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Mena: Vancouver, where have you been all my life?

I mean, look at this.

The mountains, the ocean, forests, beaches.

The glass-towered metropolis in the middle of this beauty

reflecting all that abundance.

As a kid growing up in Toronto, I never had a chance

to spend much time on the west coast of Canada.

I just knew it had a reputation for outdoorsy athleisure types.

But now for the first time I got a chance to really check it out.

And it made me want to explore my own Canadian backyard.

'Cause Vancouver, let me tell you something,

you're doing it right.

You've got this amazing group of food futurists growing and

harvesting local ingredients, like sea asparagus.

The local culinary community here is very close knit.

Especially the plant-based chefs.

They're all grateful to be living by the water

and living off the land in a way few other cities can.

You won't believe the variety of produce here.

I can't wait to introduce you to Vancouver,

the most amazing sea to sky metropolis you'll ever meet.

(Dynamic instrumental music)

♪

(Upbeat instrumental music)

I'm Mena Massoud.

I'm travelling across North America and eating my way

through some of the coolest cities to show you

how beautiful meals, talented chefs and restaurateurs

are making plant-based living delicious and attainable.

So join me as I show you how the world is Evolving Vegan.

♪

(Light instrumental music)

This morning, I'm diving into the Vancouver food scene

like a true local:

by harvesting produce in the Fraser Valley farm region.

Just 45 minutes south of downtown Vancouver,

this hyper-fertile river basin is one of the most

productive agricultural zones in the country

and an indispensable source of fresh ingredients

for Vancouver restaurants.

♪

Here, people harvest their dinner day of,

which is exactly what we're doing at Cropthorne Farm

with the owner and head chef of Vancouver's most popular

upscale plant-based restaurant, Acorn.

Hey, hey.

Hey!

Hey!

Shira? Nice to meet you; I'm Mena.

Shira: Hi! Devon?

Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, Chef.

Devon: Pleasure.

Thanks for bringing me out here, guys, it's beautiful.

Is the restaurant back there, what's going on?

No restaurant here.

Welcome to Cropthorne Farm.

This is I think our biggest produce supplier.

And we're excited to go and pick some stuff with you today,

and go back and cook.

You guys literally do farm to table.

One of the things that we love about working with farms is

that everything that we put on a plate is picked fresh and ripe,

and in season.

Mena: Well, should we go pick some veg out or what?

Let's go meet Lydia, the owner and head farmer.

Mena: Cropthorne's a three generation family affair.

Head farmer Lydia...

Devon: Hey Lydia!

Hey, how's it going? Very nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you, thanks for having me.

...a full-time certified organic farmer and Alberta-schooled

agriculturalist has farmed this land for over 15 years.

♪

Cropthorne sells to over 25 restaurants in the Vancouver

area, so we're heading into the fields to see what's ripe

and ready for dinner.

♪

Alright, we're here!

Wow.

♪

What are we walking through right now?

Point out some of the stuff that we have here.

It's beautiful.

Lydia: Yeah, so we have broccolini over here.

Oh yeah, I see it right here.

But this isn't quite ready, right?

It feels, it feels a little immature.

Lydia: Yeah, exactly.

So we should be harvesting that towards the end of the week.

But then I'm walking through, this is cauliflower.

We're about a month off from this crop here.

Wow.

Is that kohlrabi over there?

Lydia: Yeah, so that's the green and purple kohlrabi.

What's the best way to harvest it?

Just from the root?

Lydia: Yeah, yeah, you can just pull it, pull it right up.

Oh my goodness, look at that.

Kohlrabi, a part of the cabbage family

with a sweet but peppery flavour.

Are they the same colour inside, it's just different flesh?

Yeah, exactly.

But I do prefer the green, so I think we'll use that.

And the leaves, do you anything with these?

If they come with leaves, I'll always do something

with them.

Something we always do is kohlrabi kraut with the leaves.

♪

We'll just stand here and eat some kohlrabi.

(Crunching)

It's not that good.

(Laughter)

Mena: Cropthorne's bounty doesn't end in their fields.

It's like a tomato jungle in here.

Love it.

Oh, look at this guy, this guy's a honker.

Devon: Yeah.

Mena: Wow.

They've got a dozen varieties of tomatoes,

and a plethora of peppers.

Including a favourite of mine, spicy cayennes.

♪

After we finish picking, we head back to the city

with our produce for Chef Devon to work his magic at Acorn.

So 10 years now that you've been in business.

I'm sure in 2012 the plant-based community and the vegan scene

was completely different, no?

A lot of the vegan or plant-based restaurants were

still trying to emulate meat.

But we wanted to open up a place that really just

celebrated vegetables.

Mena: How do you think overall the food scene in Vancouver,

plant-based, has changed since 2012?

Like, what did that look like?

A lot of the omnivore or regular restaurants,

they're offering a lot more plant-based options.

So I think, you know, I have heard that, like,

Vancouver is, like, the vegan Mecca of the world.

