Dede’s Table/ Los Angeles, California

Changing the Planet One Plate at a Time

Chef Theresa Farrell, a Los Angeles social media influencer known as Dede’s Table, develops plant-based recipes she calls “a step outside the box.” The Perfect Puree’s flavors are the ideal complement because they’re authentically bold, vegan, non-GMO, and additive-free.“The ingredients I choose to work with matter,” Dede says. “I also love that there’s a mix of sweet and savory selections since, although I’m a pastry chef by trade, I’m constantly working towards developing recipes that can cover appetizers to desserts.”

She currently integrates the Perfect Puree into her Sunday Plated series. “Due to their elegant functionality, I’m able to easily pick a flavor, such as Passion Colada and build an idea around that,” she says.

Dede can rely on The Perfect Purée to elevate plated dishes. ‘Kisses Goodbye to Summer,’ a tribute to the end of summer and the fall equinox, features a lip mold of layers of pineapple and mango mousse, raspberry preserve, and vanilla sponge. It’s garnished by Passion Colada, a blend of passion fruit, pineapple, and coconut purée. “The purée was a sublime fit with the mousse and highlighted the vibrancy of the dish that I was aiming for,” Dede says.

Diverse Background Influence

Dede makes vegan and gluten-free food as colorful as her diverse background. One of four girls born to parents of Irish and Caribbean descent, Dede grew up in West London. Walking through the city with her father — and later on her own — she felt like “a kid in the candy store” at the bustling food markets.

Her Caribbean aunties made food from family recipes passed down through generations. Yet, they never followed a written recipe. Instead, trusting their instincts to create dishes that deliciously appealed to their young niece. She describes it as ‘soul food’ because “it was food prepared and made from the heart,” Dede writes on her website. “My philosophy ‘take it back, make it from scratch’ comes from my childhood inception in food.”

Vegan and Gluten-Free

Due to Dede’s deep love for animals, she made the decision to become a vegetarian in her teenage years. As a young adult, she went one step further and became a vegan as she didn’t want to partake in any part of the food industry that profited from animal cruelty. It was a courageous move at a time when a meat-free diet was not easily accessible and often looked down upon in the industry. Dede successfully built a career cooking plant-based dishes after moving to America.

“Dede was the nickname my dad gave me when I was a kid,” Dede recounts. “I knew from the beginning I wanted to use it as my way of paying homage to him and the fond memories I have. The ‘Table’ came about later as I developed the reason behind why I wanted to create a food space online. I realized I wanted to provide approachable vegan recipes that made people feel like they had a seat at my table, regardless if I’m a professional chef or not.”

After starting her American career in Florida, Dede moved to Austin, Texas, where she worked at Whole Foods Market as a pastry instructor. Among other executive duties, she helped the catering pastry team develop recipes for events such as SXSW and the MTV Video  Music Awards. Dede’s career continued in New York, where she served as an executive pastry chef for Marcus Samuelson and the Levy Restaurants.

All things Puree

Dede is also an artist at heart and appreciates the creative possibilities of The Perfect Purée. She uses it to construct a rind for watermelon popsicles that resemble the actual fruit with bright green “seed”-speckled Kiwi Puree.

Each season, Dede explores ways to tastefully incorporate The Perfect Purée into her dishes. Over the holiday season, she used Blackberry Purée in a winter-plated composition. “There are still several flavors from The Perfect Purée that I’m excited to work with and see how they can enhance my dishes.”