Romain Avril
Romain is a French-trained chef, born in Paris, who is known for his creative and ambitious cooking. He discovered his passion for cooking at a young age and worked at numerous Michelin-star restaurants in France and the UK, increasingly focusing his attention on fusion and molecular gastronomy. Since moving to Toronto in 2010, he has worked as Executive Chef at the renowned La Société Bistro and has participated in the opening of such institutions as Levelle, Goldie Bar, and Neruda. He operates his own organization, Romain Avril Inc., which offers a multitude of culinary services, and maintains a YouTube channel providing tips and recipes, while making occasional appearances on the Food Network and in various food and lifestyle magazines.

Richelle Tablang
Richelle was born and raised in Toronto to a family of Filipino immigrants who always emphasized the value of food and its origins. After studying baking and pastry arts in Toronto, Richelle fell in love with French pastry, eventually moving to France to further her education. She studied at the prestigious École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie (founded by two-time Meilleur Ouvrier de France winner Yves Thuriès and multiple Michelin star-holder Alain Ducasse) and worked as a pastry commis in the South of France. Richelle returned to Toronto fuelled by an adoration for modern French pastry and a desire to mingle her knowledge of French techniques with Asian ingredients from her family's background.

"Beautifully and profusely illustrated throughout with full color, full page photography, The Vegan Bridge: Adding Plant-Based Flair to the Carnivore's Kitchen is a very special coffee-table style paperback (8.5 x 1 x 11 inches, 1.98 pounds) that will grace any personal, professional, or community library cookbook collection — and will be especially appreciated by anyone wanting to sample what vegan dishes can do for their palate pleasing, appetite satisfying offerings that will have appeal for even the most carnivore of friends and family members."
— Midwest Book Review

On the shortlist for the 2024 Taste Canada Awards

Shortlisted for the 2024 Taste Canada Awards - Health or Special Diet Cookbooks

BUILDING A VEGAN BRIDGE

ROMAIN: Along the path to an omnivorous lifestyle, my cooking was the first thing to adapt, followed by my diet. I began to find that promoting the use of sustainable meat wasn't enough—I had to put more of an effort into the way I eat. This is where I bridged into a new diet.
     At first I found some pushback both from within the restaurant industry and from the general public—a perception that you had to be either/or. But I don't like labels, and I truly believe people should be able to tap into any diet they choose, so long as they're health conscious. So enough was enough. I decided to use my voice and creativity for everyone in search of a safe place to cook and to enjoy vegan food without being hampered by labelling. And with that, The Vegan Bridge was born.

RICHELLE: I am not vegan. I love meat, and I love cheese. I do, however, under-stand the benefits of plant-based eating both for dietary and ethical reasons. My respect and appreciation for a well-crafted vegan meal is extraordinary, and in this sense I think Romain and I come from a powerful perspective as carnivores talking about vegan food. I've gone my entire life with meat included in at least one meal of every day, but the dishes in this book are so flavourful and fun that the idea of using them to replace a meat-based meal every so often doesn't feel like a chore, or as if the absence of animal proteins comes at a cost. Our attempt here is to create a connection between other non-vegans, just like us, and have them delve into the world of veganism without having to commit completely to a meat-free life. The easiest way in which we see ourselves doing this is by creating dishes that we would normally create in the places we work—places where people expect a certain pedigree of execution and skill. We set out to create dishes that people would be excited to try whether they're vegan or not, and to provide already-committed vegans with ideas on how to elevate their skills and cooking comfort to a new level. We're creating a bridge from our professional training to your home cooking, from non-vegans to vegans.