Which I don't know who's trying to coin that, but if someone

leaves here, The Acorn and they go, wow, I just had a vegan meal

and that was awesome--

Mena: Yeah.

--and I can do this, then that's great, you know?

♪

Hi, Chef.

Mena: Hey, hey! Hey Chef.

Devon: Hello.

Mena: Oh, this looks wonderful.

This should be worn as a crown on the top of my head,

it's so beautiful.

Yeah, the halo of tomatoes.

Mena: What do we have?

(Flames whoosh)

Devon: Heirloom tomatoes picked right from

Cropthorne Farm this morning.

♪

Blistered cherries, the leaves go into the vinaigrette.

Underneath scraps go into a caramel.

So we've got tomato four ways?

♪

And Chef, I'm noticing what looks like

grated Parmesan cheese.

What is that on top of the beautiful tomatoes?

This is a cured tofu.

So overall, like a 10-day process.

♪

Mena: I'm excited to take a bite here.

(Chewing)

So much sweetness from that tomato, so much heat

in that hoop house.

The succulents of the tomato, the beautiful oil,

I still can't get over the 10-day tofu shaving

that's Parmesan cheese.

I mean, really fantastic work.

I mean--

Devon: Thank you.

Mena: --it's so fresh and beautiful.

♪

And tell me about this dish as well.

Devon: This is our play on Thai papaya salad,

but using raw kohlrabi and fresh cayennes

that we picked this morning.

Thai papaya salad traditionally papaya, mango, a lot of

Thai basil leaves maybe.

Devon: What we always do here is a little spin on that

and using all local ingredients.

♪

Mena: This is so beautiful, light, crisp, refreshing.

And I'm loving the crunch from the hazelnuts.

You know, when we were at the farm earlier picking those

beautiful fruits and vegetables, I didn't know what you

were gonna come up with but I think what you've been able to

do is a testament not only to The Acorn but to Vancouver.

♪

Devon: It's funny because everyone comes here and is like

"Ooh, sushi."

But what's really unique is like the wild foods

that are available.

A lot of these things that other cities, especially

Canadian cities, don't have access to, we do.

Mena: Yeah.

Makes it a really interesting place to cook.

♪

Mena: Visiting Acorn was the perfect way to warm up my palate

to Vancouver's food scene.

But for every high-end vegan restaurant in town there's a ton

of traditional humbler fare that's equally important

and delicious.

Like your neighbourhood pizzeria.

Now, I love a good slice of pie and Grano is Vancouver's

first plant-based authentic pizza Napoletana.

Stoked by a brick oven, it serves brilliant piping hot

Italian pies under the watch of Chef Katie, a long-time vegan

who helped craft the menu.

They also serve dessert unlike anyone else.

I am super pumped because we're making cannolis.

I know, fantastic.

And cannolis are some of the hardest things for me

to find vegan when I first went plant-based because Italians

love their cream and their butter and their eggs.

The richness, yeah.

Yeah, everything is so rich.

So to be authentic, as Italian as we can get, we did

a pistachio-based cannoli.

We have soaked pistachios and cashews,

both with ideally a minimum

of eight hours soak just so we have an extra

creaminess texture.

Solidifier will be the coconut oil

and then we have maple syrup, a plant milk

which is oat milk we're using.

Almond extract just to intensify that pistachio tang.

Nice.

Some salts to bring the umami together and then lastly

the vanilla extract.

I am pumped to get into this filling!

Let's make cannolis!

When I was pursuing the dessert program here, picking the

cannoli in particular was really passionate for us in trying to

find the flavour that would be unique to the restaurant

which is why we ended up here.

♪

Mena: I mean, man, I could just swim in that.

Little Mena jumps in and just goes swimming.

(Whirring)

It's really nice and the pistachios still

keep that really beautiful

natural green texture and colour which is what we're

going for without adding artificial ingredients.

Being in Vancouver too, a lot of people here are healthy.

Like, the healthiest-- Absolutely.

--people on earth are in Vancouver.

Yeah, this is it.

This still is a vat of fat but it is plant-based fat.

This beautiful pistachio filling needs to cool,

so we're letting it chill

and moving on to the iconic cannoli shell.

What are you looking for in a shell?

You're looking for, like, a nice, dark, rich colour

as well as, like, a proper crunch.

First, we're going to combine all of our dry ingredients.

So with the all-purpose flour I'm going to add the cane sugar,

ground fennel just to bring in a little bit

of a licorice-y taste.

Mena: Oh, wow.

Katie: When developing this recipe, the one thing that

I did do was I didn't deep fry the cannoli.

Mena: And typically they are deep-fried?

Katie: Yeah.

Typically, a cannoli shell...

So, it is the one, like, secret that I did that is not as

authentically Italian.

I can feel good about eating 25 of these because

they're not deep-fried.

Katie: And they're all made of plants.

So, really, I can have as many as I want.

Really similar to the last thing we did, we're going to transfer

it into a piping bag.

And we like to pipe it from cold just because

the cookie tends to hold

its shape a little bit better as we are baking it.

All right, Katie, so we're gonna start making the shells.

