South Carolina: This Florence restaurant serves classic comfort food with a vegan twist

From postandcourier.com/pee-dee

Eliza’s Vegan Café is a fully vegan food-truck-turned-restaurant in Florence.

                                                  Eliza's Vegan Café offers fully vegan comfort food.   Kaylee Hewitt/Staff

With hundreds of five-star reviews on Google, the restaurant has found its place as a local staple for vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.

From raw kale salads to “rib” sandwiches and “chicken” pesto pastas, Eliza’s Vegan Café has options for a variety of cravings. They even make their own homemade juices such as blueberry limeade and ginger-pineapple.

Eliza's Vegan Cafe offers homemade juices, sandwiches and more.

Kaylee Hewitt/Staff

With a regular menu and an alkaline menu for “stricter vegans,” the restaurant offers food for newer vegans, longtime vegans and those who aren’t vegan at all. Owner Markeyshi K’Patrick has been a vegan for 24 years and wants to show customers that eating healthy can be easy and tasty.

That way of thinking inspired their slogan: “And you thought vegans only ate salad?”

“What we want to do is show people to eat healthy, it doesn't have to taste nasty,” K’Patrick said. “Oh no baby, when you come in here, you’re going to eat.”

 The restaurant offers a fully vegan menu from a fully vegan kitchen, according to the restaurant’s website. The approach ensures that there is no cross-contamination with animal-based products.

Most of the menu items at Eliza’s Vegan Café are veganized versions of K’Patrick’s grandmother’s recipes. While her grandmother, Eliza Jenkins, was not vegan, K’Patrick said she was health conscious and encouraged K’Patrick to eat smart.

“Her thing was, look at the rainbow,” K’Patrick said. “Just eat a little bit of everything and you’re covered.”

K’Patrick created the restaurant and its menu as a way to honour her grandmother and the impact that she had on K’Patrick’s life.

Jenkins was a Hartsville native, K’Patrick said, and a part of the second wave of the Great Migration. In the 1940s, Jenkins packed up her things and moved to New York City alone, doing something few were doing at the time, K’Patrick said.

“One of the characteristics of my grandmother that I respected so much was her independence,” K’Patrick said. “So, a lot of her trailblazing that she did was by herself. It was unheard of to be a woman and then to be a Black woman, right?”

In New York, Jenkins worked hard to provide for herself, opening up several small businesses and devoting herself to creating the life she wanted — a trait K’Patrick wanted to carry on.

K’Patrick, originally from New York, landed in Florence while pursuing her degree at Francis Marion University. Just like her grandmother before her, K’Patrick worked odd jobs throughout the years to fund her education and worked in different fields after she graduated.

Her path ultimately led to the opening of Eliza's Vegan Café as a food truck in 2021. A little over a year later, K’Patrick opened a storefront on Lucas Street on her grandmother’s birthday.

Eliza’s Vegan Café serves as a way for K’Patrick to keep her grandmother’s memory alive. The menu, the decorations on the restaurant walls and even the logo are meant to honour her.

The interior of the restaurant is decorated in yellow and green — Jenkins’ favourite colours, K’Patrick said. On opposite walls of the restaurant, pictures of Jenkins cover the walls along with words of advice from her.

                                           Eliza Jenkins is the inspiration behind Eliza's Vegan Café.    Kaylee Hewitt/Staff

“I wanted to be surrounded by her,” K’Patrick said. “I want people to get to know her.”

In the future, K’Patrick plans to write a book highlighting her grandmother’s story and sharing with others the wisdom she passed down to K’Patrick.

For now, Eliza’s Vegan Café serves as a way for K’Patrick to honour her grandmother, all the while bringing clean, vegan eats to Florence.

Eliza’s Vegan Café is located at 1832-B W Lucas St. in Florence. They are open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.

https://www.postandcourier.com/pee-dee/news/elizas-vegan-cafe-vegan-food-florence/article_9fdd0e69-7fda-4cf0-b399-f52dd649f8de.html

France: Famous 3-star Michelin restaurant suddenly switches to vegan cuisine

From vietnam.vn

One of France's most prestigious restaurants has just made a historic move by removing almost all animal products from its menu and switching to serving vegan cuisine

The French culinary world is witnessing a historic milestone when world- famous chef Alain Passard decided to remove almost all animal products from the menu of Arpège - the famous 3-Michelin-star restaurant in Paris.

