It was vegan season Thursday night at the Season to Taste restaurant.
Owner Robert Harris had created a vegan dinner last year that sold out both seatings, so he organized a second annual celebration of summer produce and plant-based eating, dubbed “Season to Vegan.” Harris said it both challenges him as a chef and extends hospitality to the restaurant’s guests.
As a chef, he said “The challenge is for folks to come and enjoy a six-course dinner that has no animal products, and come away thinking, ‘That was delicious. I’m not missing a steak. Everything was there that I needed, and I’m full, and it was awesome.’”
Harris also said it gives him a chance to celebrate the seasonal fruits and vegetables from partners Revival Road Farm and Bay End Farm.
At both the 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. seatings, Harris presented each course to the customers, describing dishes like a sweet corn miso soup (his favorite), roasted maitake mushrooms and a grilled zucchini chermoula. The meal cost $125 per person, and nearly 80 people attended in total.
Harris said creating a plant-based menu is “a cool way to drive innovation.” For example, getting protein on the plate can be hard for vegans. “With vegan cooking, we’re trying to extract as much flavor as we can just from vegetables, and also to look for a way to get a good amount of protein in on the plate as well,” he said. Harris concocted for the second course a pumpkin seed pressé. He blended pumpkin seeds with water and used lemon juice as a stabilizer to create a tofu-like dish which was full of protein.
Both years, Season to Taste, on Massachusetts Avenue between Harvard and Porter squares, has collaborated with Angela Hoffman, owner of the vegan dessert shop Nüssli 118 in North Cambridge. “It’s nice for people to be able to experiment and taste delicious food, no matter what the idea behind the menu creation is, and I was really excited to have Robert really take a deep dive into a vegan menu,” Hoffman said.
She contributed a panna cotta made from young coconut meat and Irish sea moss, which Harris’s team topped with local strawberries.
“I hope people take away that vegan food actually can taste amazing, and it’s super healthy, nutrient dense, and you walk away feeling full and satisfied, but not heavy and weighted down,” Hoffman said.
The dinner also had Marla Felcher encourage attendees to register with 1 Million Tables — a campaign she started to encourage people across the globe to share a plant-based meal. She brought a table of friends to the event last year, and afterward approached Harris about a collaboration. As of July 29, the organization has seen 40,000 eaters registered.
“Every time we eat something, we are voting with our fork,” Felcher said. “The whole idea behind 1 Million Tables is to bring people together, over plant-based food, people they love and want to gather with. It’s all about abundance and joy, and it’s not about giving anything up, and you will definitely see that.”
The majority of guests at the 8 p.m. seating were not, in fact, vegan — when Harris asked who was, only a third of diners raised their hands. Last year, at the first-ever Season to Vegan, Harris said over three-quarters of attendees did not follow a plant-based diet.
Felcher said it is her dream to see everyone enjoying vegan food. “That so many people who do not identify as vegan wanted to have that experience is really exciting, and I think that’s kind of the whole future of plant-based food.”
Harris said making everyone feel welcome is a priority for him. “We want to create a space where you can get really delicious food that is sourced as responsibly and seasonally as possible, but not feel like you have to dress up in any pretense.”
At the end of the meal, Harris promised to hold Season to Vegan again next year. Season to Taste also plans to host a similarly structured dinner, Season to Oyster, Aug. 19 to support the Massachusetts Oyster Project.
Chloe Taft is reporting this summer for Cambridge Day as part of a partnership with the Georgetown University journalism program.
This article was updated to correct Marla Felcher’s name.
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