Michelin-Starred Chef Josef Centeno Is Replacing Dairy with Vegan Cheese in His Most Popular Dishes and Says You Should, Too.

Chef Josef Centeno lately changed dairy with vegan cheese in a number of dishes at his Tex-Mex eatery Bar Amá in Los Angeles, CA. An acclaimed chef who holds a Michelin star at his different LA eatery Orsa & Winston, Centeno partnered with So Scrumptious to make the swap. Now, Centeno—a nominee for Greatest Chef on the 2020 James Beard Awards—makes use of the model’s vegan cheese instead of dairy in a few of his hottest dishes, together with Cheddar Almond “Queso” and Chile Relleno.

“​​Cheese is a key ingredient in all of my cooking, however particularly at Bar Amá; my Tex-Mex restaurant,” Centeno mentioned. “After attempting the So Scrumptious cheese options, I spotted that it’s attainable to swap conventional cheese out with this scrumptious plant-based substitute with scrumptious taste and texture. Whether or not company are dairy-free, vegan, flexitarian, or simply take pleasure in nice meals, I’m excited to have the ability to present them with extra to select from on the menu, figuring out that the expertise gained’t disappoint.”

To make it simpler for different eating places to substitute dairy with vegan cheese, So Scrumptious is providing cooks and foodservice operators free samples within the type of two 32-ounce luggage of shreds in each Cheddar and Mozzarella type flavors. “I encourage different cooks and operators to check out this new line for themselves,” Centeno mentioned. “You’ll see you could give your company extra choices that also ship nice taste and texture company will love.”

Michelin-starred eating places get their vegan stripes 

A plant-based wave has been sweeping by way of the world of advantageous eating lately, with many cooks trying to elevate vegan meals as an answer to combating the local weather disaster. In 2018, Michelin-starred chef Alexis Gauthier eliminated foie gras at his French restaurant Gauthier Soho in London. Previous to the change, the restaurant offered greater than 40 kilos of the cruelly begotten animal product each week. Whereas he provided a vegan menu since 2015, Gauthier determined to reopen Gauthier Soho as a completely vegan restaurant earlier this yr after going vegan himself. 

Stateside, chef Daniel Humm introduced in Could that he would take away practically all animal merchandise from the menu at his New York Metropolis mainstay Eleven Madison Park—which was beforehand recognized for its aged duck dishes. “Within the midst of final yr, after we started to think about what EMP can be like after the pandemic—after we began to consider meals in artistic methods once more—we realized that not solely has the world modified, however that now we have modified as nicely,” Humm mentioned. “It was clear that after every thing all of us skilled this previous yr, we couldn’t open the identical restaurant. With that in thoughts, I’m excited to share that we’ve made the choice to serve a plant-based menu by which we don’t use any animal merchandise—each dish is constituted of greens, each from the earth and the ocean, in addition to fruits, legumes, fungi, grains, and a lot extra.”

Regardless of the hefty $325 per particular person price ticket, Eleven Madison Park was fully offered out of reservations when it opened in June, amassing a 1,500-person ready record to strive its new plant-based tasting menu. Three days after Eleven Madison Park introduced it was going plant-based, Michelin knowledgeable the restaurant that it might retain its three stars—the information’s highest ranking. Whereas the restaurant was reviewed previous to going vegan (and solely time will inform if it’s going to maintain its stars), Nationwide Director of Michelin Guides Gwendal Poullennec referred to as Humm’s choice to take away animal merchandise from the menu “an thrilling new chapter” for Eleven Madison Park.

“Our plant-based menu has opened up so many doorways, and new methods of making for our crew at Eleven Madison Park,” Humm mentioned in a latest publish on Instagram. “We’re not anti-meat. We’re pro-planet.”

Ought to Eleven Madison Park retain its stars, it’s going to be a part of a really quick record of vegan eating places, together with ONA in France, to realize prime recognition from Michelin. Earlier this yr, ONA turned the primary vegan restaurant in France to win a coveted Michelin star. An acronym for “Origine Non Animale” (“animal-free origin”), ONA is the primary vegan institution to seem within the Michelin Information to France because it was created within the yr 1900. Owned by chef Claire Vallée, the restaurant can also be the primary to obtain a inexperienced star, which Michelin launched final yr to honor institutions with a powerful give attention to moral and sustainable practices.