Reuben Waller and Peter Payne

Long gone are the days when eating out as a vegan was impossible, when plant-based options on menus consisted of only bread, pasta or salad (boo!). The restaurant scene is changing (thank goodness!) — every month, more and more vegan options are being added to menus, and each year, more plant-powered eateries are opening. But who do restaurants turn to when they want to increase their vegan dishes? Enter: Reuben Waller and Peter Payne, the dynamic duo behind Plant Candi consultancy — both passionate chefs with years of experience. We catch up with the pair to talk about professional cooking, our corrupt food industry and what their dinner party go-to’s are.

Hi Reuben (RW) and Peter (P)! Why and when did you both become vegan?

RW: The reason I became vegan was through falling in love with plant-based cooking through the opening of our first restaurant, RootCandi, and I haven’t looked back since.

I gave up meat 30 years ago, because of the problems in meat industry and the treatment of animals. I was vegan off and on during that time, but finally went strictly vegan six or seven