Yes, we are.

Mena: That's not actually a waffle iron,

it's a pizzelle iron

which is basically Italian for cool, delicious waffle-maker.

So, this is our chilled batter and I'm just going to

pipe out one cookie.

I think I should, um, get these gloves on here.

(Snap) Katie: Ready...

Let's make cannolis. Katie: ...for whatever.

Let's make cannolis.

Katie: Looks incredible.

Incredible is a big word for what I'm doing right now

but thank you, Katie.

Katie: Close the press, seal it nice and tight

and now we have a timer for two minutes.

Mena: Making cannolis, precision science.

Ah-ha!

Okay, so, get these off, right?

Katie: Yeah.

So I'm going to use my really sophisticated

cannoli mould here.

Okay.

And I'm going to roll nice and tight with a little seal

in the middle, press it down there.

We're gonna pull it off and now we're gonna let it set.

There's something I like to do with cannolis to see

how good they actually are.

Okay. Alright?

(Katie gasps)

The fact that they obliterated into a thousand pieces

is what you want because it means they're crunchy.

Perfect.

I think this is ready to fill.

Katie: So we're just filling one end and then we're gonna

go to the other side.

It's so cute.

Mena: Look at that. Look at that.

It looks great.

I'm a cannoli natural.

Katie: We like to do a nice little dust and garnish

of the pistachio

on the finish and then of course,

authentically Italian, you need a little dust.

(Gasps) Good luck.

Yes, good luck Italian style.

Are you going to cheers me?

Katie: Cheers.

(Crunch)

♪

Mm.

This definitely hits the spot, right here.

♪

(Crunch)

(Clunk)

(Laughing)

Their cannolis are...

(Smooch) ...mwah!

Chef's kiss.

But you can't come to a pizza joint and not try a few pies.

Light and airy dough,

flavourful San Marzano tomato sauce

and the creamy cashew mozzarella.

Ooh, got scissors, classic.

That is bellissimo.

The tomato sauce is a home run on this.

Danny, how many pizzas you got over there?

We got three pizzas.

Mena: Three pizzas.

This might look like I'm slacking but hey,

I'm technically working here and I have to feed my crew.

This looks amazing.

Mena: Are you good there, buddy?

I saw that drip all over you.

(Laughing)

Bang on.

The spice the kick.

Eva, get over here.

The dough, I'm in for the dough.

Mena: That was bomb.

Your bacon pizza is amazing.

I love pizza.

Did I ever tell you that?

Pizza's my favourite food.

(Siren wailing in distance)

Oh, they're coming.

I've eaten too much pizza.

♪

Okay, we are stuffed but real talk, can you ever really eat

too much cheese?

The answer is no.

And to prove it, I'm bringing my good friend and fellow vegan,

Bassem Youssef, a former heart surgeon turned international

comedian to Blue Heron, an artisanal plant-based

cheese factory.

Woman: Nice to meet you, Bassem.

We heard you were the queen of cheese.

Well, unofficially maybe.

No, no, no, you own it, you own it.

You take the queen of plant-based cheese.

Karen McAthy, founder and head cheesemaker at Blue Heron.

This is her playground, where she blends art and science,

creating vegan cheese so good

it'll make your heart skip a beat.

Choose your favourite jacket.

Bassem: Do you have a slim cut?

Karen: (Chuckling) No, no, nothing so clever.

Bassem: I'll get a large, he'll get a small.

(Laughing)

Karen: The smallest ones are down on this side.

Okay, okay, great.

What are you trying to say, Karen?

What are you trying to say?

(Laughing)

By the way, Bassem is very used to this

because he used to be a heart surgeon.

Karen: Oh.

So I'm sure you've worn a lot of these.

I'm waiting for my scrubbing station.

Karen: Oh yes, well, that is next!

♪

Wash your hands with hot water and soap.

Mena: Okay.

Karen: And then the fancy stuff is here;

head gear, beard covers.

I am ready. Okay.

(Light instrumental music)

Oh, I look like a little turtle coming out of its shell.

♪

We have some special guests today.

Our hands are clean, our hands are clean.

They've proved positive.

(Light, smooth instrumental music)

This is Mena and Bassem,

and they'll be making cheese with us today.

We actually create unique styles of cheese

that stand on their own, that have their own characteristics.

But we do work with

some of the same kinds of species of bacteria and moulds

that are used in traditional cheese making.

Wow.

And so we actually do make a blue cheese,

and we can make a camembert-style cheese.

And in fact, one of the cheeses you'll be sort of helping to

make today is a cheese that we call the Lady Lupin.

♪

Bassem: You were talking about this one, right?

Karen: Yes, these are lupin.

Lupin! Bassem: Pyramids!

Yeah, so, a lupin in Egypt--

Is pyramid.

--is very, very famous and popular.

It is like a very tasty snack.

Mena: Yeah.

Delicious!

Needs a little bit of salt.

(Laughing)

Don't put it back in the vat!

Don't put it back in the vat.

Karen: You'll have to wash your hands.

