Alumni run fine dining restaurant without the use of animal products

How have you chosen your studies?
Jesse (28): “When I started studying, I dreamt of becoming the CEO of a large company. So I studied Law and Economics. That seemed like a good basis. Additionally, I have also done board work. I studied for seven years in total, and in 2020 I finished my research master Multidisciplinary Economics.”

Mari (38): “About twenty years ago, I was active in the animal rights circuit in Finland. I had long been concerned with the relationship between humans and animals. That’s why I chose for the study Philosophy. I ended up doing my master's in Gender studies here 13 years ago through a Finnish friend who was doing an exchange programme at Utrecht University.”

How did you meet each other?
Jesse: “During my first job as a financial policy officer at the Ministry of Social Affairs, I was monitoring the expenditure within the sickness law, but the real world felt very far away. I came to the conclusion that this work was too abstract for me. During my search for ‘then what?’ I got the idea to start my own vegan butchery. However, I wanted to learn more about vegan food and cuisine first. Through Google, I came across Kasvio, Mari’s restaurant here at the Metaal Kathedraal. I just sent Mari an email and got to meet her.”

Mari: “When Jesse came by, it clicked right away. I came up with the concept for my restaurant in 2020, but I was already fascinated by cooking during my time as a student. Back then, I did a lot of voluntary work as a cook, but a job as a plant-based chef at the start of 2000 didn’t seem to be a viable career option. Based on my experience as a volunteer, I became a sous-chef at one of the first plant-based restaurants in the Netherlands around 2010. A few years later, I became a chef at a plant-based restaurant in Utrecht. That’s when I also finished a vegetarian cooking education. The job was fine, but I was looking for a bigger challenge. I really wanted to blow people away with a vegan dinner.

“At the moment that I quit my job, there wasn’t a vegan fine dining restaurant in Utrecht. So I decided to open one myself. This seemed to be the best option to create a new challenge for myself in my career. It was scary to start my own restaurant, but the idea also made me really happy. Kasvio is exactly how I envisioned it. Fine dining, but then 100 per cent plant-based.”

For you, what does food have to do with sustainability?
Jesse: “For me, it started with being conscious about climate change and the impact of food on that. Since the last five years, I am increasingly eating more vegetarian and since last summer, almost completely plant-based. By eating differently, CO2 emissions decline rapidly. If everyone ate vegan, we would only need a quarter of all surface area. A lot of ground would free up for, for example, sustainable energy. That way, we could solve many existential questions in one go.”

Mari: “With me, it originated from thinking about animal welfare. I was 17 when I became vegan; a very emotional decision then. Now, I cannot imagine otherwise. Ultimately I found animal rights activism to be too limited. As a philosopher, I am convinced that there is no single answer to what needs to happen. When I started to cook professionally, my way of eating was an obstacle. Now, things are really changing. If someone wants to make that choice for plant-based food now, it is possible. You don’t have to miss anything when you eat plant-based.”

What do you enjoy most about your work?
Jesse: “The work here is really tangible. I can immediately see the effect of what I’m doing. Every step that I take is focused on giving people a special night. At the same time, the idea behind it is larger than ‘good food’. If we are able to make people happy here, then they take that with them and they might do something with it. Ideally, of course, we want as many people as possible to eat plant-based food because they like it.”

Mari: “For me, creativity is very important. Through our food, we tell stories. And we can directly test all the ideas that arise within the team. We notice through our guests whether it works or not. Additionally, I have discovered something about myself through Kasvio. I always thought I was essentially a technical person, that aspect of cooking always appealed to me too. But this place has made me realise that the people I work with are also very important to me. I want to take into account the individuality of those who work here and those who come to eat here, I want to give each individual space."

And now…?
Jesse: “Above all, I want to give people a really nice evening every night, show that plant-based food is beautiful and delicious, work together in this fine team and tell the story behind it. And who knows: I might soon start my own vegan butcher's shop."

Mari: “I would like us to continue as we are doing now. Continue to grow as a team, discover new flavours, keep the experience good for our guests and find new ways to share our knowledge. Above all, I want to make sure I consciously enjoy what I have here now. I have ambitions, of course, but sometimes I have to slow myself down.