Revolutionising the way we eat — one plate at a time
Veganizer BXL is on a quest to ‘veganize’ Brussels’ restaurants
Leonoor wants nothing short of a food revolution — one plate at a time. But don’t worry, she will not moralise you — exploring vegan cuisine is an invitation that the Bruxelloise extends to you. “I don’t want to convert anyone to veganism, I want to get people interested in vegan cuisine”, Leonoor says when we chat about her work for Veganizer BXL. “My mission is to make it easy for vegans to go out and have a nice dinner and to show more people how delicious vegan food can be.”
“My mission is to make it easy for vegans to go out and have a nice dinner and to show more people how delicious vegan food can be.”
Veganizer BXL is an Open Collective and part of the #BrusselsTogether movement, and was inspired by a vlog. “I saw this vlog by a blogger from New York who launched the Veganizer concept and wanted to do the same in Brussels. We work with restaurants to demonstrate how easy it is to replace meat or dairy products by swapping meat for seitan or tofu or using plant-based milks, for example”, explains Leonoor, Veganizer BXL’s co-founder. Leonoor is an approachable millennial now living and working in Madrid from where she runs Veganizer BXL. Just when listening to her, she gets you interested in exploring vegan cuisine and making you wonder what you might have missed out on so far. Having been a vegetarian all her life, she first got interested in vegan food three years ago when a friend had developed an intolerance for dairy products. From not being a cook and interested in cooking, she begun to explore vegan cuisine, which eventually turned into a passion for food. Coupled with her drive to make the world a better place, the social justice-driven food revolutionary now works with restaurants across town to bring vegan menu options to any cuisine.
Veganizer is a force to be reckoned with after only one year
“After one year, we now have restaurants that work with us to explore vegan recipes for them”, Leonoor explains. Veganizer has over the past year not just amassed over 3000 followers across its online channels, but also hosted a Vegan Dining Week where 10 restaurants offered vegan lunch and dinner options for a week serving more than 500 hungry eaters. “Our first event was inspired by the typical Belgian cuisine that we re-created with vegan ingredients and for our last event at Christmas we have conceptualised an entire Christmas meal that anyone could order from our website and have delivered”. The feedback she received from Café Velvet, for example, “was very positive and they tell me that people are coming back for the vegan pies they serve”. Several of the restaurants they worked with have permanently added the vegan options to their menu, like the Super Filles du Tram team who now offer the ‘Brussels Beer Burger’ to their customers. Those restaurants that are “officially veganized”, can be found on the Veganizer BXL website.
Veganizer is looking for new chefs
Leonoor, actually a trained architect, markets the Veganizer brand and its business development. She is currently looking for new Veganizer’s chefs who want to explore new recipes and menu options with her. Leonoor hopes to make this hobby the centre of her life working as a consultant and help restaurants offer vegan options or launch entire vegan restaurants. “For the upcoming year, we have another great event planned for May where we host a Vegan Street Fest with food trucks and stalls where people can learn about animal rights and sustainability topics and just enjoy a great day out and satisfy their curiosity”, she describes the year ahead. She also explores opportunities to launch Veganizer in Madrid saying that the food culture there is very easy for vegans with various “accidentally vegan” tapas being part of the cuisine already.
Leonoor is looking for new Veganizer’s chefs who want to explore new recipes and menu options with her.
Reflecting on goals she wants to achieve, Leonoor bursts out that “every restaurant should have a partly veganized menu”. Her personal quest is to get vegan croissants to Brussels and veganize a classic Italian restaurant.
One of Leonoor’s favourites recipes is Jackfruit Kebab:
- Drain and clean canned jackfruit
- Toss with BBQ spices (brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper, chili powder)
- Sauté or spread out on a baking paper-lined baking tray and bake for about 20–25 minutes, until a little caramelised and browned around the edges
- Add BBQ sauce (Leonoor likes Devos Lemmens Argentina Steak & Grill Sauce, which is completely vegan)
- Simmer
- Serve on a Greek pita bread, with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and fried potatoes. Top off with a vegan version of tzatziki (plain soy yogurt, cucumber, mint and garlic)!
Learn more about Veganizer BXL: https://www.veganizerbxl.com/
Contact Veganizer BXL at hello@veganizerbxl.com
Join or contribute to Veganizer BXL’s open collective: https://opencollective.com/veganizerbxl
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