He almost contaminated the whole vat.

Come on, Bassem, come on.

♪

Karen: So the first step is draining,

then we will start transferring lupin

to our initial stage of processing, which is right here.

Now, let me help you here.

Bassem: Oh, so chivalrous.

(Playful instrumental music)

Mena: Alright.

Bassem: And he lost half of it outside of the processor!

(Laughing)

Mena: There's lupin everywhere!

Alright.

Karen: And then we add the rest of the substrate.

♪

Then we're going to add some water.

Bassem: The whole bowl?

Mena: Alright, Bassem, it's on you.

Karen: And then our coconut cream.

Bassem: The moment of truth.

♪

Mena: Oh wow.

You weren't kidding when you said coconut cream here.

(Mixer whirring)

Bassem: Don't let Mena.

Oh, it's okay, I got it, it's okay.

Bassem: No, he doesn't got it.

He's, he's-- He's too small.

(Laughing)

Karen: So this is where it's a little bit more sophisticated

than a home food processor.

♪

We're going to go and add bacteria to this now.

♪ I will show you the world ♪

(Laughing)

This looks so satisfying.

And this is all the bacteria that it's going to take,

right, Karen?

It doesn't take a lot.

No, it really doesn't take very much.

This much, this little, little, like, amount of bacteria

is even more useful than you.

It's just crazy, man.

(Laughing)

Karen: We're going to sprinkle it

across the surface of the substrate.

We usually use a big paddle for stirring.

Mena: A paddle?

Ah, there it is.

Bassem: Look like a kayak bro, yeah.

♪

Karen: So the next thing you guys are going to learn

how to do is how to form the cheese.

What we do before we send it in to age.

And we'll have some of our team show you how to do that.

Wow. Great.

Aged cheese, baby, yes.

♪

Dee: Now the moulding stage.

Next thing, this is our trigger.

This allows us even distribution of curd.

About 5-8 seconds.

Oh, it basically tells you when it's done?

It's automated.

Let Mena try, because you can not mess this up.

Because he just has to press the button

and it will do it by itself.

It's very sensitive, so.

It's very sensitive?

I know, it's okay.

It's okay, I got you, it's alright.

(Clunk)

Bassem: And you already messed it up.

Why?

You already messed it up! How, what did I do?

You have to... damn it.

(Clunk)

I can't take you any-- you already messed it up!

You already messed up the portions!

I told you! I didn't do anything different.

I can't take you anywhere with me.

That's why we don't have good things.

Mena: I want to see you do this.

Here's the-- Look, here.

(Quiet clunk)

Mena: Why'd you let go with your finger?

You don't let go.

No, I let go because it does it by itself.

You let go, yeah. I let go, haha, haha!

(Clunk)

You see?

Mena: I really should've known better

than to tell a heart surgeon how to operate a cheese gun.

You like it?

Mena: Once Dee kicked us out of the factory

the cheese went into an aging vault

and we settled in to do the real work.

Bassem: Dude!

Look at this.

Bassem: Mena, like, you prepared a picnic.

This is amazing, man.

Mena: Okay.

So this is Lady Lupin.

It's the same base of the one we made.

Oh, but it's not the one that we actually made?

But it's not the one we did.

Because I wouldn't try it, I wouldn't try for myself.

Mena: It's not the one we made.

(Smooth instrumental music)

How is it? Can I get a piece please?

Both: Mmm.

Mena: You went vegan when?

I went vegan in 15th of September, 2013.

I remember the date exactly

because I was sitting with a friend of mine

who had been suffering from multiple sclerosis,

and then he adopted a plant-based diet.

The MS effects got fewer and fewer

and then his life changed forever.

So for a whole year I changed into a plant-based diet

and it changed my life dramatically.

First of all my sleep, my energy, my skin.

Crazy!

♪

A lot of people suffer many diseases; auto-immune diseases,

food allergies, a lot of inflammation.

And they don't understand

that the cause of this is actually dairy.

The predominant protein in milk is called casein.

Mm-hmm?

When you eat that

it turns into your liver into something called casomorphin.

You see the name?

Caso-morphin; it's addictive.

Like morphine, yeah.

Yes, it is an endorphin, it makes you happy.

That's why-- nobody eats a pizza because they're hungry.

They eat a pizza because it makes them happy.

I can give you a bowl of carrots

and you can just, like, eat half and stop.

But with pizza, take one slice

after the other, after the other.

So you're telling me that scientifically dairy...

Both: Is addictive.

100%.

Many people on the vegan side are very militant.

So I never go there by shaming someone.

Of course.

I tell them, listen, if you're happy, good for you.

But if you have some health problem

and you want to feel better maybe you want to try it.

And I usually tell them to give up dairy.

I say the same thing.

And if you feel better, go to the next one,

and if you feel better go to the next one.

It's like, "What happens if I crave meat?"

I said, "Go eat it. It's fine."

You know, we're not going to put you in vegan jail.

I think we just need to be

very more understanding to people.

Well, yeah, of course.

