Over the years I’ve begun most of my personal stories with, “I learned to cook from my mom.” However, with a little more reflection I now realize that statement can’t possibly be true since my mom was the complete opposite of a vegan chef. One thing I did learn from her was the act of taking care of others through food, vegan style.
I gained the love of cooking from my mom.
Now, that is a genuine statement. Betty, my mother, was your classic Southern lady. No, I’m not talking about a dress and high heels wearing, overly polite with a little sarcasm lady. I mean a take-no-BS, tell it like it is, love you with her whole heart, bacon grease in the green beans kind of woman. She spent most of her free time in the kitchen. It was how she took care of her family. Celebrations, holidays, sad occasions, or just because most of the family was under the same roof at the same time, my mom cooked for us all.
About a decade and a half ago, at age 24, I chose to opt out of the standard American diet. I gave up meat, dairy, seafood, and eggs. If you could have seen my mother’s face, her shocked expression said, “Who will receive my cookbooks? What about your future children? You’ll have to pack their lunch every day.”
She was an elementary school teacher, so she loved to take care of people. I can look back and see now, in that moment she no longer knew how to take care of me. How would she celebrate with me or grieve with me, or share the whisk as we prepared dinner together? And in that moment, I didn’t know how to comfort her. Going vegan simply felt like the right thing to do.
I hadn’t learned anything about the lifestyle yet. Fortunately, fast forwarding a year from that moment, she cooked a fully vegan meal for me. From then on we cooked countless vegan meals together for the family. If only my mom could see me now.
That compassionate trait she gave me, taking care of others with food, led me to start a food truck, and then open a restaurant.
And now, I am the mom. Not only to my big, talented, kind, restaurant staff, but I am also a foster parent. I am loving every minute of taking care of them all, just like she did. So although I didn’t exactly learn how to cook from my mother, she gifted me with the love of food and family. She taught me to love taking care of others through food, vegan style.
