The Story of Plantier - Inspiring plant-based menus

By Vivienne & Poornima, Co-Founders of Plantier

Plantier was born out of the passion that we have towards plant-based lifestyle choices. The idea to start our company came after numerous months of exchanging thoughts, ideas and experiences while our children played basketball. The frustration of having limited and sometimes non-existent options in restaurants led to the vision and mission of Plantier.

About Vivienne:

My plant-based story, like all good movies, comes in two parts. Part one started in my early life, as a child, I did not like milk, butter, cheese or meat, so I was considered pretty odd. Options were limited going out for dinner and cheese was added to everything in place of meat.

The sequel began two and a half years ago following annual tonsillitis and several years of fatigue, inflammation and just generally lacking energy (and that’s not just from having kids!). After reading numerous blogs and books on the topic, I embarked on an elimination diet and after 14 days I felt like a different person. Boundless energy, brighter eyes, smoother skin, no inflammation, to name only a few benefits. My childhood self clearly instinctively knew what my body did and didn’t need. Apart from regretting I’d not done it sooner, I haven’t looked back since cutting out dairy and eggs.

If someone had told me even five years ago that I would be plant-based, I would have freaked out at what I could actually eat. However, in recent years this type of food has exploded with creativity, particularly in home cooking. The restaurant scene lags behind a little and when going out for meals with friends, they always joke about the ‘carrot course’ as I’m duly served a plate of carrots cooked in oil. Whilst this would make a delicious side-dish, it most definitely is not a main course.

I love when my carnivorous family and friends enjoy plant-based meals I have made. There are so many amazingly flavoursome, satisfying and indulgent options, my hope is that restaurants everywhere will enjoy experimenting and creating!

About Poornima:

Having always been a vegetarian, my journey to adopting a plant-based lifestyle began with the need to learn to manage food intolerances. I spent many years experimenting on myself, trying to figure out what caused the bloating and lack of energy that I assumed was a normal part of life. Coming to the realisation that a plant-based diet made a huge positive impact on my energy, health and general well-being, I made the difficult but conscious choice to eliminate dairy and eggs from my diet.

While I truly take delight in cooking for my family and friends, I am a foodie and savour the experience of enjoying a meal at a restaurant with the people I love. Finding tasty and substantial plant-based options when dining out can sometimes be a challenge. I have often been pleasantly surprised but there are many times when boiled asparagus makes a complete main course. It would be amazing to be able to go to any restaurant and know that I, and anyone who wishes to have a plant-based meal, can find delicious, satisfying meal options. With the increasing credible research on the harmful effects of dairy and meat agriculture to the environment, I am thrilled to be contributing to the sustainability of the planet and am looking forward to inspiring restaurants to be inclusive to plant-based choice.

The plant-based food revolution

We are both graduates of the Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate Program from the Center for Nutrition Studies through eCornell, the online arm of Cornell University. It was so inspirational and we look forward to sharing our knowledge with you.

It is such a privilege for us to be part of this incredible food revolution, as we all become more conscious of the impact food has on our health and the planet.

Join us on this journey. Be inspired to ‘Be a Plantier’.