ZENB Latin-Inspired VIPea Dinner with Celebrity Chef Monti Carlo
As part of an ongoing series of tastemaker events aiming to introduce ZENB to diverse audiences, on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, journalists, influencers, and other tastemakers gathered for a celebration of Latin flavors at Redbird in LA’s up-and-coming DTLA neighborhood.
Celebrity Chef Monti Carlo (Food Network host and Master Chef star) took participants through a culinary tour from Spain to Mexico, Peru to Puerto Rico/Dominican Republic and ending in Catalonia. She spoke passionately about how ZENB’s plant-fueled offerings provide a new opportunity to re-invision Latin cuisine with a more nutritious approach without sacrificing flavor or culture.
The dinner kicked off with a screening of the new ZENB documentary, What Plants Can Do. ZENB partnered with Hunter Fieri to develop the short film which explores the farm to table journey of the hero ingredient in ZENB Pasta, the yellow pea.
The first course included an Elotes Pasta Salad with ZENB Rotini, charred baby corn, crumbled cotija, and ZENB Roasted Tomato Gourmet Sauce blended with chipotle.
In the second course, Chef Monti crafted a Tallarines Verdes, using a soon-to-be launched ZENB pasta shape (stay tuned!), plated with a hard-boiled quail egg and roasted baby potato, garnished with aji amarillo and micro greens.
The third course was a dish that brought back childhood memories for ZENB Marketing VP Hugo Perez — traditional pastelon (sweet plantain lasagna) made with pulled oxtail cooked with a reduction of the ZENB Sweet Carrot and Tomato Marinara Gourmet Sauce and garnished with charred tomato, carrot, microgreens, and edible flowers.
Before the last course was served, Chef Monti told the story about how the dessert, menjar blanc, was invented hundreds of years ago by Catalonian monks as a Lenten treat. Her interpretation of the dish included caramelized ZENB Penne Pasta rounds, and kumquat relish garnished with edible flowers.
Attendees remarked how excited they were to see traditional Latin dishes infused with plant-fueled ingredients. Many agreed that Latin diets have a huge opportunity to evolve, becoming more plant-fueled. Other attendees who already follow plant-based diets were excited to learn more about ZENB’s clean-label, healthy, and delicious plan-fueled products, as well as our “whole” mission. They couldn’t wait to share ZENB with their communities!
