Vegetarian Traditions
Stories • Recipes • Travel • Farms • Traditions
A Culinary Journal by Chef George Vutetakis
For more than fifty years, I’ve explored the people, places, and traditions behind remarkable plant-based food—from
San Diego and Michigan farmers’ markets and the Inn Season Café to villages in India and tropical farms in Peru.
I invite you to discover recipes, culinary travel, farming traditions, ingredient histories,
and the joy of cooking with nature’s abundance.
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Latest Stories
New recipes, culinary journeys, farmers, traditions
and stories from my kitchen.
Milanese Vegetable Strata
Inspired by the traditions of Italian vegetable cooking, this Milanese Zucchini Strata Casserole layers roasted zucchini, golden summer squash, Yukon Gold potatoes, aromatic soffritto, and creamy almond ricotta into a rich, satisfying plant-based centerpiece. Each vegetable is roasted separately to develop its individual character before the layers come together with tomatoes, fresh basil, and olive oil. A beautiful dish for family dinners, entertaining, or celebrating the harvest.
Sicilian Caponata
A classic Sicilian-inspired sweet-and-sour eggplant preparation featuring tender baby eggplants, tomatoes, red bell peppers, capers, Zante currants, fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar. This simplified oven-baked version develops rich Mediterranean flavors without frying and can be served warm, chilled, or at room temperature as an appetizer, vegetable side dish, condiment, or dip.
Harvest Vegetable Salad—Eating the Rainbow
Celebrate the colors of the harvest with a vibrant vegetable salad featuring golden beets, carrots, parsnips, radishes, and red peppers. Rich in naturally occurring antioxidants, vitamins, and phytonutrients, this refreshing plant-based dish demonstrates how cooking with colors can be both nourishing and delicious.
One Magnificent Chickpea, Three Culinary Traditions: Socca, Farinata & Poodla
From the street markets of Nice to the seaside kitchens of Genoa and the family homes of Gujarat, one humble ingredient has inspired three remarkable culinary traditions. Discover the history and flavors of Socca, Farinata, and Poodla—three naturally plant-based recipes celebrating the magnificent chickpea.
Harvest Vegetable Kofta: A Gathering of Detroit Chefs
Harvest Vegetable Kofta is a celebration of the season—a marvelous way to make use of the abundance and variety of vegetables available at the height of the harvest. For a gathering devoted to honoring the past while considering what we might pass on to the next generation of chefs, it seemed like exactly the right dish to bring to the table.
Bengali Charchari Sabzi: The Art of the Caramelized Crust
“Iconic cuisine” is an apt description for the food of Bengal. Bengali sweets may be among the region’s most famous contributions to Indian cuisine, but its extraordinary vegetable dishes deserve equal attention. Among my favorites is charchari, a uniquely Bengali style of cooking that transforms simple vegetables through a combination of simmering, steaming and, finally, controlled caramelization.
Black Pepper Tofu: The Art of the Sauté
At Inn Season Cafe, sautéing tofu was an art form. A hot steel pan, careful timing and a little patience transformed simple tofu into something deeply savory and satisfying. This Black Pepper Tofu recipe uses just four ingredients, with easy air fryer and oven options for the home cook.
Roasted Peach Ginger Compote
For generations, preserving the summer harvest has been one of the great culinary traditions of orchard regions around the world. While many peaches become jams, preserves, or pies, this roasted compote is my way of capturing the remarkable flavor of the Okanagan’s freestone peaches in one simple recipe that lets the fruit remain the star
Inn Season Cashew Cardamom Cake
Of the desserts developed during those years, Cashew Cardamom Cake remained one of the most requested. It stayed on the menu rotation through much of the café’s remarkable 39-year history and became a favorite for birthdays, celebrations, and countless memorable dinners shared with family and friends
Detroit City of Chefs III Dinner
When filmmaker and chef Keith Famie called to share his vision for Detroit City of Chefs III, his excitement was contagious. This new chapter, he explained, would spotlight Michigan’s growing movement toward vegetarian and plant-based cuisine. ChefJimmy Schmidt, renowned chef and three time James Beard Award recipient, was already on board, and Keith invited me to join in shaping the story.
