Restauranteur Pinky Cole is on a mission to make it cool to be vegan. And at just 34 years old, she’s well on her way. She’s already built a cult following with her Slutty Vegan restaurants in Georgia, Alabama and New York City. And from now until December 2, she’s traveling around the country to celebrate the release of her first cookbook, “Eat Plants, B*tch,” which drops November 15.
Making stops in New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Dallas and Baltimore, The Pinky Cole Experience Tour promises to be a treat for all of the senses, complete with DJs, appearances from celebrities including Angela Yee and MC Lyte, and delicious vegan food from Slutty Vegan food trucks.
The Root spoke exclusively with Pinky Cole about her cookbook and her quest for world domination with her Slutty Vegan lifestyle brand.
With “Eat Plants, B*tch,” Cole delivers over 90 recipes for mouthwatering vegan comfort food dishes, including Avocado Egg Rolls and Oyster Mushroom Parm, which won’t make you miss meat for a minute.
“I created this cookbook because I wanted meat eaters to have an opportunity to eat really good food that they would later realize was vegan,” she said.
And while some foodies are quick to label eaters as carnivorous, pescaterian or vegan, Cole says she wants to bring everyone along for the ride. She stresses that her cookbook is just as much for die-hard vegans as those who’ve never considered giving up meat. “This is a safe space. When you come into the walls of the ‘Eat Plants, B*tch’ book, you can be whatever you want. You can be flexitarian, a meat-eater, vegan, or whatever you want. As long as you know how to read, there is a recipe for you.”
Although Cole says she doesn’t have a favorite recipe, she loves that she was able to pull in other influencers and chefs to submit recipes for the book.
“I wanted people to know that this is dope and something they want to be a part of. We’re just having a good time eating. And you’re eating it, not just because it doesn’t have animals in it, but because it’s just really good food,” she said.
If you check out “Eat Plants, B*tch” and you’re still on the fence about trying a vegan diet (even though I don’t know how you won’t want to immediately devour everything in the book), Cole says creativity is key.
“You just have to switch your mindset,” she said. “The good thing about being vegan now, is that you can go to the freezer aisle and find something familiar. They have vegan butter and cheese that tastes better than what comes from a cow. There’s so much variety around plant-based and vegan food that you have options, and it’s not always expensive.”
Find out when The Pinky Cole Experience is coming to your town here.