Why do you think I call it an evolution?

Because evolution happens slowly over time.

What people think is alien today

is going to be the norm tomorrow

and we're just basically at the precipice of it.

Mena: I gotta say, so far...

Bassem: Yeah.

My two favourites actually might be these two right here.

What is this?

Mena: This one is the wine and--

(Speaking Arabic)

There is no wine, actually.

No, no, no, no.

(Unclear), you stay away from that one.

(Speaking Arabic)

Leave it for me.

And then this one is the lemon pepper.

Bassem: Yeah, I like the lemon pepper.

It's actually-- this is actually my favourite.

That on a bagel?

Oh, get out of here.

Damn. Well, you know what?

I know exactly what to do.

Bye-bye, Mena.

Mena: I'm not done, Bassem.

Bassem: I am done with you, man.

(Mid-tempo rock music)

♪

Mena: Next, I am heading

to the stunning Granville Island

to meet one of my closest friends

who knows better than to take food from me.

Eddie meister!

Eddie: What's going on?

Mena: What's up, bro?

Man! You look good, man.

Mena: Eddie, my college roommate.

We met in theatre school and have a special bond

for several reasons.

But little secret, we went vegan together.

We're in Vancouver.

Yeah.

So I gotta take you to a sushi spot.

Okay!

Vancouver, largest producer of sushi outside of Japan.

So we're going to go to Cofu Pressed Sushi

and we're gonna make some sushi.

-Eddie: I'm so down. -Mena: Are you feeling it?

-Eddie: I'm feeling it. -Mena: Alright.

Eddie: Let's go.

Both: Let's do it.

-Eddie: Man! -Mena: Here it is.

Cofu created by Akiko Otsuka,

Vancouver's first fully plant-based sushi joint.

-Akiko! -Hi!

-How you doing? -Good, thank you.

-Hi! -How about you?

Mena: Originally from Japan,

she's taken the lost art of pressed sushi

and turned it into something artistic and healthy.

So we heard a lot about Cofu

and I know it's one of the only

vegan sushi spots in Vancouver.

Akiko: Yes.

Mena: But you didn't start out vegan.

So first of all, we have a fish

and the meat and the veggies,

but I'm going to change.

And why did you do that?

Like, why did you make the decision?

'Cause Vancouver has 600, over, sushi restaurant.

They have a vegan option.

I think I need more... different.

We're making a pressed sushi.

Pressed sushi is very old style

that's why I called Cofu.

Cofu is classic.

But ingredients, it's very unique

'cause my creation.

So I create the black rice

with the plant-based ingredients for the sushi.

Put the wet towel, rice.

Mena: So you press it down?

Press, press and--

And then you're going to put it on the machine?

Akiko: Yeah.

♪

Take it out.

Mena: Hello! Beautiful!

What's this combo called that we're making?

Yeah, this combo called Omakase C.

Omakase, Omakase C.

Akiko: Mm-hmm.

-Omakase. -Omakase C.

All: Omakase C.

Mena: Okay.

This is bell pepper.

And then pressed again.

(Light instrumental music)

This machine is cutting machine.

Mena: Okay.

Akiko: Same timing.

So this is our first part of the...

Oka-- oka sake?

Omakase.

All: Omakase C.

Mena: Omakase C, nailed it.

While Akiko torches the first roll

I get ready to try my hand as sous chef.

Akiko: Next one is eggplant.

Mena: Watch and learn, baby!

Eddie: Okay, I'm taking notes.

Mena: To make genuine

Akiko eggplant sushi, start with the black rice

and press hard.

It's a little bit too strong.

I pressed a little bit too much, right?

Yeah, too strong, too strong.

Oh, she said I was too strong. (Akiko chuckling)

Nice!

So what, what's the sauce that's going on top?

This is a miso mayo.

Mena: Oh, my gosh!

♪

Oh, wow!

What are you going to have him make now?

Salmon. Plant-based salmon.

-Mena: Wow! -Akiko: Made from...

(Speaking Japanese)

Mena: Konjac, a popular starch

used to make plant-based seafood.

It tastes like salmon.

It feels like salmon.

It looks salmon.

Mena and Eddie: But it ain't salmon.

All: Cheers!

Thank you.

♪

Interesting thing about this one

is that the smoky and the spice comes first,

but then all the other flavours come after.

It's so fatty and delicious because of the salmon...

Akiko: Yep.

It just melts in your mouth.

And then that kick of spice that you get

with the little bit of jalapeno is just--

It's just subtle.

Just a, just a little-- (Tongue clicks)

Just a little taste.

(Chuckling) Yeah.

♪

Alright, Eddie and I we're going to go hang out

a little bit, catch up.

I haven't seen him in forever.

And you are going to finish the Oka-say?

Okay. Omakase.

Omakase. I'm going to get it.

One of these days I will get it.

Okay, alright.

Thank you!

Thank you, arigato.

(Speaking Japanese)

Mena: With us safely away from the blow torches,

Akiko works her culinary magic.

The black rice isn't just pretty.

