Every great restaurant has individuals who were instrumental in its success. And for Pure Food and Wine — featured on Netflix’s Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives — Nikki King Bennett was a name engraved in each of its milestones.
Keep reading this Nikki King Bennett bio to learn more about her.
Nikki King Bennett On Netflix’s Bad Vegan
Netflix’s Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives premiered on March 16, 2022, and it saw Sarma Melngailis’ rise to notoriety alongside her journey with Pure Food and Wine. But that wasn’t all. The show also looked into the lives of people who were also vital for its establishment, and among them stood its executive chef, Nikki King Bennett.
Right after graduating in 2008, Nikki joined Pure Food and Wine and it didn’t take her long before she was promoted to executive chef. She recalled that the restaurant at the time was ahead of its time — providing a fine-dining vegan experience that was unheard of anywhere. And because of this, she even got a chance to cook for celebrities like Stevie Wonder, Janet Jackson, Tom Brady, and Gisele Bundchen, among others.
But what looked like a successful restaurant from outside hid its fair shares of troubles within. In 2014, the employees started walking out because Sarma didn’t pay them their wages, moreover, she was nowhere to be found. However, that situation was resolved quickly and the restaurant was back on its track.
But just when Nikki believed that everything was going to be great, the situation repeated in Jan 2015. So, feeling like nothing had changed, Nikki King then gave up on the restaurant herself, finally leading the restaurant to shut down.
As for Sarma’s side of the story, she blamed it all on her ex-husband Alec Baldwin. She shared that she lent him vast amounts of money to him during their relationship that he never paid back.
Also, she added that he convinced her that she’d be “empowered in ways (she) couldn’t imagine.” He made her dream of all “the world-changing things” that she’d been quietly dreaming about.
Sadly, Sarma’s dream forever remained a dream.
Nikki King Bennett Job Today
Nikki King Bennett today is the owner of Mostly Vegan, a plant-based cuisine restaurant established in May 2012. Her establishment offered services like “Menu + recipe development, Kitchen operations, Catering + events, Training + education, and Content development.”
Reportedly, she opened Mostly Vegan four and a half years after she quit her job at Pure Food and Wine. And during those 4½ years, she worked as the executive chef of Plantable in New York City.
A vegan ever since young, Nikki has learned how her diet altered her “health and happiness.” So, she wants the world to have a “taste” of her philosophy and experience all things raw, vegan, and vegetarian. For this, she intertwines her creativity and innovation to elevate the typical dining experience — keeping things simple, meanwhile also making sure the food tastes good.
As for her inspirations, Nikki shared that she was inspired by the seasons; especially so when she walked through the farmers market. “I anticipate each change in temperature and the shift in flavor, color, and mood that results,” she explained. But among all, her favorite seasonal ingredient to cook would be “Butternut squash.”
In her honor, this talented veg chef was also included in the 2013 book Best Chefs America. Also, her foods have been featured on The Today Show.
Talking about her education, she went to Natural Gourmet Institute.
Did you know: Nikki has cooked for Bill Clinton. Furthermore, the former president even came back to the kitchen to thank them for the food.
Is Nikki King Bennett Married?
Nikki King Bennett’s relationship status was kept private as of 2022. So, we’ve no idea if she had a boyfriend or was married then.
However, we do know that she’d been in at least one relationship before.
Nikki King Bennett Age
Nikki King Bennett was reportedly born in 1986. That made her 35 years of age when Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives premiered in 2022.
Her former employer, Sarma Melngailis was 49 then.
Nikki King Bennett Family
Nikki King Bennett comes from a family of at least four — her parents, herself, and her siblings.
Though she didn’t reveal her parents’ names, she shared that they were her inspiration. Growing up in her father’s annual vegetable garden, in addition to amazing dishes made by her chef mother, Nikki today realizes how it not only steered her career but also helped her understand a healthy diet
No wonder, she wanted to be an inspiration to her niece (10 years old in 2022) and often packed her treats.
Related FAQs
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Where Is Nikki King Bennett From?
Nikki King resided in Brooklyn, New York City as of 2022.
Sadly, we have no info about her hometown. But she did visit Turkey once which could be her roots.
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Is Nikki King Bennett On Instagram?
Yes, find her on Instagram @mostlyvegan.
Also, here’s her Twitter @NiCkYnikkiNIKI.
