‘Outside of the Box’

Article by: Eileen Mellon
Richmond Magazine
January 4, 2023
Click here to view source

Rachel Best’s culinary dream is to own a vegetable-centric restaurant, one where tofu and tempeh are left off the menu and — rather than meatless riffs or faux-meat replications — dishes serve as opportunities to showcase produce in all its glory. Every other month, Best briefly gets to experience that ideal, hosting vegan dinners at her Fulton Hill restaurant, Blue Atlas, which she co-owns and operates with her husband, Ben Watters.

The inaugural dinner attracted 60 diners, and most recently, triple that number.

“It books out in advance, so that’s definitely a motivation,” Best says of the growing success of the soirees. “That’s my passion of cooking.”

Originally conceived as a way for Best to frolic in the kitchen with fresh veggies, the event has evolved into a sellout special occasion attracting diners looking to take a walk on the plant-based side. It has also started to attract the attention of fellow chefs. On Jan. 25 and 26, Best will be joined in the kitchen by Xavier Beverly, R&D chef at Carytown market Ellwood Thompson’s, for a two-day Vegan Takeover.

Through a series of shareable small plates, the duo plan to take diners on a global journey. Dishes, offered a la carte, will range from $10 to $14, and guests are encouraged to order the entire menu.

“We want you to think outside of the box of what veganism is,” says Beverly, a Richmond native who has worked in local kitchens including The Camel and the bygone Zeus Gallery Cafe. “Let’s make people broaden their horizon. Typically, when I go out to eat, that’s what I’m trying to do, enjoy something I’m not going to cook at home.”

Although the January event marks the first time Best will collaborate with a fellow chef in this pursuit, it is not the first time that she and Beverly have worked together — the pair share a similar organic, non-GMO and pro-local stint on their resumes: a gig at Ellwood Thompson’s.

“Rachel was the person who trained me, she was the one who interviewed me,” recalls Beverly, who has been with the market for the past two years.

Leaving his role as chef at The Camel just as he became a father, Beverly says that on his search for more career stability, he heard of an opening at Ellwood Thompson’s. At the same time, Best was on her way out at the market and preparing to enter a new chapter as restaurateur. While their overlap at the store was only two months, Beverly remembers it well.

“I learned a ton from her,” he says. “I would say, before I got to Ellwood’s, vegan cooking was something I knew about, and used to do for myself when I was a vegan, but not to this extent.”

Menu planning for the upcoming collaborative dinner is still in the works, but the two chefs share an understanding that the goal is to draw from their veg-forward, slightly eccentric culinary vault. Best has been practicing the plant-based lifestyle for over 15 years and possesses a deep understanding of vegan cooking. Before relocating to Richmond, she cooked at a dedicated vegan/vegetarian restaurant in Denver. And while Southern-tinged fare, fried foods and black bean burgers have become easy and approachable alternatives to meat, the two are straying from the obvious.

“We’re going along the line of what we stick to [at Blue Atlas], the international vibe and a little cleaner eating. … We’re trying to highlight you can have meals without that stuff,” Best says.

Beverly adds that he plans to use the experience as an opportunity to add more layers to his culinary repertoire and move beyond the normal constraints of cooking; he’s also looking forward to working in a collaborative environment.

There is “definitely a method to the madness [at Ellwood’s], and [we] have to stay on a certain path [with cooking], so being able to work with another chef I really respect makes me really happy,” Beverly says. “I’m excited to play around with ideas and concepts and dishes I had when I traveled to Israel and a couple other places and hone in on good food.”

Article by: Eileen Mellon
Richmond Magazine
January 4, 2023
https://richmondmagazine.com/restaurants-in-richmond/food-news/blue-atlas-vegan-takeover-dinner/