Knowledge Base > Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

This event was on Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at 11:00 am Pacific, 2:00 pm Eastern

Join Chef Eric Wynkoop in his virtual office as he welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to Ask Anything – from cooking techniques to co… Read More.

Recorded

Question:

Do you have any thoughts on the waves of vegan restaurant closures, that the plant based trend appears in transition? There’re examples of pop-up, backyard, even side window food offerings, and a law in California.

— Merrell virgen

Answer:

Regarding the closure of strictly vegan or strictly plant-based restaurants, um, over the past, uh, you know, couple of years there have been, and I, I think, uh, you know, your comment, Meryl, that the industry or this trend appears in transition is probably spot on. And, you know, at least part of that, uh, you know, explanation would be that other restaurants, you know, whether they're mainstream chain restaurants or just other, uh, you know, regional or local restaurants that, um, are not vegan specific, have come to the point now where they offer some interesting or some enticing vegan or plant-based options on their menus. And, um, so, you know, it allows a, a, a, a group of varied eaters to go to a single restaurant, and everybody can find their place on the menu, whether it's a hundred percent plant-based or plant strong, or something with a meat focus. And, uh, that's gonna be, um, you know, generally speaking, you know, uh, one reason behind this, uh, what appears to be a transition indeed, you know, to, uh, the, uh, the, the a hundred percent plant-based restaurant industry. Um, probably some other factors out there. But that's, um, sort of for, from, from my vantage point what I see.
Eric Wynkoop

Eric Wynkoop

Director of Culinary Instruction

rouxbe.com