It's loaded with antioxidants and protein.

I haven't had the oyster mushroom one so I'm gonna--

Oh, it's so tasty!

Kidding! I won't do that.

♪

That's amazing.

Eddie: Yeah, yeah.

Mena: You ever think about

the good ol' days when we were living together?

Playing NHL.

(Laughing)

Getting highly competitive.

Playing hockey video games.

Yeah, that was-- those were great times.

And then going vegan together.

Remember when we were doing that?

So you know, I've been telling people that

when I first went plant-based

I didn't do it all at once,

I kinda gradually came to it.

Eddie: I ended up going vegan

for like three and a half years.

Immediately people just started noticing

that, like, my skin started looking better.

They're like, "Man, you have so much energy.

Maybe I should try being vegan too."

It kind of, like, changed my perception and it made me

really aware of the stuff that I was eating.

Mena: But since then

you've reverted back to not being plant-based.

I did, yeah.

So about three years in I noticed that,

like, my digestion just wasn't working the same.

Right.

Eddie: But as soon as I reintegrated

like eggs and dairy and meat

it was just so much better for my digestion overall.

-Wow. -Eddie: Yeah.

Mena: You just have to be aware

of why you're eating it, how much of it you're consuming.

You know, just being kind of aware of

what you're putting into your body.

That's absolutely what going vegan taught me.

Just in terms of my diet, it made me really aware

of how meat and animal products

and even food in general is processed.

Mena: Seeing Eddie was a great

reminder of where my plant-based journey started.

It's also a lesson that your relationship with food

is constantly evolving.

You have to adapt

and do what feels best for your own body.

♪

Vancouver's Chinatown.

The largest in Canada and the epicentre

of the ubiquitous Asian influence

on the culinary scene.

Bao Bei is this month's chosen spot

for Chef Mark Singson's exclusive monthly pop-ups.

They're not always vegan but lucky for me

his menu tonight is.

Behind! Behind!

Chef Mark.

Yes!

(Talking over each other)

Nice to meet you, nice to meet you.

Chef Mark was a finalist on Top Chef Canada.

He blends his Filipino heritage,

Michelin training and unique aesthetic

to create one-of-a-kind dishes.

While he's run some of Vancouver's best restaurants,

he's now putting his beautiful energy

into these unique pop-ups.

Chef, what have we got going on today?

Our snacks to start.

So we got these coffee-baked carrots with toasted nuts

and seeds, an onion tart with apple, and then

you got a rice chip with a celery and shishito relish.

Mena: Wow, delicious. Looks delicious.

114, please.

114, yes, Chef.

No idea what that is.

Alright.

It's been a while since I've waited tables,

but tonight I'm serving two of Vancouver's

well-known restaurateurs, Roger and Eleanor.

Hey, hey, hey.

They know what the locals want and how Vancouver's

food scene is evolving.

I've got some snacks here, some bites for you.

Roger: Nice.

Mena: I'm gonna go for this.

This guy seems like the lightest.

Eleanor: And the freshest.

Mena: Yes.

♪

That's like the freshest relish I've ever had.

It's like, crunchy. It's really nice.

♪

Mena: So you've been in the Vancouver culinary

world for decades.

Don't age us.

Mena: No, no, you look fantastic.

You both look great.

How have you seen it evolve over the years?

I think in terms of, like, plant-based options

and vegetarian, veganism,

Vancouver has really embraced it.

I think it's because there's a lot of options locally that they

produce here, that is accessible to a lot of people,

and so it makes it an easy choice.

It's not necessarily a nightclub city, or a bar city.

There are nightclubs and bars, but I think

the focus is food here.

Mena: Yeah.

Roger: The dining and the lifestyle all leads

into the environment.

(Upbeat instrumental music)

♪

Mena: That is good.

Next up, a tomato dish with yuzu kosho,

a Japanese condiment made from fermented chilies and citrus...

Eleanor: This looks amazing.

Mena: ...with super-chilled tomato consommé,

crispy tofu, lemon, and cucumber.

Just the fried tofu? Oh my goodness, fantastic.

There is definitely a movement with all sorts of food.

I'm an ambassador for this chocolate brand,

and recently they've just launched a vegan milk chocolate.

And I think that is a strong message to the world,

because it's an international company.

And the fact that they've taken these steps to create

a vegan chocolate, like a milk chocolate?

To see that, it's impressive.

Yeah, I think all these big companies will come out

with plant-based versions, and they already have,

because it's a multi-multi-billion

dollar industry now.

Oh, yeah.

If you don't do it, you're not keeping up.

Mena: Chef Mark's pop-ups run late,

going day to night over five, six, sometimes seven courses.

That's all in the sauce there. That's great.

Like this incredible onion dish with root vegetables,

onion foam, and potato crumb.

Next up, this unreal mushroom corn polenta dish

with a sesame chili crunch.

I love it, it's like so warm and delicious and creamy.

Mark: Hello, everyone.

Hey, hey, Chef.

How are you?

