Vegan gastronomy is strongest when it does not apologise for itself. It should not be a poor copy of a kitchen with meat. It needs to stand on vegetables, pulses, grains, herbs, nuts, fruit, crispness, richness, acidity and umami — and it needs enough flavour that nobody scans the horizon for a steak like a missing ferry in the fog.
The Kromans menus show several ways to build plant-based flavour. Quinoa, beans, red lentils, chickpeas and black beans provide a foundation and body. The Vegan Society notes that plant proteins are widely available in plant-based foods, although their quantity and quality vary from one ingredient to another.
A foundation alone is not enough. The menus therefore also work with crispness, emulsions, pesto, green oil, guacamole, mango salsa, pico de gallo, sweet potatoes, salted almonds and chocolate and marzipan cake. This is where vegan cooking becomes gastronomically interesting: when it has something creamy, crisp, fresh, sweet, acidic and deep.
At Kromans, the aim is not to gather a plate of vegetables and hope for applause. You taste and adjust as you work, discovering the difference between a dish that is merely plant-based and one that is genuinely well built. Harvard also points out that plant-based eating can include a wide variety of foods and need not follow one narrow model.
The vegan theme works well for group cooking because it provides many tasks and many points at which to taste. There is shaping, blending, frying, baking, tasting and assembling. Working together makes people more curious about texture, seasoning and the small adjustments that allow green cooking to stand confidently on its own. It is not deprivation. It is craft — with a little more colour on your shirt.