A move to Italy at age 12 proved to be a life-altering experience for Toni Fiore. It was here that the self-taught chef learned to love simple, fresh Mediterranean cuisine, with its focus on vegetables, fruits, pastas, grains, fine wine, and, most importantly, family and friends. Toni has put the lessons that she learned in Italy to good use on her popular vegetarian cooking show, Delicious TV. Produced in Portland, Maine, the show airs on public-broadcasting stations nationwide and features simple, healthy dishes that focus on fresh ingredients and a no-fuss preparation. Toni’s passion for food is infectious; her enthusiastic mixture of “I-can-do-it” dishes and myth-busting facts about vegetarianism creates a surefire recipe for converting meat-eaters to vegetarians from coast to coast.

Chef Spotlight:
Toni Fiore

Name: Toni Fiore

Age: 47

TV Show: Delicious TV

Do you have animal companions? If so, please tell us about them.
I have one cat, Acadia (Cadie)—she’s 16—two rescued parakeets, Petey and Robert Plant Jr., and some unnamed tropical fish. My other cat, Josephine, passed away six months ago. She was also 16. I grew up with dogs and cats—they’re my extended family, and I can’t imagine life without them.

How long have you been a chef?
Well, I’m not a formally trained chef. I’m self-taught, which means I have less to “unlearn.” I grew up in Europe and have always been interested in food, food culture, and cooking. I’ve had many relatives and friends in the restaurant business. Food has always been a big interest for me.

What type of cuisine do you focus on?
I would say that my focus is primarily on Mediterranean cuisine. I think it’s easy to be an “accidental” vegetarian in countries such as Italy, where the classic diet centers around pastas, grains, and vegetables. Most Americans like Italian food, anyway, and it’s one of the most popular cuisines around the world—and for good reason. Along with my Mediterranean focus, I fuse various regional and international cuisines.

Do you have a specialty?
That’s tough, but if I really had to answer that question, I’d say anything with pasta and chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans). I love chickpeas! My other specialty—actually, more a skill—is putting together something nutritious and delicious in a crunch using whatever I might have on hand in the pantry.

What are the most important elements in cooking great vegetarian cuisine?
Start with the best ingredients that you can afford, which is a maxim for any type of cuisine. What it boils down to is taste, texture, presentation, and, as I said, quality of the ingredients. Now, if you’re feeding uninitiated nonvegetarians, texture bounces to the top of the list.

What is the key to getting meat-eaters to enjoy vegetarian food?
Initially, my greatest success had been in creating or recreating familiar dishes. For meat-eaters at my table, it’s like traveling to a foreign country where English is spoken. There is a comfort zone there—a transition point. Food habits are rooted in tradition and culture for most people, so if you can make your spaghetti with some vegetarian meatballs, you can meet them halfway. But I also try to get people to appreciate vegetarian food for its own merits. The mushroom doesn’t have to taste like steak; it’s already wonderful being just what it is.

What, in your opinion, does the future of plant-based cuisine hold?
I think feeding the world’s population a plant-based diet will become more accepted, if not downright necessary—not just from the health standpoint but from the environmental and animal welfare perspective as well. Once people stop handing over their health and welfare to the government and to profit-driven corporations, there will be a huge wake-up call—at least one can hope.

Do you have a favorite cooking method?
I love them all! Simplicity of preparation and great taste are key.

What are your favorite ingredients to work with?
Naturally, due to my Italian upbringing, I lean toward pastas. I also really like beans, breads, all kinds of vegetables, and especially ripe, juicy tomatoes. I also love creating great meals with high-protein tofu and tempeh. Oh yeah, and did I already mention my passion for chickpeas?

In your opinion, what vegetarian dish or type of food is most frequently poorly prepared, and why?
Tofu! Despite the fact that it’s eaten all over the world, Americans are still getting used to it. It’s really quite easy to use, but you have to get comfortable with its unique qualities. I definitely try to demonstrate various ways of using tofu on the show. One other pet peeve of mine is when people add pounds of cheese to vegetarian dishes because they think it’s the only way it’ll “taste good.” You really can ruin a perfectly seasoned and prepared vegetable dish by dumping cheddar cheese all over it. Moderating—and even eliminating—the use of cheese in vegetarian cuisine is now becoming much more popular in the cookbooks that I see. We’ve come a long way!

If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only eat one kind of ethnic food, what would it be?
Italian. I just hope a case of wine would be shipwrecked with me!

Do vegetarian restaurants face any special obstacles that meat-based restaurants don’t have to face?
Familiarity. People tend to steer (pun intended) toward what they know. If you can believe it, a vegetarian restaurant has to counter more erroneous dietary information than a steakhouse does! But I’m glad to see, in the past decade, enormous change in people’s acceptance of vegetarian foods. It’s still an uphill battle, but we’re getting there. Even so, people literally fear being protein-deprived. It’s ironic. The thing people crave the most is what they should consume the least. In the end, what it comes down to is that you don’t have to call yourself a vegetarian in order to enjoy vegetarian food! Vegetarian food is for everybody!

Can you give us one great cooking tip for aspiring vegetarian chefs?
Keep it simple. Give yourself time to adjust your palate, and you’ll be fine. Let all the wonderful qualities of the vegetables retain their integrity. Learn by trying things, buy a fun cookbook, and when in doubt, add a bit of salt! When you understand on a fundamental level the food that you’re cooking, you’re much more likely to eat it and enjoy it.

What are some ingredients that you recommend vegetarians and vegans have in their kitchens?
A good basic pantry would include grains—such as pasta, rice, and quinoa—a variety of canned and dried beans, plum tomatoes, nuts, and a tube of tomato paste—also fresh garlic, scallions, and onions. Always have a good bottle of first cold-pressed olive oil and of soy sauce, mirin, and regular and balsamic vinegars. Have kosher sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. I’m not a huge fan of dried herbs, but they’re handy in a crisis or when fresh just isn’t available. I keep oregano, turmeric, coriander, fresh nutmeg, basil, red pepper, and (even though it’s not really an herb), I keep breadcrumbs in the cupboard too. I despise dried parsley, so I keep some fresh parsley frozen—it’s the next best thing. Good-quality vegetarian bouillon cubes can be the start of a fantastic soup, and I always have soy milk, tofu, and tempeh in the fridge or in the freezer. I think these are a good start to a basic vegetarian pantry.

Are there any newer vegetarian products on the market that you are particularly fond of?
There are some really wonderful meat replacers in just about every local market now. For transitioning meat-eaters, they can be especially helpful. I use them sparingly, but some of my favorites are faux bacon and faux-beef crumbles. Products such as chicken-free nuggets and veggie dogs work especially well for children.

Have you had any noteworthy comments from or experiences with diners?
“I never thought in a million years I wouldn’t miss the meat! This is absolutely delicious!” Hence, the name of the show.

What is the best way to prepare tofu?
There are many “best” ways to prepare tofu. I’d like to limit it to one, but I think that tofu is almost limitless! You can mash it into an “egg” salad or use it easily in place of ricotta cheese in various dishes, including desserts. Shallow-fry it with a good pinch of kosher salt; batter it in soy milk and flour and fry it; marinate it in just about anything; and grill it or broil it. You can also freeze it, thaw it, and squeeze out the excess water as if you were wringing out a sponge. Freezing tofu completely changes its texture and consistency. Honestly, tofu is one of the most flexible foods in existence.

• Tofu Egg Salad

• Fennel With Tomatoes, Onions, and Raisins

• White Bean Bruschetta

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