Quick Take
Nearly 30 restaurants across Santa Cruz County participated in the county’s first Vegan Chef Challenge in April, offering special plant-based dishes aimed at attracting diners and encouraging restaurants to expand vegan options. Corralitos restaurant Circle & Square Bistro won the competition. Participating chefs said the event brought in new customers and inspired interest in keeping some vegan dishes on their menus permanently.
On Tuesday, restaurateurs, chefs and community members marked the conclusion of the county’s first Vegan Chef Challenge with awards and a buffet of plant-based bites at La Posta restaurant in Santa Cruz.
Throughout April, the event challenged restaurants throughout Santa Cruz County to offer special plant-based options on their menus. Almost 30 food and drink businesses across the county participated, from affordable eateries such as Bookie’s Pizza and Charlie Hong Kong in Santa Cruz, to high-end spots including Trestles in Capitola and The View at Chaminade Resort & Spa.
Travis Koon, the sous-chef and general manager at Bookie’s, said that the “beet-eroni” Detroit-style pizza it offered for the challenge was popular throughout April. It outsold the vegan pie on Bookie’s regular menu, with several fans returning to partake multiple times. He and chef Todd Parker are trying to rework their original recipe, which involves cooking, slicing and dehydrating beets, then rehydrating them with spices and wine to resemble pepperoni, to be less labor-intensive in order to keep it on the menu.
They weren’t sure what to expect from the competition, but had a positive experience. “We’re proud of what we created, and it brought in good business,” said Koon.
Customers were encouraged to vote for their favorite dishes, and cast 340 votes by the end of the month, event organizers reported. Organizers calculated the winners by tallying the number of votes and the impact on the diners, as reported in comments submitted during voting.
Circle & Square Bistro, which opened in Corralitos last August, took home first place. In April, the small restaurant offered a yuba and mushroom pan fry ($28), spring succotash with cranberry beans ($24) and an almond-chickpea blondie dessert with blueberry coulis ($12).
Chef and owner Tyler Reiner said he started the restaurant with a focus on vegetarian- and vegan-friendly dishes that highlight the area’s produce.
“We want to be plant-forward both for sustainability, because the cost of meat is so expensive, and because of where we are – in the middle of agricultural land,” Reiner said. About 60% of the menu is vegan, and 80% is vegetarian.
Vim Dining & Desserts in Santa Cruz earned second place and the highest impact score. It offered chipotle black bean tetelas ($22) and Cajun-spiced lion’s mane mushroom with grits ($38), as well as a rhubarb frangipane galette with coconut ice cream ($16). Laughing Monk Brewing and Gastropub in Scotts Valley took home third prize and a nod for best vegan comfort food for cauliflower wings ($14), barbecue seitan tacos ($20) and a tofu marinara sandwich ($18).
Ten other restaurants earned awards to acknowledge excellence, including La Posta for the Best Vegan Pasta dish – a handmade orecchiette pasta with spring vegetables and bread crumbs – and Legacy for Plant-based Excellence to longstanding vegetarian eatery Dharma’s Restaurant in Capitola.
The Santa Cruz Vegan Chef Challenge was put on by Vegan Outreach, a national nonprofit that supports a cruelty-free lifestyle, in collaboration with the Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce, Santa Cruz VegFest and the Downtown Santa Cruz Association. The format mirrors events held in other cities and aims to promote plant-based options on restaurant menus.
Santa Cruz-based organizer Allison Garcia said she was inspired by traveling to other cities with vegan friends specifically to experience plant-based dining. She approached the visitors center to see if the organization could attract vegan tourism to the area.
The goal of the event is to expand vegan options at restaurants permanently.
“Eating plant-based foods is something we can do on a daily basis for animals and the planet,” Garcia said. “This event aims to create more options for the vegan-curious, vegan diners, and anyone who appreciates the abundance of produce in the region.”
Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.
