Introducing Chef Reuben Waller
Reuben Waller is a restaurant and food expert currently using his skills and talent gained from his Michelin Star years to take vegan mainstream.
As an influencer of this global trend, Reuben is able to change perspectives that lead to constructive changes in eating and lifestyle through the creation of beautiful casual plant based restaurants and cookbooks.
Reuben is the master chef critical in the creation and establishment of Rootcandi in Brighton England, Nordvegan in Oslo Norway and SNCKBR IV in Utrecht Holland. Whilst at Rootcandi Reuben was included in the Great British Chefs cookbook in 2014, the first ever vegan recipe included in this prestigious publication. The Nordvegan concept is soon to open across Scandinavia, this is timely with the December 2018 release of the Nordvegan cookbook with 80 beautiful recipes created by Reuben. In its first month of sales this cookbook has exceeded sales expectations by more than 30%. SNCKBR IV is the biggest plant based restaurant in Europe in both the amount of covers it can serve but also the investment and a very new approach to plant based dining, SNCKBR IV is a very high end establishment.
We got the chance to have an exclusive interview with Reuben Waller, check this out...
What qualities do you think make a good chef?
What actually makes a good chef is someone who is really prepared to have a great understanding of food, work for great chefs and be able to learn and push themselves to a great extent and be grounded at the same time.
A good chef is open minded to exploration they are not afraid of failure because they understand that so much can go wrong pretty easily and that each experience improves and makes their cooking great.
A good chef has a genuine understanding of produce, has good senses and great taste.
You seem to have an interest in plant based recipes, what is the benefits of plant based meals?
It is more of a passion for me for many many reasons. Obviously the sustainability of the planet and the way we leave it for future generations matters to me.
This combined with the fact that plant based dining is just so unexplored. Because it is so new, compared with all other cooking throughout our history, the possibilities are endless right now. It also means that I’m working as a leader due to the change in everything to do with the food and agriculture supply chain. What is new now will become the mainstream in the very close future. It’s very exciting to be at the forefront of the plant based movement – and that I get to do this in beautiful dining establishments is very enjoyable to me.
What is some advice you would have for aspiring chefs.
When you are starting out be sure to learn and find your basics, what your good at, what you like, understand how to explore the great life ahead of you in really knowing deeply the basics. When you master this you can become not just a good chef but a great chef.
Be prepared for the hours, the pressure of service, and the unexpected moments – often. But get excited, the places you can travel, the deep friendships you will form and the talent you will foster make your life very exciting.
What is in store for you in Australia?
A chance to experience a new market, the variety and distinct produce compared to that I work with in Europe and that Australia is a leader in plant based agriculture and diet – Australia is ranked in the top 10 globally for plant based food and lifestyle.
And besides all of that … I fell in love with an Australian.
Let's talk about your book, how did this opportunity happen?
I have one cookbook currently on the market due for distribution in Australia, hopefully by June this year. It’s the result of a consultancy I did in Oslo Norway at the time one of the first beautiful casual dining establishments in the Scandinavian market Nordvegan.
The success of Nordvegan produced a momentum for customers and followers to want to cook the food themselves. It was a natural next step. The book was released in Norway in December and has already far exceeded sales targets. It's soon to be released more broadly across Europe and Australia Pacific.
In addition, Eating Our Way to Health is currently in production and contains 170 plant based recipes created by him over a 4 year timeframe. This project is a collaboration with Richard Branson and his family and is accompanied by a feature length documentary named Eating our way to Extinction narrated by Kate Winslet. Also featured in the film include, but are not limited to Kelly Slater, Leonardo DiCaprio, Moby and REDFOO. Set for release in May 2019 accompanied by products including a children’s plant based cookbook and a menu planning lifestyle APP, it is predicted to revolutionise the way food, dining and lifestyle are currently thought of worldwide.
All children go through a fussy eating phase, what is your advice to parents regarding children's nutrition, during these times?
Do you mean outside of blackmail? …
When I was given the opportunity to create the kids cookbook it was a real eye opener. The obvious best thing with kids cooking is to get them involved with the cooking; the whole process, like my grandmother did and that I did with my daughter.
But in the real world that is not always achievable, so my key guidelines to cooking for children is just to make it fun, find out the ingredients your children like to eat and don’t like, follow the general nutritional guidelines and eat with them! You eat what they eat and they eat what you eat.
Try as much as possible to avoid the e-numbers processed food and sugar. But at the end of the day, be with them and love them.
SERVICES AVAILABLE:
Reuben and his team can cater to any party of any size utilising fresh and unique sourced Australian plant based produce to create ground breaking beautiful events throughout Australia.
Currently based in Sydney with the ability to create unique culinary experiences throughout the Asia and Pacific region.
Celebrity tours
Television, radio and new media
Consulting – including food and agriculture supply chain – plant based
Concept to implementation of new ventures – restaurants
Demonstrations
Menu design
Festivals
Personal chef
Parties
Film productions
More about Reuben’s projects can be found through the below links:
If you want to hire Chef Reuben and his team on your next party or gathering, please contact White Glove Services International Agency at 1300 30 19 30 or email us at admin@whitegloveservices.org.
