Celeb Vegan Chef Matthew Kenney Opens Kanu Café Edmonton, His First First Canadian Restaurant

Kanu Café, vegan chef Matthew Kenney’s first Canadian restaurant, is officially open for business.

Kenney announced the new restaurant earlier this year, teasing that the venue would open in July, serving up “many of our classics and a number of new dishes created for the local market.” But it wasn’t until this week that Kanu finally opened its doors in downtown Edmonton, boasting a variety of fresh plant-based dishes.

Kanu’s menu holds a focus on upscale and minimally processed foods, as well as cold-pressed juices, smoothies, wines, and cocktails. All of the dishes were thought up by Kenney, but will come to life each day at the hands of local chef Justin O’Reilly.

Heirloom tomato and zucchini lasagne, featuring macadamia ricotta and pistachio pesto, is available at Kanu, as well as fresh, leafy, protein-packed bowls. Spicy udon noddles with baked tofu, complemented by cashew hoisin, is also on offer, and hungry diners can chow down on a mushroom burger adorned with sunflower cheddar, pickles, beetroot, and ketchup.

For smaller appetites, snacks like dumplings and nachos are available, as well as a selection of grab-and-go items like coconut yogurt and sandwiches. Indulgences are not few and far between; cheese plates are decorated with all-vegan cashew cheddar, black truffle and charcoal, and pickled and fresh fruit, and guests can sample coconut cream pie or hibiscus strawberry cheesecake for dessert.

Kanu came to fruition at the hands of Kenney and real estate developer Sherry Schleussel, who both shared a dream of making healthy, plant-based cuisine more accessible to the public. “Matthew and I are both aligned around our mutual goal to combine culinary art and nutrition to improve personal health and wellness,” Schleussel said of Kanu. The company’s website also notes the importance of using food as means of “improving the lives of others through education and giving back through corporate social responsibility.”

Kanu joins the growing number of plant-based restaurants opened by Kenny around the globe, like the New York City-based, Japanese-inspired Arata. And Kenney’s restauranteur-ship doesn’t appear to be slowing down. In the US, the celebrity chef intends on opening a restaurant inside the dining hall of Chicago’s Saks Fifth Avenue. He also plans to open a plant-based pizzeria in Philadelphia early next year.

Image Credit: Matthew Kenney | Kanu Café

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