Mena: And finally, served by Chef Mark himself,

tempeh braised in spicy coconut, chili ginger scallions

with crisp zucchini.

Wow, very nice.

Enjoy.

Mena: Thank you very much.

♪

So you've been doing these pop-ups for a while now, right?

But when you first started them, there was no plant-based pop-up,

it was just a regular pop-up, right?

Mark: I guess my very first plant-based pop-up

was 2017, 2018.

So I just liked the idea of trying to create flavours

just from vegetables.

I think that challenge I truly enjoy,

and that's probably the reason why I love cooking.

Do you find that there's going to be more and more demand

for plant-based food, or do you think this

is a fad that's going to go away?

No, I think there's more and more demand for it.

I think with me as a chef, I'm not really completely vegan,

but I enjoy it.

I eat vegan maybe once or twice a week,

trying to find a balance for myself.

But other than that, yeah, there's definitely a demand.

Vancouver's full of lovely vegans that are

constantly evolving, so.

Nailed it.

Thanks for throwing that in there.

Thanks for throwing that in there, Chef.

You're on fire!

(Laughing)

♪

(Light instrumental music)

The chefs here made it clear: the convenient access

to fresh ingredients defines the local scene,

and I guarantee this next chef would agree.

Excited, Vancouver's gorgeous. Just beautiful.

Yeah.

Mena: Chef Josh spent the last decade heading up kitchens

of Van's top restaurants.

Now, he's a private chef who cooks for Hollywood A-listers

like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Having spent most of his life on the west coast,

Josh takes endless joy in showcasing fresh,

local ingredients in his cooking.

This afternoon, he's taking me to the stunning Earle Creek

on the Sunshine Coast.

We could plod along in a boat or a ferry,

but I want to get a good look at you, Vancouver.

We're taking a seaplane.

Ian, what's going on? How you doing, Captain?

Josh, good to see you. You guys ready to go flying?

Hell, yeah. Alright, let's do this.

Hop on in; who's coming first?

I think you're going to go first.

Wonderful, I'll just get you in.

I'll watch you in here, just in case he messes up

I know what to do.

♪

Let's get this baby in the sky.

♪

The Sunshine Coast, nearly 200 kilometres of pristine coastline

where towering mountains drop directly into the sea.

Cut off from the main roads, it's a remote,

exclusive inlet where select local chefs

forage for unique ingredients.

♪

Ian: Alright, gentlemen.

Welcome to the beautiful Earle Creek.

Wow.

This is gorgeous.

Josh: Yeah.

♪

Mena: British Columbia.

I got a pretty decent backyard.

Mena: Yeah!

Chef Josh's backyard is the perfect spot to go foraging.

Today, we're here to search out something I've never

tried before: sea asparagus, the briny and crunchy,

nutrient-packed cousin to seaweed.

The seascape in Vancouver is rich with food.

Tell me a little bit about that.

Yeah man, I mean, there's tons of wild edibles here

on the West Coast.

There's just literally sea urchin all across this

little kind of tidal area.

There's mussels, there's tons of clams here.

Some bladder wrack, like, edible seaweeds.

There's just so much kind of edible wildlife here,

it's such a cool place for foraging.

It always just feels good to be able to, you know,

pick up something out of the ground and eat it.

It just feels like the right thing to do.

Well, let's find that sea asparagus.

Let's get to it, man.

Mena: Sea asparagus grows up and down the BC coast.

Rocky intertidal zones like these are the perfect

habitat for them to thrive.

Josh: I can actually see some asparagus right here.

Mena: And why do they call it asparagus?

Is it the same family of vegetables?

Well, here, let me tell you why.

Give this guy a little taste and tell me what it reminds you of.

Like, to me it's just got the exact same texture

as, like, the kind of tip of asparagus.

It's got that really nice crunch.

It's salty. I can tell.

Josh: You know, we're just a couple feet from the ocean,

so this has quite a bit of sodium in it.

Mena: And what about these guys right here?

I mean, is this edible, these, like, big chunks?

Josh: Yeah, I mean, so this-- this whole plant is edible.

It's actually a succulent. It's an annual plant.

And what we're doing right now, just picking the tips,

is a really sustainable way to harvest this.

Like, the last thing that we want to do is come in

and just pull this whole thing out of the ground--

Mena: Pull the roots, yeah.

'Cause then if we come back next year,

it's not going to be here.

But if we kind of pick in a sustainable manner,

we can kind of keep coming back to this patch

year on year and it's always going to be here for us.

Mena: Wow.

Josh: Yeah. Well, let's go cook it up.

Mena: Yeah, let's do it.

Posted up on the beach with nothing but a propane grill,

organic ingredients and freshly foraged sea asparagus,

I can't help but be grateful

that we're about to cook a meal out here.

So, we got this beautiful produce here,

and what are we making?

We're going to make two different dishes.

I'm going to get you started

on this really nice grilled asparagus,

and I'm going to get you to make this

sea asparagus salsa verde to go on top.

So, we're just going to get a fine chop

on some parsley, some dill, some mint.

