Founders of the vegan digital platform vKind, are cooking up compassion by launching their own new vegan culinary competition, Peeled. The concept stemmed from a recent stand-alone episode they debuted on their YouTube channel, which proved to be highly successful. 

Drawing inspiration from other reality cooking competitions, such as MasterChef and Beat Bobby Flay, Peeled aims to provide vegans more representation on mainstream TV.

“As a vegan and a foodie, I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with cooking shows,” said vKind founder and Peeled creator, Star Simmons, in a recent statement. 

“Peeled allows vegans and vegetarians to enjoy cooking shows again, and gives plant-based culinary arts a platform to be taken seriously.”

Panel of all-vegan judges

In the first series of this kind, each episode will feature hand-picked, classically-trained chefs competing against each other in front of a panel of all-vegan judges. 

In a bid to be named the “Hottest Vegan Chef” around, the chefs will be put through different culinary challenges to showcase their cooking skills and passion for plant-based cooking. 

Over each episode, the contestant with the lowest scores will be “peeled off”, or eliminated, leaving the remaining chefs to progress in the competition. The final winner will be awarded a large cash prize to be donated to a nonprofit charity of their choosing. 

The Peeled squad

An entire team of well renowned vegan professionals are confirmed for the first series, including Chef Josie Clemens, who was a contestant in Season 20 of the hit cooking show “Hell’s Kitchen.” Chef Josie will also be joined by Sophie’s Kitchen CEO Dr Miles Woodruff and celebrity chef Chris Tucker.

Clemens was so excited to learn about the show, that she even signed on as co-creator. 

“Competing in Hell’s Kitchen was a great experience, but not at all hospitable for a vegan chef like me, who would otherwise never opt to cook anything that wasn’t entirely plant-based,” she said.

“I was thrilled to learn that vKind would be producing an all-vegan cooking competition. Signing on as co-creator was a no-brainer for me.”

Viva Las Vegan

The show is currently being filmed in Las Vegas, at the Vegas Vegan Culinary School and Eatery – the nation’s first all-vegan cooking school.

The show will also provide a platform for vegan brands to showcase their products and promote their brands to new audiences.

“We’re especially excited to provide vegan brands a new platform to showcase their products in front of an audience hungry for vegan alternatives,” said Simmons. 

“We roll out the green carpet for businesses of all sizes that are contributing to the VegEconomy.” 

In preparation for the summer launch, cast members will be introduced in a series of video interviews in the coming weeks. To find out who will be joining the competition, keep your eyes peeled, as vKind will be releasing videos on their YouTube channel and their website.