Cara Mangini believes eating vegetables is one of life’s greatest pleasures and has made it her mission to put vegetables at the center of the American plate. As an award-winning author, chef, restaurateur, product developer, teacher, and speaker she shares her passion for produce by welcoming everyone to the table around flavor-first, vegetable-forward food.
Cara’s first book, The Vegetable Butcher: How to Select, Prep, Slice, Dice, and Masterfully Cook Vegetables from Artichokes to Zucchini won two IACP Cookbook Awards for Single Subject and People’s Choice and was nominated for a James Beard Award. On its top 100 list, Southern Living named The Vegetable Butcher the #2 cookbook of all time after the Joy of Cooking. Her recipes have been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Telegraph, The Chicago Tribune, Glamour, Vegetarian Times, and Oprah.com. She has appeared on the Today Show and has contributed to Better Homes and Gardens, Rachel Ray magazine, Fine Cooking, Conde Nast Traveler, and TheKitchn.com.
Cara created the highly acclaimed, Little Eater, a produce-inspired company with multiple locally-sourced restaurants in Columbus, Ohio, catering services, corporate pop-ups, an artisan foods boutique, and a line of signature salads distributed at grocery stores. As executive chef of Little Eater, she was named one of the top 50 plant-forward chefs in the world by the Culinary Institute of America and the EAT foundation.
Cara’s much-anticipated next book The Vegetable Eater: The New Playbook for Vegetarian Cooking draws from decades of spotlighting vegetables, in her writing, her professional kitchens, and in her own home. Bringing together this passion and experience in the new book, she presents approachable, crave-worthy recipes that make it second nature for home cooks to create vibrant, flavorful, vegetable-based meals. It’s the ultimate guide to turning vegetables into super-delicious dishes that will satisfy all throughout the year. With Cara’s encouragement and expertise, everyone can be a vegetable eater.
Cara lives in San Francisco with her family and is working on her next vegetable-inspired venture.
