In their new cookbook, a Canadian mother and daughter duo introduce a beautiful way to eat less meat | Canada Voices

When Chloé Crane-Leroux and her mom, Trudy Crane, decided to write their second cookbook together about the joys of plant-based eating, the first thing they did was book a three-week trip to Europe.

Over the years, the family visited the continent often, and they’d invariably end up in local food markets where they learned to appreciate diverse culinary traditions, the bounty of fresh ingredients, and the emphasis placed on eating a Mediterranean diet that leans heavily on fruits, vegetables and legumes. They also fell in love with the European way of revering the ritual of mealtimes, where people linger over their food, usually in the boisterous company of family and friends.

The two women also knew, however, that choosing to make more than 80 vegan recipes from scratch, in strangers’ kitchens, not to mention the logistics of photographing the dishes, would necessitate hauling a lot of stuff – everything from vacuum-packed vegan cheeses and butter (they knew pickings would be slim in some locations), to linens, aprons, dishes (Trudy is a ceramic artist in Montreal who has her own tableware line) and bulky camera equipment (Chloé is a professional food photographer based in New York).

They packed carefully, but still had six very large pieces of luggage between them. After a mad scramble to shift cheeses, sauces, plates and cutlery between bags so they could meet weight requirements, they flew to Paris. Then they hit another snafu. Their bags were lost, for five days. “It was a comedy of errors,” says Chloé. “I can laugh about it now but at the time we were not laughing. At all.”

It was an inauspicious start, but all turned out well in the end. The Artful Way to Plant-Based Cooking is a beauty of a book, one you will want to leaf through slowly, so you can savour the images of the gorgeous countryside, the beautiful tables they set, and recipes such as beet carpaccio with roasted carrot and pine nut pesto or tofu schnitzel with coleslaw.

Unlike other plant-based cookbooks, written by dietitians who preach the health benefits of eating less meat and provide data points and studies on how much kinder it is for the planet, their approach is to gently nudge readers to try incorporating more vegetables, fruits, nuts and legumes into their diet. Their approach is artful and their cookbook reflects vegan cooking as a lifestyle, not just a passing fad.

It celebrates eating well so you can live your best life. It encourages you to try new things, travel to new destinations and see the world – with food at the heart of it – through two artists’ eyes. Page after page is filled with images of mother and daughter making wholesome meals in the most bucolic settings imaginable: a stone-walled kitchen in an 18th-century chateau in Bordeaux, at a family-run hotel in the Soller Valley, on Majorca’s north coast, and in a rustic home with Gothic windows in the tiny town of Sant Iscle d’Emporda, not far from Girona.

“What we hope to do is inspire others to discover the joy of savouring beautiful moments around the table,” says Trudy. “As Chloé was growing up, we always set the table, and we always had an apéro, even if it was just a humble pairing of flatbread and wine. It would give us time to catch up on our day and to enjoy each other’s company. I still do it to this day, and so does Chloé. It’s a ritual we cherish.”

Interestingly, both women’s careers started off in fashion, not food. For more than 30 years, Trudy, who is 64, worked in fashion marketing (her last job was as a vice-president at Reitman’s) and Chloé would often tag along with her mom on fashion shoots. The little girl adored the beautiful dresses, the glamourous models and the frenetic buzz of the fashion world.

When she was five years old, her mom bought her a camera, and at the age of 13, Chloé decided she wanted to be a photographer. She graduated almost a decade ago from Parsons School of Design in New York, and started working with clients such as Dior, Chanel and Anthropologie. “I love fashion. I love style, and I love clothes,” she says. But something was missing.

She started pitching lifestyle brands, including a Canadian company that made oat products. “I fell in love with the foods I was photographing,” says the 30-year-old. “Fashion has a reputation as very intense. Food people are just really happy, and enthusiastic about everything. I found where I was meant to be.”

In the meantime, Trudy was feeling untethered. When her daughter moved to New York, Trudy decided to pursue ceramics, a beloved hobby, full-time. “Many of my friends thought I was crazy,” she says. “But deep down, I had always yearned for a career that would bring me closer to my true self. Society often pressures us to choose the safe route, but I have always believed that when you do what you love, success will naturally follow.”

Her dinnerware line, called lookslikewhite, has been featured in publications such as House & Home, House Beautiful and Martha Stewart Weddings. “It was all very organic the way our career paths dovetailed – yet again,” says Trudy.

They wrote their first cookbook, Saisons: La table végane, in 2017 with Montreal chef Julie Zyromski (because they had no formal culinary training they decided it was best to partner with a professional). However, as they learned more about how to embrace a plant-based diet (they watched a lot of YouTube videos), their confidence grew.

“Transitioning to a plant-based lifestyle doesn’t have to be overwhelming or abrupt,” says Chloé, who after leaving home for university quickly switched to plant-based eating, first becoming vegetarian and a year later, fully vegan. “I never really liked meat or fish so it was fairly easy for me. I also started watching vegan documentaries such as Earthlings and Forks Over Knives, which really opened my eyes.”

Trudy did it more gradually, letting go of meat first, then fish, followed by cheese and finally eggs. She switched her diet to plant-based because she saw how much happier, and energized, Chloé was. “She inspired me.”

Chloé’s professional collaborations with chefs and food stylists provided her with valuable insights – and the courage – to try creating her own recipes. She realized that the same techniques used to spice meat and chicken could be applied to tofu and other plant-based ingredients. She began experimenting with flavourful combinations that resulted in fresh, delicious, straight-forward dishes. The recipes in this book reflect this approach: They are versatile, easy to make and feature ingredients that can be swapped or substituted according to personal preferences and seasonal availability.

Notably, neither woman expects readers to subscribe to a strict vegan diet. “Both my mom and I acknowledge that we are not perfect vegans,” says Chloé. “The best way to implement more plant-based meals into your lifestyle is to give yourself more grace. If I have a croissant here and there, I don’t beat myself up. I think being an imperfect vegan – and being kind to myself – is why I am still a vegan after 10 years.”

And their shared passion and creative partnership has gifted them with the unexpected during their journey to eat better. For instance, toward the end of their European trip, when they arrived in Majorca, they decided it would be wise to rent a larger car to accommodate all their bags (which, as the weeks progressed, got larger).

“What we hadn’t anticipated was the narrowness of the streets,” says Trudy. “On one side there was a sheer cliff, and on the other, a towering mountain, with small cars lining the road. Chloé jumped out of the car and took on the role of guiding us through the streets, inching us along and avoiding any mishaps. After a few tears, we couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.”

Finally, when they reached their destination, the cozy Casa La Higuera, perched high on a mountain, the view took their breath away.

They went inside, made a simple meal of lemon pesto pasta, and ate it in the orchard. “In that moment we were reminded what a privilege it is to have a beautiful plate of food in front of us,” says Chloé. “Ultimately, we hope this book inspires you to find joy in the art of living beautifully, one meal at a time.”