Mark Reinfeld is poised at the leading edge of contemporary vegan cooking. As executive chef and cofounder of Blossoming Lotus—with locations in Kapa'a, Kauai, Hawaii and Portland, Oregon—Reinfeld specializes in bringing together a wide variety of ingredients and culinary traditions in his delicious and healthy creations. After his initial culinary training in New York City and Southern California, Reinfeld traveled through Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, where he developed a love for global ways of life—and of cooking. This collision of cultures results in a menu of inspired dishes such as Transcendental Thai Green Curry, Rockin' Moroccan Seared Tofu, and Pesto Manifesto Lasagna. Reinfeld is the co-author (with Bo Rinaldi) of the groundbreaking cookbook Vegan Fusion World Cuisine, which won a 2005 Proggy Award from PETA and was named "Cookbook of the Year" by VegNews magazine. Their new book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Raw, cowritten with Jennifer Murray, is now available in stores, and another, Quick and Easy Vegan Meals, will be out next year. To learn more, visit the Vegan Fusion Web site.

Chef Spotlight: Mark Reinfeld

Restaurant or Company: Blossoming Lotus

How long have you been a chef?
I started cooking in commercial kitchens in the early '90s.

What type of cuisine do you focus on?
Vegan Fusion World Cuisine—a celebration of plant-based cuisine from around the globe.

Have you or your restaurant received any awards?
Blossoming Lotus won the 2006 Ilima Award for "Best Kauai Restaurant"—first time ever for a vegetarian establishment. I won the 2006 Platinum Carrot award from Aspen Center of Integral Health, given to America's top "innovative and trailblazing chefs" for raw cuisine. Our cookbook Vegan Fusion World Cuisine has won nine major awards, including a Gourmand Award for Best Vegetarian Cookbook in the USA.

Do you have a specialty?
Vegan and raw foods.

What are the most important elements in cooking great vegetarian cuisine?
Practice and patience.

What is the key to getting meat-eaters to enjoy vegetarian food?
Follow traditional meat-based recipes and replace the meat product with a vegan alternative—tofu, tempeh, or seitan—in various marinades.

What, in your opinion, does the future of plant-based cuisine hold?
I think the interest in vegan foods is only going to increase as more people wake up to the health benefits and environmental benefits of plant-based foods.

Do you have a favorite cooking method?
I generally like simple foods when I am on my own. Large salads, quinoa, and some lightly cooked veggies. Perhaps some grilled tempeh or tofu.

Where did you train to become a chef?
In commercial kitchens and consulting projects where I trained other chefs and created vegan recipe manuals.

What are your favorite ingredients to work with?
My favorite is the tropical food ulu, or breadfruit. It's very versatile and can be used in cutlets or mashed like a potato.

In your opinion, what vegetarian dish or type of food is most frequently poorly prepared and why?
Tofu generally has a bad rap because most people's first exposure to it is in Chinese food dishes, where there is no marinade or flavor enhancement to the tofu itself.

If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only eat one kind of ethnic food, what would it be?
Indian.

Do vegetarian restaurants face any special obstacles that meat-based restaurants don't have to face?
I think there is a higher labor cost involved in vegan food preparation. Meat-based restaurants can throw a slab of a dead animal on the grill and pour a sauce over it. Vegan chefs need to be more creative.

Can you give us one great cooking tip for aspiring vegetarian chefs?
Learn the flavors of fresh herbs. Taste them on their own. Add a lot of one herb to a dish such as rice or baked potato, or in a vinaigrette. Once you have a good sense of the herbs on their own, start to combine them to find flavor combinations that you like. Sometimes it's helpful to keep a food journal so you can keep track of your experiences.

What are some ingredients that you recommend vegetarians and vegans have in their kitchens to cook with?
An assortment of fresh, organic veggies. Quinoa. I think Red Star nutritional yeast is also crucial, as it is a source of vitamin B₁₂ and gives a nutty, cheesy flavor to dishes.

Are there any newer vegetarian products on the market that you are particularly fond of?
There is a raw kelp noodle on the market by Sea Tangle Kelp Noodle Company that can be used as a raw "pasta" or to spice up salads, stir-fries, etc.

Have you had any noteworthy comments from or experiences with diners?
It is always fulfilling to hear "I never knew vegan food could taste this good." We get a lot of comment cards at the restaurant from people whose minds have opened to the joys of vegan cuisine.