This is the first time a 3-Michelin-starred restaurant in France has made a bold transition to vegan cuisine .

Culinary artist Alain Passard (68 years old) is famous worldwide for his masterful grilling techniques, especially the dish "chicken roasted in hay" (poulet au foin) that made his name.

However, with this latest decision, he has officially closed a glorious chapter in his career to open a new creative journey with vegetables - simple ingredients but full of potential to express emotions and art.

“Everything I have ever done with meat will remain a wonderful memory,” Passard said. “From today, I aim for an emotional culinary experience – an aspect that I can compare to painting or sewing. I am a different chef.”

In fact, the inspired decision was not a spontaneous act by Mr. Passard.

Since the early 2000s, Mr. Passard has been gradually eliminating red meat from Arpège’s menu. Now he’s boldly gone further: no more meat, fish, or dairy – just seasonal vegetables, carefully selected to create emotional culinary creations while minimizing the environmental impact.

Only honey from the restaurant's own beehives is kept as a subtle exception, implying the "harmony with nature" philosophy that Mr. Passard pursues.

Arpège officially joins the ranks of world-class restaurants pursuing vegan cuisine, such as Eleven Madison Park in New York (USA) under the leadership of artisan Daniel Humm.

Experts say the new menu at Arpège is like a vibrant summer art exhibition.

A “mosaic” of tomatoes, grilled eggplants and melon, or a combination of carrots, onions, shallots and cabbage – all presented as exquisite works of art, an absolute tribute to produce.

At 420 euros (about $493) for the most expensive menu and 260 euros for a regular lunch, the experience at Arpège is more than just a meal, it is a journey through the colors and flavors of nature, created by the hands of an artisan who has abandoned animal flesh to paint a new picture in the world of fine dining.

The trend of giving up animal meat is spreading, especially in European countries. Even at the recent 2024 Paris Olympics, the organizing committee also proactively cut down on the amount of meat served to athletes and spectators - demonstrating a clear change in awareness about cuisine and the environment.

https://www.vietnam.vn/en/phap-nha-hang-3-sao-michelin-noi-tieng-bat-ngo-chuyen-sang-am-thuc-thuan-chay 

Profile: Korean chef of Asia’s only Michelin-star vegan restaurant cooks for all, including his mum

From scmp.com

‘People tried to talk me out of it,’ says Sung Si-woo of Légume. Now his Seoul restaurant is finding fans with all kinds of dietary needs

Of the more than 3,700 restaurants Michelin has awarded stars, only six are listed on its website as exclusively vegan – and only one of those is in Asia.

The success of Légume, which got its first star in the Michelin Guide Seoul and Busan 2025, is remarkable given how uncommon and often misunderstood veganism is in South Korea.

Sung Si-woo opened his restaurant in Seoul in 2023 after deciding to bet on his unconventional idea of a vegan fine-dining establishment.

Few believed it would work – even Sung had doubts.

The interior of Légume, in Seoul, where guests can watch chefs prepare dishes in the restaurant’s open kitchen. Photo: east_people

“When I opened Légume, I invested more money than I’d ever earned in my life, so a lot of people tried to talk me out of it,” the chef-owner says at a cafe in Sinsa-dong, the trendy neighbourhood where his restaurant is located.

“They’d say things like, ‘Is Korea really ready for this? Do we even have enough vegans here?’ But I just felt strongly that I should pursue what I wanted while I was still young.”

Sung envisioned an inclusive restaurant where diners with all kinds of dietary needs could enjoy exquisite meals together, and where he could highlight the diversity of Korean vegetables by preparing them in innovative ways.

By that point, Sung was already a veteran of South Korea’s fine-dining scene, having worked his way up over 10 years to become head chef at Soigné, a pioneering Seoul restaurant that currently holds two Michelin stars.

Sung says he dreamed of becoming a fine-dining chef as a child; at the time there were hardly any in South Korea. When he first joined Soigné in 2013, South Korea did not yet have a Michelin Guide.

When he decided to open his own restaurant, memories of dining out with his mother – who is unable to eat meat – shaped his approach.

“When my mother eats meat, she immediately feels heavy and nauseous – sometimes she even vomits. We think it’s a digestive system issue. She can’t eat meat at all, and even seeing meat makes her uncomfortable,” Sung says.

