Chefs And Owners Talk About Their Experience In The Marin County Vegan Chef Challenge

MARIN COUNTY, CA — Owners and chefs taking part in October's Marin County Vegan Chef Challenge spoke about their participation in the event and the dishes they created.

Marin County chefs began a plant-based menu competition on Oct. 1. Organized by Vegan Outreach and Vegan Marin, the inaugural Vegan Chef Challenge will have chefs competing for local ratings and reviews of their vegan dishes.

During October, locals can rate the items by visiting veganchefchallenge.org/Marin.

Vegan Outreach is an international nonprofit that promotes a vegan lifestyle through education and increased accessibility to vegan options to reduce animal suffering. Vegan Marin is a Facebook community that supports and grows the plant-based community in Marin and beyond, encouraging conscious choices.

Here is a Q&A with some of the owners and/or chefs talking about the the vegan challenge, the dishes they created and more. It has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

Squared Pizza (Greenbrae), owner/chef Joe Garfola

Q: What inspired the specific vegan dish you created for the challenge?

A: At Squared Pizza, we love getting creative with flavors while making sure there’s something delicious for everyone, including our vegan fans. The Vegan Meatball & Loaded Baked Potato Pizza was born out of that idea: to reimagine classic comfort food flavors in a fully plant-based way. We wanted to capture that cozy, hearty feel of a baked potato and meatball dish but with a fun, pizza twist. Using spiced vegan meatballs, oven-baked potato slices, smoky vegan bacon, and our handcrafted vegan sour cream drizzle gives it all the texture and flavor layers you’d expect — without compromising on taste or values.

Our Vegan Pear Dessert Sticks came from the same inspiration. We wanted a sweet-savory vegan dessert that felt indulgent, but balanced. The combination of Bartlett pears, cinnamon sugar, and balsamic drizzle with a touch of vegan hot honey gives a bright, rich flavor contrast that finishes any meal perfectly.
In short, both pizzas celebrate creativity, inclusivity and the idea that great food should bring everyone to the table, vegan or not.

Q: What has the customer response been like so far to your vegan challenge dish?

A: The response to our vegan pizzas has been fantastic and, honestly, even better than we hoped for. They’ve quickly become customer favorites, with lots of positive feedback from both vegan and nonvegan guests. Many have told us it’s the best pizza they’ve ever had, which is such a huge compliment that we do not take lightly. It’s been really rewarding to see how much people appreciate the creativity, flavor and care we put into making plant-based options that stand on their own.

Q: What are your thoughts on the growing interest in vegan options in Marin County?

A: We’ve definitely seen a growing interest in vegan options here in Marin, and it’s exciting to be part of that shift. We didn't start with any vegan options. It was the most requested addition since we opened a few months back. Seeing the interest, we quickly had our fans come in for a tasting to help us pick our cheese based on popular vote. It was a great time!

Marin has such a strong food culture and appreciation for quality ingredients, so offering creative vegan options feels like a natural fit. It’s not just about accommodating dietary preferences, it’s about celebrating great food that everyone can enjoy together.

Q: Do you plan to keep your vegan challenge creation on the menu after the event?

A: Yes, we’re keeping the vegan meatballs on the menu. Since we're a locally owned spot here in Marin, our menu evolves based on what our community wants. You can always count on us to have a vegan option available when you’re craving pizza. In fact, thanks to the great feedback we’ve received, we’re currently tasting new plant-based meats to expand those offerings even further.

People have really connected with the flavors, and it’s been exciting to see both vegan and non-vegan fans loving them. We won't have everything full-time. I mean what would a limited-time special be if it was available all the time. We definitely will be bringing plant-based alternatives back as a monthly special, it feels like it has become something people look forward to.

Uchiwa Ramen (San Rafael), Owner Kevin Fong

Q: What inspired the specific vegan dish you created for the challenge?

A: Many people say tofu is bland and boring even though it’s a great option for protein. We decided to challenge that and make a delicious tofu dish.

Q: What has the customer response been like so far to your vegan challenge dish?

A: It’s the best selling item on our vegan menu.

Q: What are your thoughts on the growing interest in vegan options in Marin County?

