In recent years, cooking has become more of an art than it has ever been. Countless cultures have been reintroduced into restaurant food in ways we’ve never seen, making for a wonderful blend of flavor and appreciation. There’s no doubt that food is a physical representation of each chef’s culture, palate, and technique all on one dish. The catch? Sometimes those delicious meals are as rich in calories as they are in flavor. Only a few talented chefs can perfect the balance between flavor and cleanliness – meet some of the chefs who do it best.
Chef Rocco DiSpirito
Chef Rocco DiSpirito is a James Beard award-winning chef, a highly lauded author of fourteen books and a healthy lifestyle pioneer. He has dedicated his life to proving that healthy, clean eating can also be delicious. His love of food and passion for cooking began at home, learning magnificent Italian dishes from his mother. He studied at the Culinary Institute of America and Boston University. By 20 years old, he was working for world renowned chefs and learning in their kitchens. For many years, his 3-Star restaurant Union Pacific was a renowned New York City culinary destination. His recently published cookbook, “Rocco’s Keto Comfort Food Diet”, is his 14th cookbook. His first book, “Flavor,” won a James Beard Award. His more recent publications have been focused on health and wellness. He is also the creative force behind ROCCO Products which are all keto and paleo-friendly, gluten-free, and vegan. Now he’s bringing his culinary skills to a new pop-up restaurant, Cleo and he’s helping keep New Yorkers fed in collaboration with City Harvest.
Chef Christine Kamienski
Chef Christine Kamienski is a professional chef who’s dedicated her life to making clean eating sexy to the masses. She founded her business, Chrissy’s Kitchen, in 2018 after beginning a nutritional cleansing program that focused on clean eating. She provides private and personal chef services, as well as weekly clean and vegan meal prep services. Prior to Chrissy’s Kitchen, Chef Chrissy worked in some of the best New American fine dining restaurants in NJ and NY, rising quickly through the ranks. With special training in clean creative cooking, dietary restrictions, and performance-training menus for athletes, she brings the elevated fine-dining experience into clients’ homes. When the Chef transitioned to a clean eating lifestyle, she stubbornly refused to believe that taste, creativity, and style needed to be sacrificed for health. Her cooking features clean and creative twists on savory, stylish, and rustic plates using interesting spice combinations and cultural fusions to bring the most flavor to cleanly cooked food while keeping her food free from dairy, gluten, refined sugar and most carbs. She also is known for her creative vegan dishes that challenge the palate to believe that the dish is actually plant-based! She enjoys the disbelief she encounters that such delicious food isn’t actually as decadent as it tastes! Since then, her blogs and easy, healthy gourmet recipes have quickly gained a loyal following. Chef Chrissy’s first cookbook, “Chrissy’s Clean Cookbook” was published in April 2020.
Chef Miyoko Schinner
Chef Miyoko Schinner is known as the “Queen of Vegan Cheese”. She is a beloved vegan blogger and the creative force behind celebrated cookbooks like Artisanal Vegan Cheese and The Homemade Vegan Pantry. Chef Miyoko started her career delivering vegan pound cakes. The self-acknowledged cheese-a-holic made untold vegan fantasies come true when she founded Miyoko’s Kitchen, which brings artisan vegan cheese and vegan creamery butter to the people. This passionate animal activist also founded her own animal sanctuary, Rancho Compasión, in Nicasio, CA.
Chef Tal Ronnen
Chef Tal Ronnen is the author of the cookbook The Conscious Cook and the founder & owner of lauded Los Angeles restaurant Crossroads. He is also a vegan hero as co-founder of vegan food brand Kite Hill. The brand has changed the landscape the plant-based food industry with its vegan products such as artisanal cream cheese, yogurt, and almond-ricotta-stuffed ravioli. Chef Tai brought veganism to popular culture being featured by celebrities such as Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres. The Chef has also teamed up with vegan meat brand Gardein. Chef Tai has made it much easier for regular folks to go vegan.
Chef Chloe Coscarelli
Chef Chloe Coscarelli captured everyone’s attention as the first vegan to win the TV culinary competition Cupcake Wars with a — of course— a vegan cupcake! Since then her career has moved onward and upward She is the founder of the lauded “by Chloe” chain (although she’s moved on from the chain) and the author of cookbooks such as, Chloe Flavor, Vegan Italian Kitchen, Chloe’s Vegan Desserts, and Chloe’s Kitchen. She recently exploded onto the Miami vegan eatery scene with the launch of “Chef Chloe and the Vegan Café”. Chef Chloe was named to the Forbes 2017 Class of 30 Under 30 in the culinary category. This vegan rockstar chef is committed to bringing vegan cuisine to the mainstream.
