Chef Riley Philo and His Plant-Based Feasts

By Lauren Titus / Photography By Amy Robb | August 13, 2018

Chef Riley Philo brings expert techniques and surprising ingredients to plant-based fine dining in Ponte Vedra.

More than a job, cooking professionally can become a passion for many chefs. That is clearly the case for Riley Philo, sous chef at Sawgrass Marriott in Ponte Vedra, especially as he evolves his cooking repertoire and embraces a plant-based approach to fine dining. During the course of his training to be a chef, his own diet took a dramatic turn and he became a vegan overnight. While his role at the resort still entails preparing a variety of meat-centric dishes, Philo has been encouraged by his boss to experiment in the kitchen and explore ways to put vegetables at the center of the plate. One opportunity to showcase the nuanced flavor profiles Chef Philo creates with plants? The resort hosts periodic pop-up dinners called Feast for Rabbits, with an all-vegan menu developed by Chef Philo. We caught up with the chef to hear more about his creations, including his pursuit of a plant-based cheese even dairy aficionados will love.

What is your culinary background?

I am pretty much self-taught, though I did finish the first year of the culinary program offered here at Florida State College at Jacksonville. It just so happened that I became vegan halfway through the program and didn’t seem to think that the curriculum was necessary at that point. If there is ever anything I see that sounds like it could be interesting or easily modified to fit my culinary style, it becomes an obsession to perfect it. I have had many a sleepless night thinking about how to make the perfect vegan spin on a classical dish, or how I would plate something to show-off this new technique I just learned. Trial and error has been my teacher, really. Trial and error, and the internet.

Have you always been a vegan? If not, when did you make the switch and why?

No, I have only been vegan for the last 3 years. Not coincidentally, I became vegan the day I met my wife; April 7, 2015. It’s a many layered anniversary, you could say. I would love to say that the initial switch was for some noble cause, but that didn’t come until later. Really, I had met this extraordinary woman and she had been vegan for 5 years before meeting me, and I just wanted to get to know her better. I made the choice right then and there. After hearing more about her reasons why, and doing research on my own, I have concluded that veganism is a necessity for the long-term future of our planet. The environmental impact that consuming meat causes was just not something I wanted to fund with my money and my food choices, so I just stopped altogether.

I also felt that consuming meat was like feeding an addict’s addictions. There are so many studies that have shown what the brain is like after consuming fats and sugars like the levels found in animal products and it shocked me. I am an addict, even to this day. I cook meat as a profession, but it still shocks people when they taste something like a steak and I say, “man, that looks good.” Meat is tasty. I just choose to look past the addictive qualities and look at the greater impact it has on the world and the lives of the animals. It’s worth giving up, for sure.

What are some of your favorite dishes to make for non-vegans?

So, my wife’s favorite meal of all time is Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Asparagus and Mushroom Gravy. I have made that at every restaurant I have every worked for and it has blown people away. I would say that is a dish I can make in my sleep at this point. Non-vegans love it because the gravy I make incorporates many of the well-known flavors of sausage so it feels fatty and indulgent.

My favorite dishes to make are ones where they fake the consumer out. Non-vegans would eat the dish and never know that it was vegan, or never, “miss the meat.” My personal favorites are my Chili (took me 3 years to perfect enough to convince meat eaters that it was meatless), Chicken-Fried Cauliflower and Waffles, and Carbonara with “bacon” I make from cured tofu.

There have been several pop-up dinners at the resort How did Feast for Rabbits get its start?

I had been working on some vegan dishes and Chef Joe (Joe Natoli, Executive Chef at Sawgrass Marriott) suggested that I should plan a pop-up dinner featuring an all-vegan menu. That was in December 2017, and we had our first Feast for Rabbits in March 2018. The name came to me because so often people say they couldn't be a vegan because that is rabbit food, and they would never get enough to eat. So the name is a play on that idea. Being able to have these pop-up events is a way for me to continue to showcase delicious food - I want to make food that is approachable for both vegan and non-vegan diners.

How are you able to incorporate more vegan dishes into the menu at Sawgrass Marriott?

The resort has some wonderful Sous Chefs that have made awesome menus throughout all our outlet restaurants, as well as for banquets and events. With that great foundation, the incorporation of vegan dishes was easy. I would like to say it was a struggle, but typically it isn’t. It is, however, a balance between making the vegan option match the rest of the non-vegan menu, as well as how likely a vegan would attempt to try it. If I make things too complicated then we only sell one of these dishes a month and lose all the product that was wasted in between.

Most non-vegans are not really one to choose new things when it has a big glaring ‘V’ next to it so I make dishes that are recognizable and have some sort of familiarity to them, (Chicken and Waffles, made with cauliflower). On the flip side, a lot of vegans crave those things which they see everyone else eating and enjoying. Stores shelves sell out of “chi’kun nuggets,” and “ground beef,” so I play to that strength when making my vegan dishes as well, (Vegan Crab Cakes with Arugula Aioli). Like I said, it is a balance, but being so new to the lifestyle I still remember what crab tastes like, or the texture of chicken, or smell of bacon, so I perfect the dish until it meets every sensory requirement. I associate different meats with specific herbs and spices so it becomes fairly easy to replicate familiar flavor, but with a vegan twist.

Where do you like to dine in NE Florida?

Sweet Theory Baking Co. for sure! After 11am they have “Chick” Biscuits, (patties made from chickpeas), so I always leave with a biscuit, a sweet treat for the same day and the next morning, and a coffee. I love rice milk and they are the only ones in town that serve it. I also enjoy this little Greek restaurant right by my house called, Tabouleh. They make the best falafel I have ever had, and I am a huge falafel fanatic. I enjoy Manatee Café in St. Augustine for breakfast. I love breakfast foods and sandwiches, preferably a breakfast sandwich combination, and “Southern Roots Filling Station,” Bagel sammies are great for that craving; I prefer Bagel #2.

Where do you get your culinary inspiration?

Daily life, I guess. Where I work, I try very hard to create dishes that fit into the menus that others have created so, when you see a great menu you get inspired! I also am constantly consuming media that is food-centric; if I watch TV it’s probably Chopped, or Great British Menu. If I am on Pintrest or Instagram, I am looking a plating. If I am on YouTube it is because I am watching for techniques on spooning, or how to get a certain flavor profile. I lose sleep constantly because of this need to learn more and more. I am never satisfied with just standing still and letting that be the norm. If I get this idea in my head for a flavor combo, it haunts me until I have perfected not only the taste of the dish, but the look of it, and have organized all the recipes and procedural steps. I just love thinking about the minutiae of a dish. Needless to say, I have a lot of folders of notes in my laptop.

For information on the next Feast for Rabbits, visit Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort and Spa.