「Who am I?」
Passionate, creative, cheerful
My name is Justine Rist and I'm passionate about plant-based cooking, swing dancing, preserving the oceans and traveling. Ever since I discovered plant-based cuisine, I've been keen to help my peers discover this colourful, creative and, above all, gourmet cuisine! (Yes, yes, plant-based food is delicious, I assure you!)
Thanks to my travels and my curiosity, I can adapt to many different culinary cultures.
Cooking
I've been passionate about cooking ever since I was very young. During my apprenticeship, I was lucky enough to learn in some of Alsace's finest restaurants : in the kitchen with François Golla (Au Boeuf Rouge, Niederschaeffolsheim) and then in the pastry section with Thierry Schwartz (1 Michelin star in Obernai).
My passion?
To delight others, by bringing them happiness and travel through food.
Travelling
For me, the love for cooking also means having the curiosity to discover different culinary cultures from all over the world.
I was lucky enough to spend time and work in Australia, Japan, China, Nepal, Mexico and Austria before returning to France.
Rich and always delicious experiences! The discovery of new flavours and ingredients still drives me today. I'm eager to continue exploring and learning every day so that I can expand my culinary repertoire and pass on this knowledge to my peers.
Plant-based
It was when I became a vegetarian and discovered the art of plant-based cooking that my life changed, in 2014, while I was living in Japan. It was a surprise to me (as you might expect), but above all it opened up a new culinary playground for me.
I've been exploring this playground for 10 years now, and it continues to amaze me on a daily basis, because it's so rich! And when it comes to plant-based gastronomy, everything has yet to be invented - what an incredible opportunity for our profession!
I've been fortunate enough to cook on board a Sea Shepherd ship during a mission to Mexico, to create conference menus in China and Nepal, to be 3rd on the podium in France's first plant-based pastry competition, to run plant-based cookery workshops in Strasbourg and to be head chef at Aufatmen in the Tyrol (which was voted the best veggie-friendly hotel in Austria). Thanks to these experiences, my boundless curiosity and years of practising cooking, I've been able to acquire a good command of plant-based cooking and pâtisserie.
Today, I want to share this knowledge with all catering professionals so that this amazing cuisine can be appreciated for its true worth. My hope is that my peers will finally enjoy exploring and working with plant-based cuisine on a daily basis.
Inspired by plant based cuisine yet?