Chef Doug McNish
Chef Doug McNish has got a goal: to make you a plant addict, this vegan chef has the books and restaurants to do just that. He is the author of several lauded cookbooks including Vegan Everyday; Eat Raw, Eat Well; and Raw, Quick and Delicious, with another slated for publication in 2020. The classically trained, award-winning vegan chef ran the several beloved vegan eateries in Toronto, including Public Kitchen and Mythology Diner in the city’s “Vegandale” neighborhood. Mythology actually represents Chef McNish’s partnership with The 5700 Inc., a Vegandale company that runs businesses including an ethical clothing and lifestyle store called “The Imperative” and a vegan brewery called “Vegandale Brewery.” While Chef McNish stays on the cutting edge of elevated vegan cuisine with his vegan Reuben sandwich or vegan eggs, he also spreads the vegan message as a speaker, consultant, and private chef.
Chef Matthew Kenney
Chef Matthew Kenney is an East Coast based celebrity chef and author who has been a pioneer in the plant-based culinary industry with his creative vegan cuisine. The Chef opened his 15th vegan restaurant last summer. Chef Matthew attended the French Culinary Institute (now known as the International Culinary Center) and worked at multiple fine-dining restaurants in New York City rising quickly through the ranks. He has opened several restaurants including “Matthew’s” and then a vegan eatery, “Pure Food and Wine”. He also founded the PlantLab, a plant-based and raw vegan-focused culinary school. His newest restaurant, Kanu, serves vegan dishes non-stop, such as the Butternut Squash Nachos and the Heirloom Tomato & Zucchini Lasagna. Expect this chef to continue to wow the vegan world!
Chef David Viana
This popular Top Chef-Alum Chef David Viana is the dynamic Executive Chef & Partner at Heirloom Kitchen in New Jersey. Growing up with Portuguese parents in Elizabeth, NJ, Chef David developed a love of food at an early age, helping to cook for family dinners every Sunday. Though he started a career as probation officer, he changed careers to follow his passion for food. The Chef attended the Institute of Culinary Education, and while working for Bobby Flay, Anthony Bucco, and Michael White, Chef David honed his culinary skills in renowned kitchens including Eleven Madison Park and the Two Star Michelin eatery Villa Joya in Portugal. The New York Times recognized his work as Executive Chef at The Kitchen at Grove Station, showering the Chef with three stars and calling his dishes “magical” and “hypnotizing.” At Heirloom Kitchen, Chef David continues to fascinate the culinary world. The restaurant received three-and-a-half stars from The Star-Ledger within weeks of the restaurant’s opening. In 2018, he was nominated for a James Beard Award in the Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic category.
Chef Devin Alexander
Chef Devin Alexander is a multi-talented New York Times bestselling author, award winning entrepreneur, speaker, philanthropist and celebrity chef who is best known for her decade-long stint as the Chef on NBC’s Biggest Loser. She has written numerous cookbooks and appeared on multiple television shows. After spending 9 years as the Owner and Executive Chef of Café Renee Catering (then Executive Chef of Signature, Devinly Decadence™ Restaurants on Royal Caribbean Cruiseline) Chef Devin now travels the country doing cooking demos, speaking, running cooking bootcamps, consulting for major U.S. food and cookware companies and advocating for the over 425,000 foster youth seeking loving homes in this country. She has also served as an Ambassador for the American Diabetes Association and blogger for The American Heart Association. To stay fit, Devin is an avid tennis player, currently competing on a championship USTA team.
Chef Melissa King
Chef Melissa King is a Chinese-American chef and television personality, best known as the season winner of Top Chef All Stars L.A. after first placing as a finalist on Top Chef: Boston in Season 12, She also won fan favorite, and holds the record for the most single-season challenge wins than any other competitor in Top Chef history. Chef King started as a pastry assistant at the Getty Museum at 17 years old. Over the next 10 years, the Chef then trained under several Michelin-star and James Beard-recognized chefs including Dominique Crenn and Ron Siegel. She has worked for several Michelin starred Bay Area restaurants and cooked for such notable figures as Oprah Winfrey and Al Gore. She was also a chef ambassador for Whole Foods Market. She was selected as one of the “Best Female Chefs in San Francisco.” The Chef also owns a company focused on culinary partnerships and experiences. Chef King is also the creator of King Sauce, a small batch line of signature sauces. The Chef is an advocate for LGBTQ equality as well as women’s empowerment, environmental sustainability, and food education for youths.
