Ronen Seri - The Blossom Cookbook: Classic Favorites from the Restaurant That Pioneered a New Vegan Cuisine

m y partner, Pamela Elizabeth, and I have been vegans since the mid 90s, when veganism was neither a common word nor a common lifestyle. What was more common was the notion that vegan food was bland, that it was a radical choice. At that time, there were very few vegan eateries in New York for us to dine in, let alone anything on the higher end. We could only order side dishes of vegetables and grains or be content to live on pasta while eating out. We saw an opportunity. As self-proclaimed foodies, we decided to open a restaurant that would allow us to offer people fine food, filled with flavor and richness, and also offer a cuisine free of cruelty to animals.

To open any restaurant is no easy task, and in a city like New York, where 80 percent of restaurants fail within the first five years, we were up for a challenging task. However, I truly believe that any business that is born from passion and purpose, rather than just the bottom line, can generally stand the test of time. Blossom has been a testament to that belief.

It was only four months from the time Pamela and I had that first spark of an idea to the day we opened the doors at our first Blossom location. Situated in a turn-of-the-century historic duplex town house in the heart of Chelsea, the original Blossom began serving customers in 2005, and from those humble beginnings, Im proud to say we have grown to be one of the premier vegan restaurants in the world, and we have succeeded in our original mission: to create a vegan cuisine for food lovers.

Before that first opening, our greatest challenge was finding the right chef. Vegan chefs were almost impossible to come by because there wasnt a developed vegan cuisine at the time. We were lucky to find a freelance chef who helped us create the foundation for our style of signature cooking. But since 2006, Chef Francisco (Ramiro Ramirez) has played the starring role in continuing to evolve our innovative menu. Chef Francisco joined as a young and eager prep cook after training under the supervision of top chefs at some of New York Citys most prestigious restaurants. He was quickly able to beautifully translate our original mission to the plate, creating incredible vegan dishes that have kept Blossom a culinary destination for vegans and vegetarians and anyone who loves inventive and delicious food.

At Blossom, we take our inspiration from world cuisine and remake traditional dishes, making sure the original spirit of the dish is intact. Some of our most beloved menu items are elegant re-creations of comfort food using deliciousand healthyreplacements for meat. We love experimenting with seitan, tofu, and tempeh, marrying their hearty textures with classic techniques to create satisfying, rich meals. We also create unique dishes using fresh, seasonal vegetables that are healthier, whole, and balanced, without ever compromising on taste. These innovative dishes place vegetables front and center in a dish.

These days, the original Blossom and our second location on the Upper West Side are packed every night. We have also added a new location in the West Village and a sister group of takeout locations called Blossom du Jour.

I am proud to say that the Blossom of today is not viewed as a vegan restaurant, per se. We can easily say that more than 60 percent of our diners are nonvegan and simply love our food. Celebrities such as Ted Danson, Ethan Hawke, Alicia Silverstone, Woody Harrelson, Russell Simmons, and many others frequent our locations and our catering business is growing too. Business is thankfully continuing to blossom, and is booming.

Much has changed since we first opened our doorsinterest in a vegan lifestyle has exploded and the best vegan chefs are reaching new heights. We are proud to have led the charge for more than ten years, showing skeptics that vegan food is every bit as rich, satisfying, and interesting as traditional food. We are lucky to see this revelation every day, in the eyes of a new meat-loving customer who cant believe our food can taste so delicious.