and serving it with a bouillabaisse-inspired sauce infused with seaweed.
Watch the full documentary and find recipes here!

Green Asparagus with Peas at Gauthier Soho in London

Chef Alexis Gauthier of Gauthier Soho restaurant in central London serves traditional French cuisine—that is entirely plant-based. In this video, he shares his techniques for bringing out the best in asparagus in a dish he describes as encapsulating spring: green asparagus with olives, peas, pea shoots, and a green pea puree.
Watch the full documentary and find recipes here!
 

Interview with Chef Alexis Gauthier of Gautier Soho in London

Chef Alexis Gauthier of Gauthier Soho is located in Soho, London, in a Regency townhouse. Gauthier Soho is a traditional fine-dining French restaurant serving all vegan fare. Chef talks about growing up in the south of France, being the first restaurant in London to create an all-vegetable tasting menu in the late 90s, and cooking techniques to bring the most out of vegetables. Since becoming vegan in 2014, Chef decided he no longer wanted his restaurant to profit from serving animals. He saw the pandemic shutdown as an opportunity to transition the restaurant to being 100% plant-based.
Watch the full documentary and find recipes here!

Hummus with Baharat Crunch at Bubula Spitalfields Restaurant in London

Chef Ben Rand of Bubula Spitalfields in east London prepares his signature hummus with a date and baharat crunch. Baharat is a Middle Eastern spice blend with cardamom, nutmeg, cumin, cloves, and cinnamon. He fries shallots and adds dates, Baharat, Aleppo chili, and tamari to the hot oil. This is used as the umami-rich topping for the hummus.
Watch the full documentary and find recipes here!

Eggplant with Curry Leaf Crunch at Bubula Spitalfields Restaurant in London

Ben Rand is executive chef of Bubula Spitalfields restaurant in East London. He shares how he makes grilled eggplant with peanut sauce and a fried shallot and curry leaf crunch, marinating the grilled and peeled eggplant overnight in a sauce of vegan dashi, miso paste, and tamari. To cut down on food waste, he blends candied peanuts with the leftover marinade, and uses it as the sauce on top of the eggplant.
Watch the full documentary and find recipes here!
 

Interview with Marc Summers of Bubula Spitalfields Restaurant in London

Marc Summers is founder and CEO of Bubula Spitalfields restaurant in East London. This vegetarian Middle Eastern restaurant has a menu designed for sharing. The name Bubula means “darling” in Yiddish, and is what Summers and his grandmother used to call each other. He hopes to bring the feeling of comfort, care, and generosity he felt at his grandmother’s house to his restaurant.
Watch the full documentary and find recipes here!