Behind the Apron Volume 1: Eating to Live

To better get to know the food around us we need to better understand those behind the apron cooking the food! We're kicking off the year with our first of many Behind the Apron specials, an intimate and tasty conversation speaking to the great minds of some great food.

Lala Divine and Peter Roldan, are the minds and hands behind today's meal and conversation, they specialize in plant-based cuisine and can also make a mean batch of fresh pressed juice! We broke bread on a cold and rainy winter afternoon in the warmth of their cozy kitchen, the perfect way to spend such a day.

What's on the menu today?

“Today I’m going to be making cabbage steaks,” Lala says.

Barbecue cabbage steaks to be specific along with baked mac and cheese, sautéed collard greens, and cornbread, all made from scratch, down to the cheese!

When or what was your first core memory of food? Or when did you realize you actually liked working with it more than just something you had to do?

“You know, now that I think about it my dad was a chef in the military. My grandfather was a chef also.” Lala reflects, “My dad used to cook all the time, I never really thought about that until this moment I realized food is art to me.”

Would you say you always had a call to the kitchen?

“I would say that I had the calling but I probably just didn’t realize it.”

LaLa thinks about her family history and says “Especially when you think about history, my grandmother, father, and my grandfather, it’s in the DNA. You know, it’s in the blood I have people in my family who are chefs. I didn’t realize it until I tapped into that.”

What kind of cuisine do you create using food as your artistic medium?

“I create plant-based foods, food made with plants” Lala laughs.

Her starter pack for a good meal includes collard greens, kale greens, any kind of greens really, onions, peppers, and garlic, "Gotta have that", she says.

And why plant-based?

“I always had an affinity for plants and herbs. But 3 years ago I lost my job during the height of COVID like most people. And I got sick with BV and a yeast infection, and I didn’t have any health insurance because I didn’t have a job.”

To help her body heal she turned to food, “I didn’t know how to use food and plants at the time to heal myself internally, I knew how to use them topically. But I knew that the only way to heal myself was through changing the way I was eating and putting into my body.” She began a 2-week long fast, only drinking raw juice and eating plant-based meals. “I was able to cure both the BV and yeast infection.” Ever since then, it’s been all plants, all day!

Similar to LaLa, her husband Peter got sick and turned to fruits and vegetables to do the job. He began researching and discovered that juicing and doing cleanses were ways to get his health back to a new normal. Now as a boxer, he takes more care in choosing the food he fuels himself with. “You connect more with yourself when you’re taking care of yourself.”

During the interview Lala’s mom was lured into the kitchen by the good smells of the cabbage steaks slow cooking in the oven, “I’m in there like God, are you doing barbecue?” the house was warm and swirling with savory smells. We asked Mom about her relationship with food as well ,

“I am definitely on the road to becoming plant-based. So several years back I got really sick and was in bed for 3 years. I couldn’t wear clothes and would only wrap myself in white cotton sheets. My skin was inflamed from my head down to my feet, I didn’t have any normal patch of skin on my body.”

Doctors kept trying to diagnose her with eczema and dermatitis but after she found a doctor in Hackensack she was able to get an allergy test and to her surprise, she was allergic to many of the foods she consumed daily. “I was eating fish oil and eating fish almost every day and I was using fish oil to mix in creams and different stuff for my body, I was killing myself from the inside out and didn’t even know.”

Over time, by changing her diet, she was able to get back to wearing clothes with colors, and then, “One day La says “I’m going to change everything, we’re not doing this anymore.”, Lala transformed her mother’s entire diet going through her kitchen disposing of anything that wasn’t on this new menu, “That’s when she gave my bacon to my neighbor girl, he was so happy!”. Sometimes the child becomes the parent and Lala stepped right up and changed the way her mom approached eating. “I think the difference now in my relationship with food is that I eat to live you know.”

Do you think your cultural or geographical background plays a role in the way you cook and create your food?

“I feel like it influences it in the sense that, you know, my family is from New Orleans. So what do you think of when you think of Louisiana? Gumbo, Cajun, spice. I have Cajun Acadian and Creole roots and I definitely have a goal to "plant-base" so to speak, some traditional cultural meals from Louisiana for sure.”

Lala was also a student in grandma's kitchen and it was there she learned the ropes, “She’s one of the people who taught me and showed me how to make plant-based foods and make them, you know, delicious. So definitely my grandmother is one of my inspirations.”

The more LaLa began to cook the more she felt it come to her more naturally. And after the amazing meal I had in Lala's kitchen, I would try anything she plant-base-ifies!

What’s the first dish you remember cooking on your own?

“Baked macaroni and cheese. And it was horrible!” Lala laughs, “I was experimenting and it was actually one of the first meals I was experimenting with. And I think it was just the flavor and texture, you know, it tasted like plants.”

After working on her recipe Lala took a stab at plant-based mac again and struck gold, “It came out amazing!”

