The Vegan Taste was recently featured on Sonoran Living where Chef Jason Wyrick talked about our healthy meals that tastes good. Chef talked about how he lost 100lbs and reversed his diabetes by changing his diet. He showed off our Cauliflower Romesco, and Chili Mac meals.
Susan Casper 0:02
It is a common goal in the New Year: finding healthier ways to eat. So how about this – healthy, immune-boosting, gourmet meals delivered right to your door? Is that too much to ask? Well, our next guest says no, and he will make it happen. Please welcome Chef Jason Wyrick of The Vegan Taste, and he’s dishing up all the details. So good to see you. Okay, healthy meals that taste good? Alright, Chef Jason, sign me up.
Chef Jason Wyrick 0:27
I know that’s the trick, right? Getting something healthy that actually tastes good. I remember when I was trying to regain my health about 20 years ago – I had diabetes, I was morbidly obese, I had all these problems. I was told you need to change your diet. And so, eating healthy was more of this grin-and-bear-it thing. And even with all those problems, I had trouble doing it. So, I just, I realized, like, healthy food has to be so good that you forget that it’s healthy. And so that’s our goal at The Vegan Taste.
Susan Casper 0:55
That’s amazing. So, you’re based right here in the valley. You create these incredible meals. Why did you start this company?
Chef Jason Wyrick 1:04
I needed to help other people. So, as I said like 20 years ago, I got diagnosed with diabetes, I weighed about 330 pounds, and every symptom you could imagine with diabetes I had, and I was able to reverse diabetes and lose about 100 pounds by eating a healthy, plant-based diet. And when I did that, I realized I need to help other people do that. I switched careers. I mean, I completely made a lifestyle change. And that’s why I started the business.
Susan Casper 1:32
Oh, that’s a wonderful business to start and you guys deliver across the valley. What is your area, your delivery area?
Chef Jason Wyrick 1:38
it’s really far so we go from Apache Junction, Verado, out to Anthem, anywhere. We even deliver to San Tan Valley.
Susan Casper 1:46
Alright, so show us one of those healthy meals. I know you have one right there, my mouth is watering.
Chef Jason Wyrick 1:52
Alright, I’ll show you a couple of them. So, this first one is Cauliflower Romesco. And this is a bit of quinoa with some garlic sauteed kale in there. It’s really lush, beautiful romesco. And then we put three cauliflowers, it’s got a bunch of different colors in it. And then we roast it with garlic and citrus to make it pop. So that’s one of our super healthy meals. And then we do comfort food and we make it healthy. So, this is our version of Chili Mac. So, you have this incredibly delicious black bean chili with three different types of chilies in it, loaded with zucchini. And then we have our own mac and cheese that we make here. And we make our own plant-based cheese sauce. My business partner says, “it’s made from almonds Voodoo and LOVE” And I cannot disagree.
Susan Casper 2:38
That is amazing. Okay, I’m waiting on my doorbell to ring Chef Jason. I’m waiting. I’m waiting. And I was sharing this with you. We all want convenience, right? We’re all going 110 miles per hour. How do you make this pretty effortless for folks?
Chef Jason Wyrick 2:52
Right? I had to make it as simple as possible. Because it’s funny. I’m a professional chef. And I don’t even have time to cook for myself anymore. And so, the meals if you can see they’re completely ready to eat. It’s not a meal kit, you can take those contents, put them in a pan on the stove and put it in the microwave if you’re at work, but they’re ready to go. No dishes, no cleanup, nothing. And we deliver it right to your doorstep.
Susan Casper 3:14
And I know it’s also very important to you, the community support backing your business. Talk a little bit about that. And why is it priced so low?
Chef Jason Wyrick 3:23
Really the low prices are because I knew that when I started this business, I could charge quite a bit of money for really nice delivered meals. But I’d only be able to serve a very small segment of our population here. And so, I priced it so to make it as affordable as possible for as many people as possible. And I still have a viable business from it, which is wonderful. And because of that, I give back to the community, so we donate a couple of hundred meals every single week to communities. We’ll find families that can’t afford it or families that live in a food desert and we will bring them healthy meals. Because I feel like healthy meals are not a privilege, healthy meals are a right.
Susan Casper 4:06
Absolutely. So many times, people are out-priced when it comes to eating well. What you’re doing is commendable, Chef Jason, an incredible business model. Best of luck to you. 100 pounds. That’s – Oh, that’s amazing. That is amazing. Thank you so much for all that you do. The chef does have a special offer just for you this morning. You can get 15% off of your first order using promo code ABC15Vegan, call 602-505-4618 or go to thevegantaste.com.