“Throughout my upbringing, since my mother couldn’t eat regular dishes, our family had nowhere to go for meals out. She’d always sacrifice herself, saying ‘You kids eat what you want.’ It broke my heart seeing her just nibble on banchan side dishes.

“As I got older and started cooking professionally, I realised something heartbreaking: here I am, a chef in Korea, yet there’s still not a single restaurant where I can take my mom and family to eat properly. That is what made me passionate about creating this kind of restaurant.”

Sung admits that creating vegan dishes is challenging and comes with limitations.

“Vegan chefs face so many restrictions – no meat, no seafood, not even commonplace ingredients like butter or eggs. It narrows your creative palette dramatically, making the entire process far more difficult.”

Still, he decided to make his restaurant as inclusive as possible so vegetarians, pescatarians, gluten-free diners and those with other dietary needs could find something to enjoy.

We experimented endlessly [ …] gradually refining our approach to focus on vegetable dishes that would resonate with Korean palates

Sung believes it takes more skill to move diners with a dish made from something as simple as a radish or a carrot than with animal products such as high-quality beef.

“Even if a regular home cook grilled high-quality beef, good meat would taste delicious on its own – though of course, a skilled chef could elevate it further,” he says. 

Sung was always drawn to cooking vegetables in creative ways.

“When developing menus at Soigné, I often felt frustrated by how limited Korea’s meat options were compared to other countries. At fine-dining restaurants in Korea, the main course is always either Hanwoo (Korean beef) or duck,” he says.

“I realised that where Korea excels is in its vegetables and fruit – that’s our strength. We have four distinct seasons and each brings different crops with unique flavours. That is when I became truly fascinated with vegetable-focused cuisine.”

It did not take long after Sung opened Légume for his gamble to pay off.

South Korea’s food media quickly took notice and hailed the restaurant as a fresh and intriguing addition to the culinary scene.

Word spread organically, particularly among foreign visitors to Seoul looking for a restaurant that aligned with their dietary needs.

Before long, hotel concierges began recommending the restaurant to guests in search of high-quality vegan cuisine.

Yeast-battered cauliflower is one of Légume’s signature dishes. Photo: Handout

Sung says his patrons choose veganism for different reasons, including digestive health issues, religious beliefs, seafood allergies, severe lactose intolerance and gluten sensitivities, as a lot of vegan dishes are naturally gluten free.

The menu that won over Michelin Guide inspectors was the result of relentless research, experimentation and refinement, Sung says.

Unlike many acclaimed chefs in South Korea, Sung did not receive formal training abroad nor a degree from an international culinary school.

He says nearly all his expertise comes from his own research and practice, scouring the internet and tasting dishes during overseas trips.

“In the beginning, we went through a lot of trial and error. We experimented endlessly with different menu concepts, gradually refining our approach to focus on vegetable dishes that would resonate with Korean palates.”

His most popular dish is a pasta made with gosari – the young stems of bracken.

“We prepare the ferns much like traditional Korean gosari namul – blanching and seasoning them. Then we serve them over pasta with a smooth purée sauce. It’s become a universal favourite. Everyone loves it regardless of age, nationality, or background. Young or old, Korean or foreign, the dish appeals to all our guests,” Sung says.

The restaurant’s Michelin star has also opened exciting doors for Sung.

Sung says he always envisioned an inclusive restaurant where diners with all kinds of dietary needs could enjoy exquisite meals together. Photo: east_people

On June 12-13, he will showcase his plant-based cuisine at Hong Kong’s Carlyle & Co. members’ club in a five-course tasting menu featuring yeast-battered cauliflower, mushroom steak with black truffle and vegetable jus, and spiced chickpea gnocchi with paprika.

Sung says it will take time for South Korean culinary culture to fully embrace plant-based dining. “The vegetarian market here is growing, but much more slowly than in other countries,” he says.

The chef says he hopes to contribute to this growth in the long term and realise his final vision of building a closed-loop system.

“I’d like to have a small plot of land for the restaurant where we can grow herbs or vegetables that can directly be used in the restaurant. The food waste from our restaurant will then be composted with microorganisms into fertiliser, which we’d reuse on our land to nurture new crops.”

https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3314017/korean-chef-asias-only-michelin-star-vegan-restaurant-cooks-all-including-his-mum