02/15/2021
Thank you Renee!
Company motto: “Plant-based creations preserving Mother Earth”
“I started in a kitchen when I was about 13 as a dishwasher. I began to work with a friend of the family traveling around the country serving food at different kinds of big festivals like Bonaroo and biker rallies. Then I moved to New Mexico for about 12 years, got my bachelors’ degree in business management, became really involved in cooking, learned a lot of the ins and outs of restaurants, and graduated from culinary school. During that whole time I was working with Edible Magazine, on chef/farmer mixers. I started to work with the farmers and learn about farm to table, the quality of the food, how it’s grown, and just everything about cooking from a classic French approach. I moved back to Florida in 2015 and got a job at Sawgrass Country club, eventually becoming the chef de cuisine. I was doing wine dinners designing five course dinner dishes from scratch, each flavor compatible with five different wines. I was growing a lot of food at Sawgrass and a couple of small farms and developed that very valuable menu-building skill that has built the business I run today.”
“I’ve been vegan for about 6 years, mainly for health reasons. Influenced by Chef Amanda Chantal Bacon of Moon Juice in California, I studied about the benefits of vegetables and superfoods, so my dishes are designed for food as a medicine. During my time in the kitchen I would get a lot of requests for vegan dishes but we didn’t have vegan plates of the same caliber as we had for other food. So I took it as a challenge and designed plant-based dishes like a wine dinner making it compatible and available for everyone to eat. “
“When Covid happened, Sawgrass had to eliminate my position. It was a low blow for me because I had never lost a job before. I had poured my heart and soul into it for five years, spending 80 – 100 hours a week in the kitchen. But then I looked at it as a sign of freedom.”
“For the past 3 years, on my Tuesdays off from Sawgrass, I would vend at the farmers’ market in Atlantic Beach. Now I do five to six markets a week – two in Gainesville: Heartwood on Thursdays and Cypress and Grove on Mondays – both 4 – 7 PM. But my real bread and (vegan?) butter is the festivals.”
“Five months ago I moved to Melrose and, as part of my business plan, am building an eco-farm there. Out in Taos, NM they have this thing called earthships where they build off-grid houses using upcycling, harness water from the rooftops, and use solar heating and cooling. My plan is to use this design to build a fully sustainable greenhouse and, using biodynamics and aquaponics, grow all the food that I serve. My goal is to eventually build one of these farms in every state in the country and then one in every country in the world. I know that sounds pie-in-the-sky but that’s my goal. Some of these festivals I go to are really sustainable and green so they’ve influenced me to recycle, compost any of my food that is leftover or scrapped, and use compostable plate and silverware. I’m trying to become as green as possible and that’s where the ‘preserving Mother Earth’ comes from in my motto. It’s not only good for people, but good for Mother Earth, too.”
“I really like the Gainesville community and feel like there is a high demand and support for healthy, sustainable, and plant-based food here. My business model fits well with that.”
- David Cressler, Jr. (momentarily unmasked for the photo)serving up his yummy Verdes Plant-based food at the Heartwood Market (Thursdays 4 – 7). Find out more about his business at Verdesplantbased.com and follow on FB: https://www.facebook.com/Verdesplantbased/
