PETA’s 2020 Person of the Year, Tabitha Brown, Brings Vegan Food to Food Network
It took 28 years, but Food Network has finally won us over and proved that times are changing for the better. That’s right—vegan food has finally stepped into the spotlight on Food Network, thanks to its new show, It’s CompliPlated. Unlike other shows on Food Network—which use ingredients from the cruel meat, egg, and dairy industries—this program invites viewers to discover some mouthwatering, animal-free meals. The host of this new, compassionate competition series is none other than PETA’s 2020 Person of the Year, Tabitha Brown.
The show encourages competitors to make kinder choices in the kitchen—while satisfying even the pickiest palates—and introduces both chefs and viewers to some of the many excellent vegan options available. What will a chef use for their “bacon and egg” breakfast sandwich? Rather than the flesh of intelligent, loving pigs who sing to their young, they can use ingredients like coconut or seitan. Instead of stealing eggs from a mother hen who teaches her babies to talk while they’re still in the shell, chefs can use things like tofu or chickpeas. No pigs will be slaughtered for their flesh and no eggs will be stolen from hens for this show—it’s vegan!
The episodes often feature traditionally meat-based cuisines, such as Southern comfort food and game day grub. More than 300 million sensitive chickens are slaughtered for their wings every year just for Super Bowl Sunday. The chefs on It’s CompliPlated show the world that vegan chicken wings are the best way to enjoy a great game day get-together. Each competition pits four chefs against each other in three rounds of cooking challenges that require them to expand their horizons. Every dish is vegan, and every challenge includes a tricky food requirement or dietary restriction that must be met. Many of the competitors are just starting their vegan journey, and they all get to choose which of the many vegan replacements for cruelly produced ingredients—such as eggs and cheese—they’ll use.
Making the dish vegan is the easy part. The real challenge is that the meal must not only meet the particular food requirements set for the challenge but also impress the judges on the panel. Judges include Maneet Chauhan from the Food Network show Chopped as well as a rotating panel of guest judges. The winner receives a $10,000 cash prize and peace of mind from having created a meal that didn’t involve cruelty to animals.
We’re thrilled that Food Network has stepped up to the plate and put a vegan option on the table. Hopefully, this is just the start and we’ll see more and more vegan shows on Food Network and elsewhere. In the meantime, we can’t wait to see what delightful dishes competitors will think of next. Tune into It’s CompliPlated on Food Network to get inspired, and request PETA’s free vegan starter kit for even more tips on eating compassionately.
