These amazing vegan black bean burgers come from the Candle 79 Cookbook.

I live at Candle 79 and Candle Cafe when I am in NYC. The Candle team really helped define sustainable plant based cooking in America. They brought a refined elegance and sophistication to vegan cooking, and have been delighting vegetarian and omnivores alike with their gorgeous, innovative, green cuisine. Serving up inspired, organic, seasonal dishes bursting with flavor.

In 2003, Bart Potenza bought a juice bar and renamed it “Healthy Candle” paying homage to the previous owners and their ritual of lighting candles to bless the establishment. In 1987, he met Joy Pierson, a nutritionist, who became his business and life partner. In 1993, after winning $53,000 in the NY Lottery on a ticket that was purchased on Friday 13th, they opened Candle Cafe. The restaurant was an instant hit, which spawned a thriving catering company, a wholesale line of foods, and the The Candle Cafe Cookbook. Candle Cafe was the first restaurant to be certified by the Green Restaurant Association, and became a coveted location for discerning foodies all over the world.

In fact, in 2003, demand was so high for their services, Bart and Joy partnered with the genius of the Candle Cafe chefs, Angel Ramos and Jorge Pineda to launch the sister restaurant, Candle 79, an upscale two-story, fine dining, “vegan oasis” just 5 blocks away from the original haven. It too, was an overnight sensation, becoming a popular favorite with hipsters and locals; influential politicians and celebrities; as well as a destination dining experience for excited tourists. Since it opened, Candle 79 has consistently been rated as one of America’s best vegan restaurants, and has become a New York institution. It was selected as Zagat’s top-rated vegetarian restaurant in 2007 and 2008, and was the first plant based restaurant to be reviewed by the famous Frank Bruni of the New York Times.

But, if you can’t get to NYC to sample these revered delights in person, fear not! The Candle 79 Cookbook shares some of the most celebrated recipes from the restaurant’s repertoire. All of the delectable recipes have been tested and adapted for the home cook, and are super easy to make. And they actually turn out as they are supposed to! Trust me, I have made almost every single thing in this book and my friends and I have been in heaven! One of the coolest things about this book is that it is written by three people, Joy, Angel, and Jorge all bring their unique skills to the table, to serve up some of the most incredible vegan food I have ever tasted!

Angel Ramos is a vegan genius. As executive chef of Candle 79, his flare for multi-cultural cuisine just always mixes the right flavors and textures to create culinary magic. The NY Times and Vegetarian Times have acknowledged his mastery of vegan organic cuisine, and the mouth-watering recipes speak for themselves. As the beloved Candle pastry chef, Jorge Pineda’s complements Angel’s savory recipes with some of his best indulgent vegan treats that have been widely celebrated all over the country in places like the LA Times as part of “Best Vegan Desserts in America”. His new line of vegan desserts for Whole Foods Market, “Candle Chef’s Cuisine” rocks! Then Joy, certified by the Pritikin Longevity Center and Hippocrates Health Institute, offers up the nutrition background.

This amazing cookbook serves up more than 100 exceptional dishes that are hearty and decadent, yet healthy and fresh; and they all have the triple wow factor! The approachable yet extraordinary recipes include delights like Butternut Squash-Chestnut Soup with Caramelized Pears, Wild Mushroom and Cipollini Salad with Fresh Horseradish Dressing, Moroccan-Spiced Chickpea Cakes, Pan-Seared Pine Nut Pesto Tofu, Peach Parfait, Chocolate Mousse Towers, and Cucumber-Basil Martinis are all dressed to impress! Recipes are uniquely paired with bio- dynamic wines, and the beautiful vivid photography by Rita Maas will have you drooling and contemplating “death by candle indulgence” at every turn of the page!

This book makes you fall in love with vegetables, and the wonders of plant based cooking! The recipes are so delicious and easy-to-follow that it inspires confidence in the home cook; and with a handy glossary of terms and ingredients, as well as a resource guide for purchasing exotic foods, it gives each reader the tools to continue experimenting, and start their candle-lit veggie love affair!

The humane, compassionate, loving spirit of the book shines through too, and captures the essence and philosophy of the “Candles.” Joy, Angel, and Jorge are committed to spreading the word about eco living one happy belly at a time. The team at Candle are active charity angels, having formed relationships with local and national organizations such as People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), New York Coalition for Healthy School Food (NYCHSF), Green America, and many others.

Scott and I are spending Thanksgiving in NYC, and we are eating Thanksgiving Dinner at Candle 79. I’m excited.

Don’t miss making these vegan black bean burgers. They’re amazing.