Why did you switch your restaurant from vegetarian to vegan in 2019?
Ricky Saward: Five years ago I cooked with a lot of meat and fish. And then in 2018 I took over a restaurant that had one star and only cooked vegetarian food.
Was the transition difficult?
That was a big change for me in the beginning. After a while I realized relatively quickly that it wasn’t that hard. You just have to do it, then it is actually a guaranteed success.
Oh yeah?
The only place we processed eggs and dairy products was in the pastry shop. It really has to be said that we kept our heads above water with about eight guests per evening. It wasn’t easy.
Okay, then it’s actually brave to go one step further and switch completely to vegan.
Absolute. It was a rock hard risk for everyone involved and we were all afraid no one would come after that. For me there was really only one like that, also out of love for sustainability.
Now, especially in the expensive kitchen, it is often the case that you make little profit because expensive products and expensive meat are used. What’s it like in the vegan kitchen?
Most guests think: “Vegetables are cheap, so you have to make a lot of money.” But we also make our ceramic bowls ourselves. Vegetables are cheap, you might think, but not in our case. What you get from us is not just the vegan food, but an overall experience.
Are there ingredients you like to use in the kitchen?
I can even tell you a few things: elderberry, acacia, meadowsweet. Basically anything that is in season in March or April, including unripe bird cherries.
Are they not poisonous?
It depends on what you do with it, whether you ferment it or salt it. We use this to make our regional olives, for example. That means we salt them for three days, then soak them and ferment them for several months. Then they actually taste like olives, only with a cherry aftertaste.
Is vegan cooking more strenuous than non-vegan?
We don’t do raw food, but a very complex, refined cuisine, where you have to have a bit of gastronomic expertise, otherwise you are quickly overwhelmed.
How long have you been vegan?
I started going vegetarian in 2019, my only problem was the cheese. And then, with the conversion of my kitchen to vegan, I had to go along with it myself so that I could really deal with veganism. But there are a few exceptions. When I go out to dinner with other star colleagues, I don’t want to give up and demand an extra vegan meal for myself. But at home there is only vegan food – but I’m very relaxed and don’t spend hours in the kitchen, just use my repertoire of vegetables or order a cookbox, where I simply cook the recipe.
What about substitute products: How about vegan salmon, schnitzel and cheese?
I’m okay with eating substitutes to help me adjust rather than a direct cut. Because doing something cool is very difficult for many people these days. That’s why people buy substitutes that help a little. It’s an offer that you don’t have to give up completely. The products taste bad but have the same consistency.
Do you have any tips for starting vegan cooking?
Don’t always think that you have to replace something in some way. Most people find it incredibly difficult to use the “vegan” label. Just don’t buy a kilo of couscous, millet or quinoa. I don’t use all that junk either. Just buy vegetables and think: what should I do with them? But to be really happy with a grin at the end of the day, you need to have enough time. Vegan cooking takes more time, much more passion and know-how than “normal” cooking.
But if millet and quinoa are no longer the basis, do you only cook with vegetables or do you also have a carbohydrate-rich side dish?
Well, potatoes are also high in carbohydrates. We’re already seeing that there’s a certain saturation, but that’s not my focus. We really care about the whole: the visual plays a major role, the perception of the guests of dishes, the atmosphere – it’s quite a spectacle. It’s still about the food, of course, but maybe that’s secondary because we don’t want to teach. True to the motto: turn off your brain, just relax. Comes with sweatpants, with normal clothes. Then the evening begins.
Why do you think there are more and more vegan fast food restaurants, but still few top vegan restaurants?
Because the risk of failure is too great. It’s much more demanding, much more time consuming. The excitement is also greater, because people have always seen vegetables as a side dish and less as the protagonist of the meal, which was otherwise always a piece of meat or fish.
How do you think good food will change?
I believe that the Michelin guide already thinks more sustainably than before, because the first three star restaurants already lose a star if they continue to show off animals that are threatened with extinction.
Is it your concern to fundamentally renew the star kitchen vegan?
Processing only the best Italian lemons, Tahitian vanilla and asparagus all year round makes no sense to me, because it doesn’t change global warming or the lack of raw materials, it just makes it worse.
It bothers me that many people think vegan means sustainable, because it isn’t. Most vegan cooks eat avocados because avocados are great. But if I’m vegan, then I just don’t do it out of conviction. Because they are too expensive for me, they lie too long before they finally ripen, because their cultivation consumes thousands of liters of water and they are flown in from South American areas where the water mafia rules.
I’d rather have a guest next to me who gets a T-bone steak from the local farmer once a month, because he fully understands the problem in today’s society: reduction and sustainability, that’s all the way. In my opinion, eating vegan, but sourcing resources for it worldwide, is not the way to go. But I had to reap a lot of shitstorms with the statement.
Because probably many people feel offended and know that their behavior is wrong.
I will say it very clearly: everyone can decide for themselves what they eat. But when an ultra-vegan on the one hand talks about making the world a better place and on the other hand talks about what he puts in his cereal, I sometimes feel like throwing up. Then don’t take to the streets with signs and slogans when you eat an avocado in the morning.
source: watson
I’m Maxine Reitz, a journalist and news writer at 24 Instant News. I specialize in health-related topics and have written hundreds of articles on the subject. My work has been featured in leading publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and Healthline. As an experienced professional in the industry, I have consistently demonstrated an ability to develop compelling stories that engage readers.
