Being vegan in Tokyo can often make one feel isolated in the world’s most populous city, but this past weekend my partner and I considered ourselves a very lucky minority to meet the acclaimed vegan chef and cookbook author. ” The Conscious Cook “, Tal Ronnen.
While Japan is known to originate the predominantly vegetarian macrobiotic diet, and “macrobi“Restaurants are ubiquitous here, veganism is extremely rare in Japan. As a result, our vegan cooking school and vegan recipes website appeared near the top of Chef Tal’s web search prior to his recent visit. to Tokyo.
We knew that Tal had cooked for Oprah Winfrey’s 21-day vegan cleanse and attended the wedding of Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi, but not her fondness for Japan, inherited from her Australian father who had lived in Japan for 3 years. Tal said Japanese food was his favorite and asked for our recommendation for Shojin Ryoori (traditional Buddhist temple food).
Without wanting to disappoint Tal, we consulted the Michelin Guide that led us to Atago-Daigo, a 2-star restaurant where we enjoyed a most elegant and delicately prepared bento. Highlights included sashimi made from hearts of palm (a shoe for Awabigiant clam), tempura with puffed rice seedlings, sweet potato necks simmered in white soy sauce and matsutake mushrooms in a clear broth.
I observed that although Tal did not finish everything, he seemed to savor the food he ate with every cell of his being, fitting perfectly with the nickname “Conscious Cook.” Tal said that he does not eat much while working, because he is very focused on the act of creating.
While we would have loved to get a taste of Tal’s cooking firsthand, he presented my partner with a copy of his attractive cookbook (# 3 in the New York Times bestseller, the highest ranking for any cookbook), with the inscription “Keep spreading the vegan lifestyle in Japan”.
In the private tatami room overlooking a serene Zen garden, Tal guided us through his book, which contains not only dozens of delicious plant-based recipes (accompanied by beautiful photos that Tal designed himself) and techniques, but which also serves as a tribute to other chefs and partners he has worked with during his culinary career.
Chef Tal, who graduated from a traditional culinary academy and conducts vegetarian workshops at Le Cordon Bleu, also shared his thoughts on the importance, even for vegan chefs, of having a solid foundation in French cooking techniques.
Among other valuable tips from Tal:
- Using cashew nuts to make creams for sauces, desserts, and raw cheeses (revealing that cashew sauce is the first recipe in the book). I already made a record of the Chad Sarno cashew cheese recipe from the book.
- VitaMix blender: “the most important tool after a good knife” (also recommended what kind of VitaMix to buy!).
- The secret to cooking meat with analog tempeh (braising it for a long time).
Tal was excited that there seemed to be more vegan food options in Japan compared to his first visit 15 years ago. Although my partner and I wish we had many more options, Chef Tal’s energy, creativity, and passion inspire our own efforts to make vegan food as common in Japan as it is in North America.
Note for vegans interested in visiting Atago-Daigo (Tokyo): the restaurant requires a 2-day notice if you want the food to be prepared without using katsuo (bonito) dashi or chicken eggs, or if you prefer to substitute white rice by genmai.