Lala describes her relationship with food of course it's connected to necessity and survival like every living thing, however, she truly feels that you are what you eat. Though it may be cliche what you put in is truly what you get out and Lala fills herself with the best. With a medicine cabinet stocked with herbs and spices and a kitchen that unveils plant-forward delicacies, she approaches cooking with a curious mind trying to figure out how to use what she’s got at her disposal while loving on her family through cuisine, “I love feeding my family. I love when people enjoy my food.”

What about food brings you joy?

Lala values the community that food creates, when asked about food bringing her joy she says, “Sharing food with family you know, and friends. Eating food boosts my serotonin. My favorite part about sharing meals with others is really just the spending time together you know, having community or communion.”

Lala invites her community to change the way they think about eating healthy by showing them just how good fruits and veggies can truly be. “I think I found a lot of people are interested in trying it and watching you know, preparing plant-based foods, it becomes like a conversation.” Lala’s mom reminisces on their recent trip to North Carolina, “She cooked the whole time and it was amazing. So many people were affected by that. It’s been a chain reaction of people wanting to know what she does and what she did for my mom.”

Plant-based eating and cooking is a great conversation starter! As I watched Lala prepare this meal, I got to witness a true magician at work, making savory melt-in-your-mouth cabbage steaks and cashew cheese from scratch, and boy did I have a ton of questions. Everyone who doesn’t eat plant-based wants to know what you’re eating and how you’re able to make it.

Plant-based not vegan, educate not encourage:

Lala explains “It’s never about encouraging people to be vegan. You know actually, I’m not vegan. I really think it’s just eating more fruits and vegetables and including more fruits and vegetables in your diet and eating less processed food. It’s especially important in the Black community because we got fibroids, we got PCOS, we got high blood pressure diabetes all these things you know. And it’s not that these things run in the family. It’s about the fact that we have been conditioned to eat this way. And this is just what we know”, Lala says, “Then we have kids and then we feed our kids the way that we were raised.”

That unhealthy cycle continues but Lala is reimagining tradition and bringing plants to the forefront of the conversation. She wants to foster longevity in people's lives and health through fruit and vegetables, “Eating living food gives you life.”

Do you have a favorite dish to cook? Like any day anytime that’s your go-to.

“I feel like wraps, that’s the easiest thing. You just use whatever you have in your fridge! So like today I had a salad in there so I just use some salad, some peppers, onions, a little bit of mustard, add plant-based mayo, and boom.” She’s also a soup girly and says that’s her go-to comfort food and when asked pho vs. ramen, “Dang that’s a tough one I— ramen. Ramen for sure.”

Lala's future in food looks like her having her own farm!

What inspired that?

“The desire to be self-sufficient you know. To be able to grow my own food. I want to have a whole mushroom farm, I want to grow all my greens, and have animals”

We also got to talk with LaLa’s husband Peter as well and hear about their story together in the kitchen and beyond. He is from the East Coast but culturally has roots in Colombia, though he didn't grow up cooking or with a calling to the kitchen he has grown to become very involved in the preparation process.

“How is it when we cook together?” LaLa asks Peter. “We fight a lot,” he laughs “We fight over the ingredients, so that’s the funniest thing ever.”

LaLa teases her husband about being completely oblivious to the way she made her cornbread for 3 years until he helped one day. He was shocked by the addition of one whole cup of sugar to the mix and was trying to switch up the recipe! She ended up sneaking it all in in the end but their banter is authentic and raw similar to the kind of cuisine they create together. They take their love for food with them on their international travels to tasty destinations like Colombia and St. Lucia, they spend time eating like the locals do and enjoying the adventures of their new backyard.

As I interviewed LaLa and her husband Peter on a rainy Sunday, I saw a glimpse into their snow globe of reality and watched them work together to not only transform but elevate plant-based meals.

Similar to a kid trailing their mother's every step in the kitchen I peeked over her shoulder almost every second getting a look at what her hands were creating. Lala cooks with love and that was reflected in this beautiful Sunday dinner she prepared. Her barbecue cabbage steaks were seasoned to perfection and exceptionally tender, the plant-based mac and cheese was rich and creamy, and the sauteed greens were a perfect palette cleanser to reset your taste buds. As a Southern girl, I appreciate a good slice of cornbread and Lala definitely didn't disappoint! Though she doesn’t bake often when she does it’s of course plant-based, from the oven, she pulls a beautiful brown pan of cornbread to accent an already decadent meal. She uses ingredients like coconut sugar and spelt flour, to substitute for common baking ingredients and the new kids on the cornbread block fit right into the recipe!

I hope you all enjoyed this first Behind the Apron special with LaLa and her family. She is out here changing minds and lives with her talented and flavorful use of all-natural ingredients. The entire meal was the perfect tasty topper for a rainy Sunday afternoon! My superstars of the plate had to be the cabbage steak and the homemade cornbread. But her cabbage steaks?! Seasoned and cooked to tender perfection, I’d never imagine having a melt-in-your-mouth cabbage moment but it was a true 10/10. I will be back!

If liked this tasty insider scoop, stay tuned for more highlights and perspectives from culinary game-changers and artists like Lala and Peter!

Stay Tasty!