Roberto Martin

I would like to point out that I have not yet had the opportunity to prepare any recipes from this cookbook when writing this; I have read the book cover-to-cover and did not have enough room in private comments to write my initial assessment before I go into testing.

PROS: He tries to make going Vegan easy, from the perspective of a non-vegan chef making vegan. He makes easy substitutions for most recipes, does not rely heavily on a specific product or brand (will let you use any milk substitute, but he is very specific on stocks/bouillon for soups) and has some interesting ideas for classics (rice paper for fried chicken?). If you miss a certain non-vegan food, this likely has a good recipe for it or can steer you in the right direction. This is a great book for non-vegans who just need to make a few vegan meals for friends, or vegans who are dealing with carnivores without open minds (though the really closed-minded may not even try). Also, plenty of pictures, which I need.

CONS: I am a person who dislikes when people say "it's just like the real thing," because it never is so I would rather have someone just tell me "try this, it is spectacular!" e.g. salad and tofu are never just like my steak and snap peas, but I've had amazing salads in my life. In that respect, it isn't the most creative at showing the beauty of vegan food in and of itself. This book relies heavily on recipes that are usually non-vegan (e.g. grilled cheese, southern fried chicken, Rubens, etc.) and merely switches the non-vegan protein for vegan protein, just mere substitutes, even if the recipes do sound wonderfully balanced. I dislike his reliance on egg replacer, instead of using alternate binders/leveners (not the most creative). He uses a lot of mock products, like mock cheese, which is not compatible with Clean Eating (which many vegans are clean eaters). While mostly he does not preach use of a specific vegan substitute product usually (in most cases, not even a type of milk alternative, such as soy versus rice versus almond), he does specify a certain product for a fair portion of his soups and this product is not available in my area (so the book is somewhat regional). It's a shame, because I am a member of a soup club at work and want to introduce them to more vegan, as well as convert my semi-vegan boyfriend to more soups.

OVERALL: This seems to be a great starter book, for the person just starting to dabble or is trying to accommodate others in his or her life. Also a good book for the former carnivore needing a way to satisfy cravings without cheating. However, I do not think it will convert one to the lifestyle nor inspire too much creativity in those trying to advance their skills. Good to round-out one's cookbook collection but probably not going to be your go-to favourite.… (meer)

I would like to point out that I have not yet had the opportunity to prepare any recipes from this cookbook when writing this; I have read the book cover-to-cover and did not have enough room in private comments to write my initial assessment before I go into testing.

PROS: He tries to make going Vegan easy, from the perspective of a non-vegan chef making vegan. He makes easy substitutions for most recipes, does not rely heavily on a specific product or brand (will let you use any milk substitute, but he is very specific on stocks/bouillon for soups) and has some interesting ideas for classics (rice paper for fried chicken?). If you miss a certain non-vegan food, this likely has a good recipe for it or can steer you in the right direction. This is a great book for non-vegans who just need to make a few vegan meals for friends, or vegans who are dealing with carnivores without open minds (though the really closed-minded may not even try). Also, plenty of pictures, which I need.

CONS: I am a person who dislikes when people say "it's just like the real thing," because it never is so I would rather have someone just tell me "try this, it is spectacular!" e.g. salad and tofu are never just like my steak and snap peas, but I've had amazing salads in my life. In that respect, it isn't the most creative at showing the beauty of vegan food in and of itself. This book relies heavily on recipes that are usually non-vegan (e.g. grilled cheese, southern fried chicken, Rubens, etc.) and merely switches the non-vegan protein for vegan protein, just mere substitutes, even if the recipes do sound wonderfully balanced. I dislike his reliance on egg replacer, instead of using alternate binders/leveners (not the most creative). He uses a lot of mock products, like mock cheese, which is not compatible with Clean Eating (which many vegans are clean eaters). While mostly he does not preach use of a specific vegan substitute product usually (in most cases, not even a type of milk alternative, such as soy versus rice versus almond), he does specify a certain product for a fair portion of his soups and this product is not available in my area (so the book is somewhat regional). It's a shame, because I am a member of a soup club at work and want to introduce them to more vegan, as well as convert my semi-vegan boyfriend to more soups.

OVERALL: This seems to be a great starter book, for the person just starting to dabble or is trying to accommodate others in his or her life. Also a good book for the former carnivore needing a way to satisfy cravings without cheating. However, I do not think it will convert one to the lifestyle nor inspire too much creativity in those trying to advance their skills. Good to round-out one's cookbook collection but probably not going to be your go-to favourite.… (meer)

I'm giving this book three-stars (would give it three-and-a-half if I could) before trying any of the recipes. Reading through the book I was impressed at Martin's willingness to take on the challenges of trying to replace many familiar meat and/or cheese dishes with familiar tastes and textures for people who grew up with those combinations. It IS titled Vegan Cooking for Carnivores, after all. The recipes look solid to me just reading through but the real trick for me will be in the taste. Apparently there have been some improvements in vegan cheese in the decade(s) since I first tried them, but I'll admit to some disappointment at the number of recipes that relied on prepared meat substitutes, egg substitute, and vegan cheeses. I don't have anything against those foods in principle (ok, well, as a dairy-loving midwestern girl I'll admit that I am fairly biased against the vegan cheeses I've tried in the past): I've had perfectly good veggie burgers, tofu hotdogs, and field roast sausages but meat and dairy substitutes are still quite expensive and while I live in a city and have access to grocery stores that carry many of those products I've been really more interested in eating more whole foods (as opposed to Whole Foods).

All of this is a very long-winded way for me to say that a portion of the recipes in the book aren't really my style, BUT I say that before trying the recipes. Martin's fake fried chicken recipe may use a processed fake chicken patty as its base but the technique is still pretty genius and trying it may be what it takes to turn my opinion, so I do intend to give it a try.

The recipes that focus on more whole ingredients, the salads, the side dishes, the many ways to put tofu to use (like the recipe for fresh pasta with tofu as the base) are really clever and the book really IS mostly about those things. I plan to adjust my review after I give some of the recipes a trial run in the kitchen and at the table and am really hoping to be as impressed by the results as much as I feel I "should" be.… (meer)