March 1, 2024, kicks off the Second Annual Knoxville Vegan Chef Challenge, hosted by the international, nonprofit organization Vegan Outreach. The challenge invites the public out to participating local restaurants that have introduced new or improved plant-based items to their menu, then vote for which restaurant they think has the best vegan options.
Eighteen restaurants are participating in this year’s Knoxville Vegan Chef Challenge, including The Tomato Head, KoPita Authentic Mediterranean, Frothy Monkey and the Bistro at the Bijou in downtown, among others in the greater Knoxville area.
While this year marks the second Vegan Chef Challenge in Knoxville, volunteers have been organizing vegan challenges as far back as 11 years ago, food events coordinator for Vegan Outreach Yuri Mitzkewich said.
According to Mitzkewich, the first Vegan Chef Challenge took place in Sacramento, California, where Vegan Outreach was largely based at the time. In 2021, Vegan Outreach began raising funding and donations and has seen steady growth that has expanded the vegan challenges beyond the Western U.S. to states that have less of a vegan scene, such as Alabama and South Carolina.
Since 2014, Mitzkewich’s work with Vegan Outreach has focused on the Southeast. When doing advocacy work and public events at universities, he determined that Knoxville and other cities in the region were in a good place to accommodate these challenges.
“I knew there was a lot of vegans that were living in these cities, but I don’t think it was something that was getting the attention of the business community as much as would reflect that,” Mitzkewich said. “Like, in promoting themselves to that community, that way, not just vegans, but the quickly growing people that eat vegan part time or are just interested in eating better.”
Southland Books and Cafe and its bar, The Bird and The Book, are among the participants in the Knoxville Vegan Chef Challenge. One of the owners, Catherine Frye, said she first heard about the challenge from its organizers as well as her own customers. Noting the cafe and bar’s extensive vegan menu, she described the vegan scene at the cafe and bar as quite large.
“We have been increasing our vegan offerings over the years, and that has created a great vegan customer base,” Frye said. “I myself am vegan, so I am always happy to get people interested in vegan food and having them to realize that vegan food can be as yummy as any other kind of food.”
Participating in the Knoxville Vegan Chef Challenge only further increased that customer base, Frye said.
Last year, Southland Books and Cafe was awarded “Best Vegan Sandwich,” and The Bird & The Book won “Best Vegan Bar Menu.” This year, Frye is introducing two new sandwiches to the vegan menu — one is a Thai peanut tofu sandwich and the other is a pesto ricotta tofu sandwich. Frye also said there will be a special vegan dessert and soup of the month.
“I hope that more people will come in and try vegan food,” Frye said. “I really enjoy getting more people to experience good vegan food and realize that just because it is vegan doesn’t mean that it isn’t yummy food.”
Last year, 23 restaurants participated in the Knoxville Vegan Chef challenge, and Mitzkewich said around 50% of them kept their vegan items on the menu even after the challenge’s conclusion. He said Knoxville stood out among other cities regarding its participation and success.
“It really shows that Knoxville is ready for this,” Mitzkewich said. “I really like working in this region because it almost feels like on the ground floor in helping the independent business community but also making it easier for vegans to exist down here.”
Customers have until March 31 to cast their votes in the Knoxville Vegan Chef Challenge, and winners will be announced in April.
