An Interview with Mark Reinfeld.

Today’s interview is really important to me because our highlighted guest wrote my very FIRST vegan cookbook and really inspired me to go vegan! I am talking about the thoughtful and inspirational vegan chef Mark Reinfeld. He is the co-founder of Vegan Fusion and author of five vegan cookbook. It is my great pleasure to share Mark’s interview with veganconsultant.com.

1. Who started Vegan Fusion?

Vegan Fusion was started as a partnership between myself and Bo and Star Rinaldi. We formed the company to create and self publish our first book, Vegan Fusion World Cuisine.

2. How to transform your veganism into a business?

It was a dream to be able to have my passion for the vegan lifestyle be the source of my livelihood. Since my passion surrounds the creation of food, I was able to explore many different avenues in the food business with a focus on vegan cuisine. I worked in a kitchen of a health food store and then started offering vegan cooking classes and preparing meals for folks as a private chef and caterer. I then started offering consulting services in the form of menu and recipe development and chef trainings to various corporate accounts. That led to the creation of the Blossoming Lotus Restaurant on Kauai in 2002. Since then, we have published four cookbooks. Lately I have been traveling around the country and abroad offering vegan workshops, retreats and 10-day immersions.

Bo, Star and I have also recently developed an online chef training program called ‘Cooking Healthy Lessons’ that is available on our website, veganfusion.com. I still offer the consulting services as well, one of my latest projects was developing vegan recipes for Atkins Nutritionals – a definite sign of the times that veganism is making its way into the mainstream.

3. What are your tips for someone who is vegan but needs to better balance their diet? {veggies, carbs, protein ratios}

There are many conflicting nutritional theories out there. I personally feel that everyone is unique biophysically and that what is right for one person may not be right for another or what is right for one person for part of the year, may not be right for that person for the rest of the year. I think we each have to discover for ourselves through trial and error, the combination and types of foods that work best for us. I generally recommend that people eat a wide variety of plant-based foods, focussing on including a rainbow of colors as part of your food regimen. Each colored food has different phytonutrients etc.

Also focussing on whole foods and minimizing the use of processed ingredients, with a strong emphasis on fresh vegetables and fruits, choosing those that are organic and locally grown whenever possible.

4. How has being vegan helped you in your personal life and in business?

I feel that being vegan helps me to know that I am doing what I can to improve life on the planet. I feel a level of peace knowing that my food choices are in alignment with my vision for myself and the world. Having a vegan business is an added bonus. It brings me a deep satisfaction to know that everything I do with vegan fusion is helping others to regain their health, helping to restore balance to the planet and helping the other creatures with whom we share this world.

5. What is one of your favorite dishes from your books?

Personally I like the monk bowl recipe from The 30-minute Vegan. The idea of the dish is that is a grain, a green and a protein. For the grain, I like to use quinoa (which is actually a seed!), millet, any variety of rice or brown rice pasta. For the green, it can be any vegetable or combination of vegetables, either raw, steamed, roasted, grilled, or stir fryed. for the protein, it can be a tempeh or tofu cutlet, or any of your favorite beans.

To this you can add your favorite sauce (peanut, bbq, sweet and sour etc. ). I like adding hemp oil or flax oil for the essential fatty acids, fortified nutritional yeast for the b12, and a little wheat free tamari. You can add a salad to that with your favorite dressing. By altering each component of the dish (grain, green and protein) you can create a vast array of dishes.

6. What are you working on next?

I am working on my fifth book, The 30-Minute Vegan’s Taste of Europe. We also just completed our online chef training program that is based upon the 10-day trainings I have been offering around the country.

7. Where can we find more great information about Vegan Fusion?

Please visit www.veganfusion.com to learn more about our books, workshops, retreats, immersions and online trainings.

Popular Vegan Fusion Cookbooks

Please check out our best selling cookbooks by vegan chef and author Mark Reinfeld. His delicious recipes specialize in vegan, vegetarian, raw food, gluten free and plant-based healthy diets:

• The 30 Minute Vegan's Taste Of The East
• The 30 Minute Vegan
• The Idiot's Guide To Eating Raw
• Vegan Fusion World Cuisine

Vegan chef and author Mark Reinfeld offers a variety of best selling vegan cookbooks. He specializes in vegan, vegetarian, raw food and gluten free plant-based diets. He offers a series of vegan cooking classes, including 2 day workshops, teacher trainings, 5 and 10 day immersions, as well as retreats, tours and vacations in both America and Europe. He further offers vegan fusion cuisine recipe development and consulting. To receive the latest news please sign up for his Newsletter and RSS Feeds, or contact Mark directly.