Guest guest Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Glendale chef gaining notice for vegan recipes Sherry Anne RubianoThe Arizona RepublicNov. 20, 2005 12:00 AM At the start of the cooking class, chef Jason Wyrick stands behind the kitchen counter, dressed all in black. He asks his nine-member audience what they plan on cooking for Thanksgiving.No one says turkey. advertisement That's because the group came to learn what to prepare for a vegan holiday feast.Wyrick, 32, is the founder of Glendale-based Devil Spice Inc., which serves the vegetarian and vegan communities.Devil Spice sells vegan chili and salsa and offers cooking classes, lectures on being a healthy vegan, catering and personal chef services.Since its launch in October last year, the business has received national recognition.Wyrick served Devil Spice vegetarian chili at PETA's 25th-Anniversary Gala in Hollywood in September. Last month, Wyrick was profiled on www.vegcooking.com, a Web site that features vegetarian restaurants and recipes. This exposure has helped him attract more customers, some from as far away as Connecticut, after a slow start.Wyrick turned vegan four years ago for ethical and health reasons, forswearing all animal food products. He didn't have any formal culinary training but decided to start making his own meals."If I wanted to eat well, I needed to cook for myself," he said. "I just had a talent for it."He also started cooking because it was cheaper. Rather than paying $5 for a jar of salsa, he created his own.Wyrick spent about $1,000 out of his pocket to launch the business. Instead of finding investors to help with start-up expenses, he got a part-time job working for the city of Glendale.Financial and time constraints, coupled with the difficulty of tapping into the Valley's vegetarian population, have slowed where he wanted the business to be at this time of year, Wyrick said.Despite these challenges, he stays focused on his plans.He spends his days working, writing a cookbook and testing new products. He said he hopes to have another line of salsas by spring and plans on entering the vegetarian chili-cooking contest at the Tostitos Salsa Challenge next year.His ultimate goal is to open a high-scale restaurant within the next four or five years.A version of this story also appeared in some Community sections of The Arizona Republic. Vegetarian vs. veganGenerally, a vegetarian diet excludes meat, poultry, fish or their byproducts, with or without the use of dairy products or eggs. A vegan diet is stricter. It excludes meat, animal flesh and any substance derived from an animal, such as milk, cheese and eggs.Source: Wikipedia.org. Thanksgiving vegan feastWyrick suggests these dishes and ingredients for the holiday:Pumpkin risotto - Sweet yellow onion, Arborio rice, pinot grigio, almonds, vegetable stock combined with water, pumpkin, ginger, nutmeg, sage, olive oil, salt and pepper.Mashed potatoes - Yellow potatoes, garlic, sage, margarine or olive oil, salt and pepper.Gravy - Shallots, garlic cloves, reconstituted dried mushrooms, rosemary, thyme, sage, salt and pepper, soy creamer, vegetable broth, red wine, margarine, flour.Stuffing - White onion, walnuts, celery, mushrooms, olive oil, paprika, nutmeg, red wine, sage, salt, French bread.Pumpkin pie - Silken tofu, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, corn oil, molasses, cinnamon, salt, ginger, nutmeg, pie shell.For the recipes: e-mail Devil SpiceEats, (623) 680- 7468 or www.devilspice.com.Peter H Win a Vespa NEW - Cars has 3 Vespa LX125s to be won Enter Now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 It must be handy to enjoy cooking - I wish I did! Jo - peter hurd Sunday, November 20, 2005 6:48 PM Re: What do you Americans think of this? Glendale chef gaining notice for vegan recipes Sherry Anne RubianoThe Arizona RepublicNov. 20, 2005 12:00 AM At the start of the cooking class, chef Jason Wyrick stands behind the kitchen counter, dressed all in black. He asks his nine-member audience what they plan on cooking for Thanksgiving.No one says turkey. advertisement That's because the group came to learn what to prepare for a vegan holiday feast.Wyrick, 32, is the founder of Glendale-based Devil Spice Inc., which serves the vegetarian and vegan communities.Devil Spice sells vegan chili and salsa and offers cooking classes, lectures on being a healthy vegan, catering and personal chef services.Since its launch in October last year, the business has received national recognition.Wyrick served Devil Spice vegetarian chili at PETA's 25th-Anniversary Gala in Hollywood in September. Last month, Wyrick was profiled on www.vegcooking.com, a Web site that features vegetarian restaurants and recipes. This exposure has helped him attract more customers, some from as far away as Connecticut, after a slow start.Wyrick turned vegan four years ago for ethical and health reasons, forswearing all animal food products. He didn't have any formal culinary training but decided to start making his own meals."If I wanted to eat well, I needed to cook for myself," he said. "I just had a talent for it."He also started cooking because it was cheaper. Rather than paying $5 for a jar of salsa, he created his own.Wyrick spent about $1,000 out of his pocket to launch the business. Instead of finding investors to help with start-up expenses, he got a part-time job working for the city of Glendale.Financial and time constraints, coupled with the difficulty of tapping into the Valley's vegetarian population, have slowed where he wanted the business to be at this time of year, Wyrick said.Despite these challenges, he stays focused on his plans.He spends his days working, writing a cookbook and testing new products. He said he hopes to have another line of salsas by spring and plans on entering the vegetarian chili-cooking contest at the Tostitos Salsa Challenge next year.His ultimate goal is to open a high-scale restaurant within the next four or five years.A version of this story also appeared in some Community sections of The Arizona Republic. Vegetarian vs. veganGenerally, a vegetarian diet excludes meat, poultry, fish or their byproducts, with or without the use of dairy products or eggs. A vegan diet is stricter. It excludes meat, animal flesh and any substance derived from an animal, such as milk, cheese and eggs.Source: Wikipedia.org. Thanksgiving vegan feastWyrick suggests these dishes and ingredients for the holiday:Pumpkin risotto - Sweet yellow onion, Arborio rice, pinot grigio, almonds, vegetable stock combined with water, pumpkin, ginger, nutmeg, sage, olive oil, salt and pepper.Mashed potatoes - Yellow potatoes, garlic, sage, margarine or olive oil, salt and pepper.Gravy - Shallots, garlic cloves, reconstituted dried mushrooms, rosemary, thyme, sage, salt and pepper, soy creamer, vegetable broth, red wine, margarine, flour.Stuffing - White onion, walnuts, celery, mushrooms, olive oil, paprika, nutmeg, red wine, sage, salt, French bread.Pumpkin pie - Silken tofu, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, corn oil, molasses, cinnamon, salt, ginger, nutmeg, pie shell.For the recipes: e-mail Devil SpiceEats, (623) 680- 7468 or www.devilspice.com. Peter H Win a Vespa NEW - Cars has 3 Vespa LX125s to be won Enter Now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.