PYP 094: Karen Page on the Secret Reason to Go Plant-Based: Flavor
Karen Page ( is one of the most influential food writers of our time. The author, with her husband Andrew Dornenberg, of several impressive books about gourmet cooking, chefs, and fine restaurants.
Part gourmand, part historian, part philosopher, and part “flavor engineer,” Karen is the author of The Flavor Bible ( , an encyclopedic tome that can be found, sauce-spattered and dog-eared, in the personal libraries and kitchens of the world’s most highly acclaimed chefs.
Not exactly the sort of person you’d expect to start eating – and promoting – a whole food, plant-based diet.
Yet in 2012, Karen began questioning whether the pleasure-rich, hedonistic culture of fine food was missing something important: long-term well-being, and not just momentary pleasure.
In other words, health. Personal and planetary.
Her journey of exploration started at a personal level, and intensified when she “came out” as vegetarian to her fellow foodies. Her new book, The Vegetarian Flavor Bible ( , is the culmination of her transition. In our conversation, we cover:
• why Karen began exploring vegetarian cuisine
• how the food world reacted to her “coming out”
• the “fourth reason” to adopt a whole food, plant-based diet
• several ways in which food can be like sex – both positive and negative
• how she came to view dietary restrictions not as a sacrafice, but a higher bar
• the “flavor equation” that can help any cook produce better dishes
• the shocking French onion soup discovery by one of France’s best chefs
• and much more…
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