In Elen Giupponi's kitchen
This week we're introducing Elen, a young chef who offers completely uninhibited plant-based cuisine. She explains how, through her cooking, she invites people to question their consumption, without ever making them feel guilty... No, she doesn't claim to be a vegetarian at all! But she remains convinced that we don't need to be vegetarian or vegan to include more plants in our daily diet. Inspiring.
Hello Elen, can you introduce yourself?
Hello, I'm Elen Giupponi, I'm 30 years old, I live in Montpellier, and I've been a freelance chef specializing in plant-based cuisine for two years now. My unique feature is that I cook with plants, but I still eat everything!
What was your career path as a Chef?
Cooking wasn't an obvious choice for me. I went to business school and started my career in an advertising agency. I've been cooking professionally for four years. After suffering a burnout, I passed my CAP (Certificate of Professional Aptitude for Cooking) as an independent candidate and worked in traditional restaurants. In 2020, I had the opportunity to land a position as a chef at a restaurant opening, and I literally felt like I gained ten years of culinary experience in the space of six months!
Then I decided to go freelance because I needed to create a tailor-made business, outside the framework of a traditional restaurant.
You chose plant-based cuisine. What drew you to this world?
Plant-based cuisine came about when I initially wondered about food waste and saw the enormous quantities of meat and fish that went into a traditional restaurant. I wasn't used to eating meat systematically at every meal in my childhood, and I also started to question the nutritional necessity of having meat products on all my plates. Little by little, I delved into it through curiosity, and I accidentally discovered an extraordinary world of creativity! Today I cook plant-based food for the values linked to this cuisine in terms of the environment, health and animal welfare, but also and above all because it is cooking that gives me the most joy!
I trained at the plant-based cooking school Vert la Table, the first plant-based cooking school in France for professionals.
Do you have any tips for a great plant-based recipe to make at home?
Send all your seasonal vegetables in the oven!
In winter: potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, squash, cauliflower, broccoli, celeriac, mushrooms, onions, garlic… Whatever inspires you!
Cut into large cubes, massaged well with olive oil, and sprinkled generously with spices and herbs of your choice (smoked paprika will bring out the taste of meat for carnivores, so be generous!).
I always add seeds to this dish by making a homemade gomasio (a mixture of salt and sesame seeds to which I add other roasted and coarsely ground nuts like pistachios, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds…)
Preheat oven to 180°C for about 30 to 40 minutes, and it's ready!
We serve this with a sauce made from almond puree, soy sauce, and water, and it's so smooth!
The advantage of vegetables is that you can have as many as you like = maximum effect with minimum effort.
Can you tell us about the importance of choosing the right utensils in your kitchen?
I travel a lot and I "carry" a lot of my equipment. I also lend it when I give cooking classes, and I work with different people all the time, so for me, The key words are: durable and easy to handle.
You tend to travel around a lot in France. Do you have three favorite places to share with us?
If you ever have the opportunity to treat yourself to a meal at Gilles Goujon's restaurant l’Auberge du Vieux Puis in Fontjoncouse in the Aude, I would say it's my favorite of the year. As much for the friendly atmosphere as for the perfection of the service and the dishes.
I have an extraordinary memory of eating at the Meilleur family's house at La Bouitte in Saint Marcel, straight off the slopes, wearing neon pink ski pants and faux fur slippers that the house had swapped for my ski boots! The meal was also fantastic. Savoyard cuisine that reaches the summits from father to son.
Perhaps more accessible, less well-known, but a huge favorite, I would take you to the Drome Provençale, on the border of Vaucluse, to the restaurant Le Brigand, in Suze la Rousse, run by Chef Maxime Terrasson, whose sensitivity in the dishes I particularly liked.
Where can we enjoy your recipes in the coming weeks?
Online! I'm proposing a challenge in January: 1 week of 100% plant-based cooking together!
You'll receive all the recipes and shopping lists for a fully plant-based week a week in advance, and we'll meet up live every evening to prepare dinner together.
All the information is here: https://elengiupponi.com/challenge-semaine-vegetale
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