Choose one area to give some specialty tips for:
• Your favorite way to work with a certain fruit or vegetable

Mangoes are abundant now on Kauai. We love to use them in smoothies, and they are fantastic as the main ingredient in chutneys and salsas. My wife and coauthor, Jennifer, just made a mango gazpacho recipe for our next book that is off the charts.

Fire-Roasted Gazpacho

4 cups fresh tomato juice
4 large Roma tomatoes, grilled (1 1/2 cups chopped)
2/3 cup filtered water or vegetable stock
2/3 cup peeled, seeded, and diced cucumber
2/3 cup corn, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/3 cup diced red onion
3 Tbsp. lime juice, fresh squeezed
3 Tbsp. minced cilantro
1 Tbsp. shoyu, or to taste
1 Tbsp. minced basil
1 1/4 tsp. toasted cumin powder
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. seeded and minced jalapeño pepper
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. hot sauce (optional)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, ground to taste

• Place the tomato juice and tomatoes in a blender and blend until smooth.
• Place in a large mixing bowl with the remaining ingredients and mix well. Serve chilled, the colder the better.

Variations: Commercially available spicy tomato vegetable juice may replace tomato juice, and canned fire-roasted tomatoes may replace grilled tomatoes. For a "live" gazpacho, do not grill the tomatoes, roast the jalapeño pepper, or toast the cumin powder, and use freshly juiced tomatoes.

Makes 4 or 5 servings

BBQ Tempeh Kebabs

For the BBQ Sauce:
1/4 cup barley malt syrup
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. safflower oil
2 tsp. raw apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. stone-ground mustard
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. liquid smoke
Pinch of cayenne pepper, or to taste

• Combine all the ingredients in a medium-size bowl and whisk well.

To Assemble:
6-8 kebab skewers
8 oz. tempeh, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 medium bell pepper, 1 inch dice
1/2 medium red onion, quartered
6-8 medium cherry tomatoes
1 large portobello mushroom, 1 inch cubes

• Place the tempeh and vegetables in the BBQ Sauce bowl, mix well, and allow to marinate for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Decoratively arrange the tempeh and vegetables on the skewers, finishing each with a cherry tomato. Grill until char marks appear and the tempeh and vegetables are cooked through, approximately 15 minutes. Baste with some of the BBQ Sauce while grilling and top with the remaining BBQ sauce before serving.

Makes 6 to 8 kebabs

Live Moo Shu (courtesy of Jennifer Murray)

This flavorful combination of napa cabbage, fennel, and the sea vegetable hijiki is one of our all-time favorites when combined with our live hoisin sauce—a sweet and flavorful rendition of the Chinese cuisine staple.

4 cups napa cabbage, sliced into 1/2-inch strips
1 cup carrot, peeled and julienned or grated
1/2 red bell pepper, ribbed, seeded, and julienned
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced (or soaked dried black mushrooms)
1/2 large fennel bulb, julienned (optional)
3 Tbsp. sesame oil
3 Tbsp. nama shoyu
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup hijiki seaweed, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
1 cup raisins
1 1/4 cups filtered water
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
3/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (or cayenne)
1 tsp. dulse flakes
1/2 tsp. unpasteurized barley miso
1/2 tsp. stone-ground mustard
16 leaves butterhead lettuce or 8 large chard leaves, stems removed

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the shredded cabbage, carrot, red bell pepper, shallot, mushrooms, fennel (if using), 2 tablespoons of the sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of the nama shoyu, and salt. Allow to marinate for 45 minutes.
• If dehydrating, dehydrate at 110°F for 45 minutes to soften the veggies. Remove, add the hijiki, and toss. Allowing the veggies to sit in the oil for 45 minutes, without dehydrating, will also soften them up a bit.
• Soak the raisins in the water for at least 1 hour. Place in a blender with the soak water.
• Add the remaining 2 tablespoons nama shoyu, garlic, remaining 1 tablespoon sesame oil, crushed red pepper flakes, dulse flakes, barley miso, and mustard and blend for 30 seconds or more, going from low speed to high speed until the raisins are blended smooth.
• To serve Chinese restaurant-style, place the vegetable medley on a plate. Stack the cabbage leaves on another plate and pour hoisin sauce into a small bowl. Tear off the desired size of chard leaf, wrap some veggies in it, and dip in the hoisin sauce.

Makes 16 wraps plus 2 cups sauce

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