Horizons restaurant, in Philadelphia, specializes in "New Vegan Cuisine." What does that mean? Well, you could start with golden beet panzanella salad—beets are a current passion for Horizons' executive chef, Rich Landau—or Vietnamese bruschetta with lemongrass-glazed tofu, sriracha mayo, and cilantro-mint relish. From there, you might move on to the Catalan tempeh, Pacific Rim grilled tofu, or hearts of palm paella. If that's New Vegan Cuisine, count us in! When Landau became a vegetarian, he found his existing dining options to be limited, so he taught himself to cook satisfying, sophisticated dishes. This led to the opening of the original Horizons Café in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, in 1994. Over the next dozen years, following two expansions, Horizons moved to a more upscale setting in Philadelphia. Chef Landau and his wife—Horizons co-owner, pastry chef, and general manager Kate Jacoby—continue to delight Philly foodies, vegetarian and nonvegetarian alike. In addition to expanding the culinary palates of lucky locals, Landau and Jacoby can sometimes be caught making radio and television appearances or teaching cooking classes at Temple University. But the best place to catch their work is from a table at Horizons, enjoying vegan cuisine at its finest.

Chef Spotlight: Rich Landau

Restaurant or Company: Horizons

Do you have companion animals? If so, can you describe them? 
Four cats, who are loyal and dog-like, meet-you-at-the-door furry little children: Grizzly, Indiana, Cappy, and Bert. 

How long have you been a chef?
Fifteen years. 

What type of cuisine do you focus on?
Very seasonally focused New American, with tropical and Mediterranean touches.

Have you or has your restaurant received any awards?
Three Bells Excellent from Philadelphia Inquirer critic Craig Laban, Restaurant of the Year 2006 by VegNews magazine, Best New Cookbook (runner-up) for Horizons Gourmet Meatless Cuisine, Top 10 Hot Chefs (2006 and 2007), front cover of Philly Style magazine, Best of Philly by Philadelphia Magazine, Best of Philly by City Search, and Score of 26 for Food: Zagat Guide. 

Do you have a specialty?
Carnivore-friendly vegan cuisine.

What are the most important elements in cooking great vegetarian cuisine?
Layers of flavor: Meat-eaters are used to depth and foundation in their dishes. Also, don't get too "health-foodie" or "weird"—vegetarian food is really just great food without meat. Give people dishes that they can relate to.

What is the key to getting meat-eaters to enjoy vegetarian food?
See above—don't intimidate them. Invite them with familiarity.

What, in your opinion, does the future of plant-based cuisine hold?
Local seasonal fresh vegetables will come on huge in the next few years. Mock meats (and I love them) are a gimmick and fun for a party, but you can't live off them.  

Do you have a favorite cooking method?
Grilling—preferably over an outdoor fire pit near a beach with a bottle of white wine.

Where did you train to become a chef?
I am self-taught.

What are your favorite ingredients to work with?
Whatever has just come into season—I count the days for those first ramps, heirloom tomatoes, asparagus, and Jersey corn. I also love truffle oil, extra virgin olive oil, really great (read: expensive) vinegars, and great Dijon mustard. My latest passion is making all sorts of different vegetable stocks.

In your opinion, what vegetarian dish or type of food is most frequently poorly prepared and why?
Usually any mainstream restaurant dish where the chef is "doing vegetarians a favor"—you can spot these insults a mile away (eggplant Parmesan, spaghetti with mushrooms, etc.). They are devoid of creativity and passion. But shockingly enough, I really think that too many restaurants just don't know how to cook vegetables properly; there is such a small window of perfect doneness to most vegetables.

If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only eat one kind of ethnic food, what would it be?
Whatever ethnic island I am on—that's the food I would want.

Do vegetarian restaurants face any special obstacles that meat-based restaurants don't have to face?
A preconceived notion that we are all a bunch of pot-smoking hippies that don't have a clue. A lot of people come in almost wanting to hate us, but they leave happy—that's the greatest gratification that I can ask for. We do have to try a bit harder to prove ourselves; people just can't believe that they can dine without animal meat. Many will never set foot in our restaurant because of their hang-ups. For the ones that do get here, we better be ready to impress—we have to prove them wrong. 

Can you give us one great cooking tip for aspiring vegetarian chefs?
Make the food taste good. Sounds so simple, it's stupid. But it is all that matters.

What are some ingredients that you recommend vegetarians and vegans have in their kitchens to cook with?
A really good olive oil and a really good vinegar, salt and pepper, and fresh herbs. Start by just making simple things taste as good as possible. Then get inspired.

Are there any newer vegetarian products on the market that you are particularly fond of?
For home, I love … Vegenaise.

Have you had any noteworthy comments from or experiences with diners?
Many, many, many. They tell me how they were planning on going out for a cheese steak afterward because they were dragged here by a vegetarian friend, date, or spouse. They leave thanking me for changing their minds and for a great dining experience—and they always come back! 

Choose one area to give some specialty tips for: 
Your favorite way to work with a certain fruit or vegetable
Beets: My latest passion is salt-roasting beets. They are unbelievable. Also, smoking eggplant—the flavor is just amazing.

Purée of White Bean and Cauliflower With Truffle Oil

This luxuriously creamy soup is perfect for winter! If you have the time, I recommend cooking the white beans from dry in a pressure cooker or simmering on a stove (one bag will equal the amount of canned beans called for below). Truffle oil is amazing! One of my favorite things in the world. Don't buy a cheap one—there is a huge difference in quality. Buy a high-quality truffle oil, and it will be your friend for life. Light the fireplace and drift off to Northern Italy with a glass of red wine and some crusty bread …

2 quarts vegetable stock
2 heads cauliflower, leaves and center stem removed
2 16-oz. cans white beans, drained and rinsed (try cannellini, great northern, or navy)
1 cup chopped onion
4 cloves garlic
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dried sage
1 cup white wine
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
White truffle oil
Fresh herbs for garnish (chives or parsley, chopped)

• In a large pot, bring all the ingredients, except the rosemary, truffle oil, and garnishing herbs, to a simmer for 15 minutes.
• Drop in the rosemary and simmer for an additional 2 minutes. Then remove and discard the rosemary.
• Purée the soup in a blender (carefully and in small batches when working with hot liquids in the blender) or use an immersion blender.
• Garnish each bowl of soup with a generous drizzle of white truffle oil and fresh chopped herbs.

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