The next generation of culinary artisans are changing up the industry. These artisans have a whole new approach to reaching and satisfying the next generation consumer. In this podcast we will explore chefs and artisans from around the world diving into their story and passion.

In this episode of Chef AF, I chat with Sheryn Delgado-Abalos about choosing to be vegan at an early age, why she taught herself to cook and becoming an entrepreneur.

When I asked her about becoming a chef, Delgado-Abalos says, “I ended up having to basically teach myself how to cook and prepare meals that were also healthy and that could sustain my new lifestyle even though I was so young and I just started experimenting in the kitchen.” She adds, “It was really myself teaching myself and when I was fifteen I had this notion, oh wouldn't it be great to have a restaurant.”

Delgado-Abalos moved to Miami from Canada at twenty-one and while working at a hotel she met an investor that funded her first project. She says about opening her first vegan concept, “It was in Miami Beach in the nineties when the fashion world was just beginning here. It was a really good learning experience. It was basically my university for how to open up a business in Miami Beach because they don't make it so easy here. There's a lot of red tape and administration, a lot of licensing fees. So I spent a lot of my time at city hall trying to figure out how to do things correctly. I had to keep going back and I pretty much lived at city hall until we finally opened our doors.”

As far as Delgado-Abalos’ education she received formal education training from Food Future Institute, Food For Health Foundation, International School of Detoxification, SunFired Foods Academy and Ecornell Plant Based Nutrition as well as other programs.

In 2010 Delgado-Abalos opened Thrive Juice Bar and in 2015, Plant Theory Creative Cuisine, a combination of her world travels and healthy, organic, gluten-free artisan-crafted food. Chef shares her recipe, Where’s The Beet!, made with roasted portobello, sunflower seeds and more.

To hear Delgado-Abalos talk about plant-based and the shift in the industry and how wellness and health will have a role in the future of food, check out this episode of Chef AF “It’s All Food” or you can listen at Spotify!