1/7
Top chef Zineb Hattab (33) is known by her nickname Zizi.
The “Veganuary” campaign calls for people to eat a purely plant-based diet for a month. Vegan products are advertised everywhere. What do you make of it?
Zineb Hattab: I find the initiative positive. She inspires people to eat less meat and educates about the impact of our consumption. The advertising shows customers the large selection of products.
There are more and more plant-based products that imitate meat. Why?
Nutrition has to do with culture and identity. Anyone who grew up eating a sausage on bread wants the vegan sausage to look like a sausage and not like a carrot. These products can make it easier to switch to a diet that is at least less meat-heavy. You can cook a well-known dish, simply vegan.
Do you eat such products?
My husband made spaghetti with vegan meatballs last weekend. As a rule, however, we eat seasonal products from the farm, i.e. vegetables.
Many people think that going vegan means more work. You can only do that if you have a lot of time to cook.
What worries me is that we live in a society that doesn’t want to invest time in preparing food. We prefer to be endlessly at work or checking social media. We should understand that investing time in food means investing time in yourself. Our diet keeps us healthy and can make us happy.
But does vegan cooking take more time?
no It’s not that complicated. Many everyday dishes are already vegan: pasta pomodoro, fried rice, gazpacho, lentil soup and immediately. In South Asia, South America or North Africa, plant-based food is a matter of course. Meat is a luxury product there.
How is it for you as a vegan in Morocco, where your parents come from?
In Morocco I am flexible. I eat what my family cooks for me, but I try to eat as little meat and dairy as possible because I can no longer digest them well. I adapt to the place where I am. Here in Switzerland, I have the choice of putting my money into the meat industry or into the plant-based food industry.
Why did you become vegan just months before opening your first restaurant?
I got cold feet. I wanted to have a comprehensive understanding of what I could bring to Zurich as a newcomer, and I delved deeper into the food industry. We all know more or less how animals are treated and what that does to biodiversity. But we’re good at hiding the facts. Suddenly I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I chose to be vegan. If I could cook good food, I would open a vegan restaurant.
How was it?
The production of vegan patisserie was challenging. Above all, I experienced that as a vegan it is difficult to eat out. I saw a real opportunity for my restaurant. My belief in taking this step gave me one goal: I want to inspire people to eat differently. I want to take away the special reputation of vegan food and make it normal. Today I have a community of people on my teams who want to be part of something that creates change. Not only on the plate, but also in the workplace.
In what way?
I offer the team a protected space. It’s about inclusion, tolerance, respect. We not only want to be friendly to the guests, but also to each other and in contact with the farmers.
Which products are important to you?
Spices and herbs – feel free to use them generously. Various types of vinegar, made from raspberries or plums. I like yeast flakes, not only for the health benefits, but because they taste like cheese fermentation. A spoonful of yeast flakes replaces the parmesan in the pesto. Chickpeas, nuts, there are so many great seeds – we should use more of them.
It’s difficult to find convincing vegan cheese. Do you have a tip?
The fondue from the Swiss company New Roots is great! You don’t miss anything in terms of taste.
Dishes can evoke feelings or memories. How about you?
There are many tastes that I associate with my childhood. For example the Harira soup that we serve here in the Dar restaurant. I am not a practicing Muslim but grew up eating this soup with my family during Ramadan when breaking the fast. Moroccan guests often comment here that the soup, which is traditionally made with beef, tastes just like their grandmother’s.
You had given up an engineering career to become a chef. Today you are the boss of 45 people.
My role is constantly changing. When I opened the restaurant in 2020, I was the chef and showed the team how everything is done. When the Dar restaurant joined the Kle after a year and a half, I became a mentor. I empower others to take leadership. I also develop the menu together with the respective chefs de cuisine. But I still like being in the kitchen certain days of the week. Cooking is magic to me.
Her career has been described as crazy by the media. How do you see it yourself?
I had a good job, a settled life. I found something else that drove me and I needed to pursue that. For me it wasn’t crazy. But it was very intense and risky, also difficult.
You are only 33 and have already achieved a lot in your second professional career: the gastronomy industry celebrates you and your two restaurants. Her cookbook won an award. What’s next?
If something suitable comes up and my team has the capacity, we’ll start a new project. For me personally, I would like more consistency at the moment instead of hectic.
Her last project was a cookbook. It contains not only recipes but also your story. Why?
Sharing the recipes was important to me because I want to make it easier for people to cook vegan at home more often. There are a few tricks that make cooking easier. Knowledge is only effective when it is shared. My story seems to inspire others. That’s why I wanted to tell my story in my own words for the first time, including ups and downs, transparently and authentically. And I wanted to introduce my team because without these people it wouldn’t work.
What is the nicest compliment that one can give you as a guest?
There are two. The first: when guests say that they could imagine eating like this every day. Going vegan isn’t about guilt and all the things you do wrong. It’s about how good you can eat and how easy it is.
And the second compliment?
My book is called «Taste of Love». The majority of guests say they felt the love that went into the creation, plating and serving. Love is important in our job. It makes me happy when this love can be felt by the guest.