I've got a couple chilies here, so you can chop them up.

And then we'll just do some lemon juice, olive oil,

and I'm going to get cracking on the zucchini dish.

Alright, let's do it.

Josh: Let's go.

Mena: Chef Josh is whipping up a grilled zucchini dish

with a zesty slaw.

Being out on the water like this, I love nature,

but to be able to, like, also cook

and get to learn about BC with you out here,

I mean, it's stunning, man.

Look at this, this is gorgeous.

Josh: Yeah, man.

I feel so lucky to consider this my backyard.

My buddies and I do this almost every weekend.

We kind of get out in nature. We cook over a fire.

Having good food with good friends, how can you beat that?

For me, food's all about highlighting the ingredient.

If we can get great produce, my job's pretty easy.

I've always really vibed with the philosophy of just

find great food and kind of get out of the way, you know?

Let the food do the talking.

A lot of people think that eating healthy is just having,

like, you know, a piece of protein

and some salad on the side.

But eating healthy can be very innovative.

A lot of these restaurants are showing us that.

Josh: Yeah, I mean, I think just because you want to eat healthy

it doesn't mean you need to eat boring.

I think we're proving that today.

We've got some beautiful ingredients,

but we've also got a ton of attitude, a ton of character.

So, I think it's pretty easy to eat plant-based

if you just rely on the ingredients.

It doesn't just have to be, you know,

steamed broccoli every day.

Mena: I love that philosophy.

Look at these dishes.

Grilled asparagus with sea asparagus salsa verde,

smothered in a turmeric sauce.

And grilled zucchini with a fennel radicchio slaw,

accented by grapefruit, lemon, olive oil

and, of course, sea asparagus.

Both: Cheers.

Josh: Yeah.

Mena: Nothing beats fresh, local ingredients.

What do you think?

Mmm. Like you said, it's simple, right?

But you really taste each and every ingredient.

The vinegar just really kind of adds

that little bit of acidity to the zucchini,

so it's really, really nice.

Josh: Cool.

Mena: Yeah, man, you nailed it.

Josh: Well, I'm definitely digging

the salsa verde that you made.

The chili is just right, and that salty kick

from the sea asparagus just puts this over the top.

Mena: Mmm.

Want to trade?

Mena: Yeah, please.

Josh: Thanks so much for joining me.

Like, I'm just really grateful that we got to do this,

and show off my beautiful backyard

and eat some beautiful food together.

Mena: What an amazing meal to end my time here.

It feels like my West Coast trip has officially come full circle.

Walking through fields and coastlines,

and getting up close and personal

with the food on my plate has allowed me

to connect with the nature so deeply

that the food actually tastes different.

Surrounded by mountains and ocean,

the Vancouver culinary scene

is evolving alongside the West Coast locals.

From high-end cuisine to everyday food,

the plates here are innovative, fresh, and have opened my eyes

to what's available in my own Canadian backyard.

So, thanks, Vancouver.

You're a wonder.

♪

Picking up some goodies from my shopping list.

Man: Chickpeas!

(Upbeat dynamic music)

We challenged four people to evolve their eats

and try going plant-based for one week.

Woman: And I'm looking forward to see what the week brings.

Your nonna told me you loved cheese and pasta

like a good Italian.

The plant-based alternatives these days are mind-blowing

so I have no doubt they're going to satisfy those cravings.

This sounds amazing.

Mena: Going plant-based doesn't mean

you need to be all-in or nothing at all.

I was a little bit worried about not using egg.

I'm on to make a plant-based version

of one of my favourite dishes.

Alright, there she goes.

It can be about making small changes

that work with your lifestyle.

(Smooch)

I'm glad that you're embracing this.

I'm definitely inspired to try more.

Wow, that's good.

My grandmothers would be so proud of me right now.

I confidently know they would also enjoy it as much as we did.

Yummy, here we go.

See how they did at CTV.ca/Shows/Evolving-Vegan.

So far so good.

Okay, it's time to start grocery shopping.

We're just picking up some goodies from my shopping list.

I love the produce section.

We challenged four people to evolve their eats...

Woman 2: Great, there she is.

Mena: ...and try going plant-based for one week.

Man: Ooh, I'm excited.

Not bad; I can get down with this as a snack.

Cheers.

I have to do a dance, have to do a dance.

Ta-dah!

Going plant-based doesn't mean you need

to be all-in or nothing at all.

That's going to be the base for our curry, no?

It can be about making small changes

that work with your lifestyle.

We are going to start the day with protein smoothie bowls.

Yummy!

Very yummy. So good.

How's it been?

Man: It's been good!

The main thing we were looking at was, like,

are these recipes going to give us the protein

that we need?

And I think, you know, they definitely have.

Oh yeah, that's really good.

Man 2: And we're also-- we're feeling great.

Like, totally different to not be consuming

meat products every day.

See how they did at CTV.ca/Shows/Evolving-Vegan.

♪

(Upbeat instrumental music)

♪

♪

♪

(Whirring, click)

(Dynamic musical flourish)