Pistachio Cavolo Nero Medallions
These medallions capture the essence of autumn: earthy, bright, and full of texture. Toasted pistachios and Cavolo Nero kale create a deep green color and nutty aroma that feels both rustic and elegant.
Ricotta Al Forno
A classic Sicilian baked ricotta reimagined with almonds—silky, aromatic, and entirely plant-based.
Roasted Harvest Vegetables
Inspired by Michigan’s autumn harvest, this mix of root vegetables brings color and sweetness to the plate. A light herb-garlic oil infuses each bite with fragrance and warmth—the flavor of a garden after a good rain
Farm To Table With Don Cinzori
He didn’t just follow trends—he set them. Don dove deep into peppers and chiles, and I remember clearly when he was the first to grow Jimmy Nardello sweet frying peppers in our region. His tomatoes were unrivaled, his Sicilian purple eggplants practically glowed, and come fall, his squash selection was the stuff of legend. From kombucha and red kuri to specially selected sweet butternuts and buttercups—not to mention the enormous “sidewalk” Hubbard squash—his produce was always the best and most flavorful.
Sour Cream Kofta
“Food is a foundation of how we enjoy daily life and a significant way to create community and affect change,” he says. “Sharing food is a language of its own. Cooking for someone else fills you up. It’s something we can still do in these uncertain pandemic times.”
Almond Ricotta Al Forno
This almond ricotta serves as a seamless substitute for traditional cow's milk ricotta. The use of almonds is not new to Italian cuisine, which has a long history of incorporating them into various foods and beverages, making them a natural choice for dairy alternatives. This recipe takes inspiration from the Sicilian 'Ricotta Al Forno.' The cheese is baked with a selection of herbs, extra virgin olive oil, and flaky sea salt, along with other Mediterranean flavors. It emerges from the oven sliceable yet meltingly tender, offering endless delicious possibilities.
Detroit City of Chefs I
During my interview with filmmaker Keith Famie for the "Detroit City of Chefs", I had the pleasure of preparing several dishes that exemplify my culinary philosophy and journey. Here’s a glimpse into the dishes I crafted, mostly from my cookbook Vegetarian Traditions, Favorite Recipes From My Years At The Legendary Inn Season Cafe, highlighting my commitment to healthful, flavorful, and culturally rich vegetarian cuisine
Roasted Baby Cauliflower
When cauliflower first appears at the farmers markets in Michigan, it is a sign that autumn is near. Neatly wrapped up in their green outer leaves, young cauliflower heads are stacked high on the tables when the market opens its doors. These “baby” cauliflowers are often very sweet and lighter in cruciferous flavors, which become bolder as they mature. Vegetables are often the stars of a meal when freshly harvested. They carry the identity of the soil, the touch of the farmer and, frequently, the dew from the morning’s harvest.
Sourdough Griddle Cakes
For those of us who love sourdough, the starter lives and breathes as a fixture on our kitchen counters. Each day, it is fed and then expands and bubbles with lively energy. Like all naturally fermented foods, it becomes part of the household–like a guest to be cared for and appreciated. Fermented foods are a common thread in all the great cuisines of the world. In addition to its nutritional attributes, fermentation was a form of food preservation and extended shelf-life long before refrigeration.
Mushroom Walnut Roulade
Finger foods are convenient and easy to handle, making them ideal for occasions where guests can enjoy them without the need for utensils. The Mushroom Walnut Roulade is the perfect combination of umami and sweet flavors–they were always a big crowd-pleaser when served at Inn Season Cafe. A balanced and satisfying culinary experience, they’re sure to be a hit at any gathering!