Bon Appétit just made a move to increase its lack of on-screen diversity by hiring its first vegan chef.
According to green queen, Chef Chrissy Tracey will be a part of the publication’s Bon Appétit Test Kitchen which is an online channel that features instructional recipe videos.
Last year, in 2020, the site was under fire for its lack of onscreen and chef talent diversity. In turn, the Conde Nast publication has not only made the commitment to increasing diversity within their office and writing teams but across their talent which brings in Chef Tracey who caught the company’s attention following the murder of George Floyd this past summer.
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As companies began to do self-analysis from their respective brand perspectives, online chatter emerged with more parties making the pledge to do better and even offering apologies for taking so long to do so.
“There was a lot of hate and hostility rather than an open mind and a willingness to learn and grow with the company and move forward,” said Chef Tracey. “I’ve always been a fan of Bon Appétit and taken recipes from their website and veganised them. So all I did was comment on the post.”
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It was that very comment about the importance for the company to understand where they went wrong and learn from mistakes that caught the brand’s attention and they then reached out to Chef Tracey to work for them.
“It was a big decision for them,” she said. “I wouldn’t say it was a big decision for me.”
Prior to transitioning into a plant-based diet, Chef Tracey created her own company, Chrissys — a vegetarian and vegan catering business in Connecticut. The company also provides a meal delivery service called Vegan Vibes Meal Prep.
Chrissys is all about sustainability, even the containers used for meals are made of compostable materials derived from plant matter. Chef Tracey’s business also constantly gives back to the community that they serve.
Vegan Vibes donates dozens of meals to food-insecure families, which reiterates her mission to make plant-based food available for people from all walks of life, despite their income.
“The future may not be 100 percent vegan, but it’s going to include more plant-based recipes and I’m excited to be a part of that,” Chef Tracey revealed in a recent interview with Veg News. “I’m really hoping that with such a large platform, I will be able to revolutionise the way people think of vegan food. I’m really passionate about encouraging those in my community to eat more healthy, plant-based food.”