A: We welcome it and it spurs creativity. There has always been an interest with vegan cuisine in Marin County, and we have had vegan options on our menu from day one.

Q: Do you plan to keep your vegan challenge creation on the menu after the event?

A: Yes, because it’s popular with both vegans and nonvegans!

Flores (Corte Madera), Chef Remedios Hernandez

Q: What inspired the specific vegan dish you created for the challenge?

A: I grew up in a family that grew their own vegetables, so it was memories of cooking with family that provided the inspiration.

Q: What has the customer response been like so far to your vegan challenge dish?

A: For what we had done in the past, our diners really appreciate that we have a vegan menu so I can say that they are very happy with it.

Q: What are your thoughts on the growing interest in vegan options in Marin County?

A: It makes me happy to see that people enjoy food for what it is, that vegan does not mean tasteless, and more people notice what chefs are doing in their kitchen.

Q: Do you plan to keep your vegan challenge creation on the menu after the event?

A: Yes, at Flores we have a vegan menu for our guests, so definitely we are keeping it.

Bakery 6 (online/home based in San Anselmo), Owner/chef Elaine Blakeley

Q: What inspired the specific vegan dish you created for the challenge?

A: Bakery 6 is 100% vegan. I have three new items for this month's challenge. I take a lot of my inspiration from bakeries in London, England, which usually are not vegan, but have super interesting ways of presenting their baked goods. My new Vegan Pumpkin plus White Chocolate Cookie is inspired by my husband's pumpkin-spice obsession. My other new items are Square Cakes. I am inspired by their uniqueness; 6 inch cake with four layer cakes is actually quite a lot of cake. It serves six to 16 people. I use the best local ingredients, which makes everything taste its best, including Miyoko's European Plant Milk Butter, organic wheat flour from Petaluma's Central Milling and SF's Guittard chocolate. I also make Vegan Gluten-Free cookies and square cakes using all of Bob's Red Mill's GF grains. I also have a secret combination of sorghum and chickpea and fava bean flour which is delicious.

Q: What has the customer response been like so far to your vegan challenge dish?

A: My new pumpkin cookie has done very well. And, customers are so happy to have vegan and vegan/gluten free cakes. I have a customer who is not vegan who just likes that the chocolate cake is delicious and uniquely decorated, and wants to serve something at her dinner party that everyone can enjoy. This week, I had a company order the vegan gf cake and cookie party platter so their employees could all indulge.

Q: What are your thoughts on the growing interest in vegan options in Marin County?

A: It's hard to dine out when most places have one vegan dish or I have to ask them to remove half the ingredients and still pay a premium price. I would like to see restaurants start off with a menu that is already vegan, and then customers can add meat if they care to. It's very easy and more economical for the restaurant. Instead of having one pizza with vegan cheese, how about having several pizzas with different mushrooms and vegetable varieties and different sauces and then have add-on options for everyone, ie. vegan cheese, dairy cheese, protein options etc. It's all about being creative and using the best, local and seasonal products.

Q: Do you plan to keep your vegan challenge creation on the menu after the event?

A: All of my products are 100% vegan, so I will always have vegan products for customers. I plan to change the New cookie to a different New cookie for next month. I do appreciate this Vegan Chef Challenge very much!

Humbowl (San Rafael), Owner Eric Wright

Q: What inspired the specific vegan dish you created for the challenge?

A: We created two new dishes for the challenge. The seasonabowl (fall) was inspired by a thanksgiving meal (obviously without the turkey). It's got a lot of thanksgiving components, and we really wanted to try dried fruit in one of our bowls, so great opportunity to incorporate dried cranberries. The other is the rancheros. Our whole menu is gluten free, and coming up with a GF, vegan, brunch dish is not super easy. Chef came up with Rancheros and it works pretty well.

Q: What are your thoughts on the growing interest in vegan options in Marin County?

A: We're still new to Marin, but a lot of the feedback we get is that there are not enough vegan options! And people are so happy we're here!

Q: Do you plan to keep your vegan challenge creation on the menu after the event?

A: The seasonabowl will change seasonally, but we will always have vegan options, and that'll stay on the menu! We're waiting for more feedback on the rancheros, it's a pretty good dish, but it's probably our weakest link, so we may look to improve on it.