Vegetarians of Washington - A Seattle based vegetarian/vegan organization

Vegfest 2008 - March 29th & 30th, Seattle Center Exhibition Hall

Chefs at Vegfest 2008

Each of these chefs will be giving a cooking demonstration and you’ll receive a copy of the recipes to take home .

Caroline Dupont		In her new book, Enlightened Eating, Caroline Dupont confidently shares all that she has come to learn about nutrition and health. She not only understands intimately the relationship between what we eat and who we are, but she applies this knowledge to her own life and shares it generously with all who will listen. Her recipes are tried and true – she has served them to family and friends and used them in dozens and dozens of food preparation classes that she’s taught. She has also taught for the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition for a dozen years. She lives in Richmond Hill, Ontario with her two children. Learn more about Caroline at www.carolinedupont.com.


Bryanna Clark Grogan		Bryanna Clark Grogan has devoted 35 years to the study of cooking and nutrition, and is the author of 8 published vegan cookbooks, including The (Almost) No Fat Cookbook, 20 Minutes to Dinner, Nonna's Italian Kitchen and Authentic Chinese Cuisine for the Contemporary Kitchen. Some of her recipes appear in the PETA cookbook. She has been a vegan since 1988. She wrote newspaper cooking columns for over 20 years, and was a frequent contributor and reviewer for Vegetarian Times magazine between 1990 to 1996. She has given cooking workshops and classes locally and at numerous vegetarian and health food conferences and gatherings, and was a guest speaker at the International Scientific Conference on Chinese Plant Based Nutrition and Cuisine in Philadelphia in February 2002. The main focus of her cooking is low-fat vegan cooking, particularly ethnic cooking. With each book she learns more about the processes of cooking-how and why things work. Her great joy is sharing what she's learned with others. Learn more about Bryanna at her website: bryannaclarkgrogan.com.


Louise Hagler		Louise Hagler, an internationally renowned vegetarian chef and author, is one of the pioneers in introducing and promoting vegetarian cuisine featuring soyfoods to the western world. Her books present a wide variety of tasty, easy-to-prepare, familiar dishes while incorporating tofu, soymilk, tempeh, miso, textured soy, and other soyfoods. Her recipes are vegan and therefore cholesterol-free. Louise has worked both as a food stylist and a culinary instructor, as well as being a best selling author. She brings over 30 years cooking experience to her classes, where she focuses on quick and easy recipes preparing soyfoods in ways that will be warmly welcomed into daily menus. Learn more about Louise's cookbooks at www.bookpubco.com For the past five years, Louise has been teaching nutrition education classes and helping with technical assistance in projects to introduce alternative proteins in Mexico and Guatemala for undernourished populations with Plenty International: Find out more at www.plenty.org. Right after Vegfest on April 2 in Issaquah and on April 3 in Redmond, Louise will be giving very special classes as part of the PCC Cooks program. To learn more and to sign up please visit PCC Classes.


Chat Mingkwan		Born in Thailand, Chat Mingkwan came to the U.S. to pursue higher education in the design field, while cooking and training in a French restaurant a part-time as a hobby; his first big step in the culinary profession. Later, he followed his yearning culinary passion by apprenticing in provincial French cuisine in Rayon, France. Returning to the US, he offered his French cooking always with a twist of Thai or perfected his Thai cooking with a hint of French techniques to fit the western kitchen. He’s now doing what he likes most: cooking, teaching, traveling, writing, and making sure that people who come in contact with him have a full stomach and a good time. His most recent cookbooks are Buddha’s Table and Vietnamese Fusion. Learn more about Chat at www.unusualtouch.com.


Heather Resek, RD		Heather Reseck has over 23 years of experience as a registered dietitian, specializing in vegetarian nutrition and teaching cooking classes. A lifelong vegetarian, she has a passion for palatable, healthy foods. Many of the recipes in her book, Fix it Fast, have been tested dozens of times on her husband, Greg, and two children, and she loves to give gifts of food!


Sunita Shastri		Sunita Shastri was born in the South Indian state of Karnataka. Her passion for good food started early from watching her mother cook. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Mysore University in India, and came to the U.S. after marriage. Ms. Shastri has an M.B.A. from City University in Seattle, and has always dreamed about starting her own food company, which she did in June 2003 under the name “Meghana Foods” (named after her daughter). This company is now a growing food products enterprise in the Pacific Northwest under the brand name Taazaä. Sunita is very passionate about spreading the secrets of Indian foods. She has shared some of her favorite recipes in her new cookbook “Indian Vegetarian Delights”. Her background in vegetarian South Indian cooking adds a unique element to this book, since most Indian cookbooks tend to focus on North Indian recipes.